Henryk I Brodaty, (Henry I the Bearded), was Duke of Silesia at Wroclaw, Duke of Kraków and High Duke of all Poland.
He was the son of Duke Boleslaw I the Tall of Silesia, by his second wife Christina, a German noble lady. He was born in Glogów (Glogau), Lower Silesia, the fourth son of the couple, and in consequence he had little chance to inherit any land. However, the premature deaths of his older brothers Boleslaw, Konrad and Jan (between 1174 and 1190), also given that his older half-brother Duke Jaroslaw of Opole was forced into an ecclesiastical career by the intrigues of his stepmother Christina, enabled him to become Boleslaw's heir.
By 1188, Henry married Hedwig of Andechs (ca. 1174 – Abbey of Trebnitz, 15 October 1243), daughter of Duke Berthold IV of Merania. They had seven children:
Agnes (ca. 1190 – before 11 May 1214).
Boleslaw (ca. 1191 – 10 September 1206/08).
Henry II the Pious (ca. 1196 – killed in battle, Legnica, 9 April 1241).
Konrad the Curly (ca. 1198 – Czerwony Kosciol, 4 September 1213).
Sophie (ca. 1200 – before 22/23 March 1214).
Gertrude (ca. 1200 – Trebnitz, 6/30 December 1268), Abbess of Trebnitz.
A son [Wladyslaw?] (before 25 December 1208–1214/17).
Henryk managed to make Silesia one of the most powerful states of Poland, and also tried to maintain peace in Greater and Lesser Poland during a period of considerable changes in Western Europe. One contemporary chronicler called him An honest man who only thought to be useful to his people. His personal emblem was a white inverted-cross in the middle of the arc, in the form of white and black eagle on the wings; this remained as the emblem of Silesia.
Henryk is considered by historians as one of the most prominent Piast Princes from the period of Poland's feudal fragmentation. However, all his work was destroyed only three years after his death due to a completely unexpected event; the Mongolian invasions.
He was the son of Duke Boleslaw I the Tall of Silesia, by his second wife Christina, a German noble lady. He was born in Glogów (Glogau), Lower Silesia, the fourth son of the couple, and in consequence he had little chance to inherit any land. However, the premature deaths of his older brothers Boleslaw, Konrad and Jan (between 1174 and 1190), also given that his older half-brother Duke Jaroslaw of Opole was forced into an ecclesiastical career by the intrigues of his stepmother Christina, enabled him to become Boleslaw's heir.
By 1188, Henry married Hedwig of Andechs (ca. 1174 – Abbey of Trebnitz, 15 October 1243), daughter of Duke Berthold IV of Merania. They had seven children:
Agnes (ca. 1190 – before 11 May 1214).
Boleslaw (ca. 1191 – 10 September 1206/08).
Henry II the Pious (ca. 1196 – killed in battle, Legnica, 9 April 1241).
Konrad the Curly (ca. 1198 – Czerwony Kosciol, 4 September 1213).
Sophie (ca. 1200 – before 22/23 March 1214).
Gertrude (ca. 1200 – Trebnitz, 6/30 December 1268), Abbess of Trebnitz.
A son [Wladyslaw?] (before 25 December 1208–1214/17).
Henryk managed to make Silesia one of the most powerful states of Poland, and also tried to maintain peace in Greater and Lesser Poland during a period of considerable changes in Western Europe. One contemporary chronicler called him An honest man who only thought to be useful to his people. His personal emblem was a white inverted-cross in the middle of the arc, in the form of white and black eagle on the wings; this remained as the emblem of Silesia.
Henryk is considered by historians as one of the most prominent Piast Princes from the period of Poland's feudal fragmentation. However, all his work was destroyed only three years after his death due to a completely unexpected event; the Mongolian invasions.
Henryk I Brodaty, (Henry I the Bearded), was Duke of Silesia at Wroclaw, Duke of Kraków and High Duke of all Poland.
He was the son of Duke Boleslaw I the Tall of Silesia, by his second wife Christina, a German noble lady. He was born in Glogów (Glogau), Lower Silesia, the fourth son of the couple, and in consequence he had little chance to inherit any land. However, the premature deaths of his older brothers Boleslaw, Konrad and Jan (between 1174 and 1190), also given that his older half-brother Duke Jaroslaw of Opole was forced into an ecclesiastical career by the intrigues of his stepmother Christina, enabled him to become Boleslaw's heir.
By 1188, Henry married Hedwig of Andechs (ca. 1174 – Abbey of Trebnitz, 15 October 1243), daughter of Duke Berthold IV of Merania. They had seven children:
Agnes (ca. 1190 – before 11 May 1214).
Boleslaw (ca. 1191 – 10 September 1206/08).
Henry II the Pious (ca. 1196 – killed in battle, Legnica, 9 April 1241).
Konrad the Curly (ca. 1198 – Czerwony Kosciol, 4 September 1213).
Sophie (ca. 1200 – before 22/23 March 1214).
Gertrude (ca. 1200 – Trebnitz, 6/30 December 1268), Abbess of Trebnitz.
A son [Wladyslaw?] (before 25 December 1208–1214/17).
Henryk managed to make Silesia one of the most powerful states of Poland, and also tried to maintain peace in Greater and Lesser Poland during a period of considerable changes in Western Europe. One contemporary chronicler called him An honest man who only thought to be useful to his people. His personal emblem was a white inverted-cross in the middle of the arc, in the form of white and black eagle on the wings; this remained as the emblem of Silesia.
Henryk is considered by historians as one of the most prominent Piast Princes from the period of Poland's feudal fragmentation. However, all his work was destroyed only three years after his death due to a completely unexpected event; the Mongolian invasions.
He was the son of Duke Boleslaw I the Tall of Silesia, by his second wife Christina, a German noble lady. He was born in Glogów (Glogau), Lower Silesia, the fourth son of the couple, and in consequence he had little chance to inherit any land. However, the premature deaths of his older brothers Boleslaw, Konrad and Jan (between 1174 and 1190), also given that his older half-brother Duke Jaroslaw of Opole was forced into an ecclesiastical career by the intrigues of his stepmother Christina, enabled him to become Boleslaw's heir.
By 1188, Henry married Hedwig of Andechs (ca. 1174 – Abbey of Trebnitz, 15 October 1243), daughter of Duke Berthold IV of Merania. They had seven children:
Agnes (ca. 1190 – before 11 May 1214).
Boleslaw (ca. 1191 – 10 September 1206/08).
Henry II the Pious (ca. 1196 – killed in battle, Legnica, 9 April 1241).
Konrad the Curly (ca. 1198 – Czerwony Kosciol, 4 September 1213).
Sophie (ca. 1200 – before 22/23 March 1214).
Gertrude (ca. 1200 – Trebnitz, 6/30 December 1268), Abbess of Trebnitz.
A son [Wladyslaw?] (before 25 December 1208–1214/17).
Henryk managed to make Silesia one of the most powerful states of Poland, and also tried to maintain peace in Greater and Lesser Poland during a period of considerable changes in Western Europe. One contemporary chronicler called him An honest man who only thought to be useful to his people. His personal emblem was a white inverted-cross in the middle of the arc, in the form of white and black eagle on the wings; this remained as the emblem of Silesia.
Henryk is considered by historians as one of the most prominent Piast Princes from the period of Poland's feudal fragmentation. However, all his work was destroyed only three years after his death due to a completely unexpected event; the Mongolian invasions.
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