Przemysł I of Greater Poland

Polish duchies under the rule of Henry I and Henry II 1201–1241

Przemysł first appears in official documents signed by his father from 1232 onward, and after Władysław Odonic's death on 5 June 1239 he began his own rule, during the time of Fragmentation of Poland (1138 - ca. 1314). Two years later (in 1241), Przemysł approved his younger brother Bolesław as an official co-ruler, though this was merely a formality. In reality Przemysł reigned alone.

The principality inherited from his father was composed of northern Greater Poland, which included Ujście and Nakło (although some historians believe that Władysław Odonic lost Ujście and Nakło before his death). Subsequently, he strove to recover the remaining part of Greater Poland. In 1241, after the death of his Silesian cousin High Duke Henry II the Pious at the 1241 Battle of Legnica, Przemysł recovered Poznań and Gniezno, and subsequently managed to conquer also the parts of Greater Poland previously controlled by Dukes of Silesia.[4]

In 1242 Przemysł I reconquered Zbąszyń and Międzyrzecz from Bolesław II the Bald.[5] The presence of Przemysł in Silesia forced the intervention of Duke Swantopolk II of Pomerania, who captured Nakło. However Przemysł quickly took back the control of the district from the Pomeranian ruler.[6]

Despite his success, Przemysł sought to end his disputes with the Silesian Piasts and in 1244 he married Bolesław II's sister Elizabeth,[7] at the monastery in Trzebnica. Contrary to his plans, this marriage did not calm the situation on the Silesian-Greater Poland border, but it did allow Przemysł to recover Kalisz from Duke Władysław of Opole.[8] He failed however in his attempt to recover Wieluń, which was only annexed to Greater Poland in 1249.[9] The actions against the sons of Henry II the Pious were completed in 1247 when Santok was recovered.[10]

In 1247 Przemysł I was forced by the local knights to give his brother Bolesław the district of Kalisz as a separated Duchy, but in foreign policy he retained full authority over Greater Poland.[11] It was not the final division. A year later, the ruler of Greater Poland crushed the opposition by imprisoning its leaders, the Castellan of Poznań Thomas of Nałęczów and his sons. Przemysł I released them in 1250, when he was involved in the conflict between Bolesław II the Bald and his brother Konrad (husband of Przemysł I's sister Salomea). The intervention of the Greater Poland Duke helped Konrad to obtain the district of Głogów as his own independent Duchy.[12]

In 1249 Przemysł I exchanged again territories with his brother, giving him Gniezno and becoming Duke of Poznań and Kalisz.[13] In 1250, for unknown reasons, Przemysł had Bolesław arrested, becoming in this way the sole ruler of Greater Poland (Poznań, Gniezno and Kalisz).[14] Only at Easter of 1253, after the Church intervention, the brothers were finally reconciled and Bolesław received the Duchy of Kalisz-Gniezno.[15]

During the first half of the 13th century, Przemysł I promoted a more peaceful policy, working closely with his brother-in-law Konrad I of Głogów and giving his sister Euphemia in marriage to Duke Władysław of Opole.[16] Also, he received the help of his brother Bolesław with troops against Duke Casimir I of Kuyavia for the possession of Ladzka. In 1254 he organized an armed expedition against Henry III the White, destroying part of the Bishopric of Wrocław goods (i.e. Oleśnica), for which Przemysł I was excommunicated, and the penalty was only removed after the Greater Poland Duke repaired the damages in the Church states. The next campaign against Henry III was launched in September of the same year, but this time the joint expedition of Przemysł I, his brother Bolesław and Konrad I of Głogów avoided damages of Church goods.[17]

In foreign policy, Duke Przemysł's main concern was the expansionism of the Ascanian margraves of Brandenburg in the west. Although he stopped the advance of Brandenburg troops into his domains (Santok in 1247, Zbąszyń in 1251 and Drezdenko in 1252), the situation remained tense on the western border. To address this problem, between 1254–1255 Przemysł I tried to establish warmer relations with the House of Ascania through the betrothal of his eldest daughter Constance with Conrad, son of Margrave John I (the marriage took place after Przemysł I's death, in 1260). However, this strategy ultimately back-fired politically as the Ascanians used the marriage to claim rights over the western region of Greater Poland as their "New March".

In 1253 Przemysł I chose as his capital the city of Poznań, situated on the left bank of the Warta River. He also began the building of the Royal Castle on the hill overlooking the town.