Casimir IV, Duke of Pomerania

Casimir IV, Duke of Pomerania
Seal of Casimir, reading "Kasimir, Dei Gra(tia) Dux Stetinensis, Dobrin, Pomoranie, Slavie, Casubie, Pr(inceps) in Rugie"
Spouse(s)	Kenna of Lithuania Margaret of Masovia
Noble family	House of Griffins
Father	Bogislaw V, Duke of Pomerania
Mother	Elizabeth of Poland
Born	1351
Died	2 January 1377

Casimir IV (Polish: Kazimierz IV or Kaźko Słupski,^[1] German: Kasimir IV^[2] or Kasimir V ^[3] ) (1351 – January 2, 1377) was a duke of Pomerania in Pomerania-Stolp since 1374.

Life

Casimir was the son of Bogislaw V, Duke of Pomerania and Elizabeth of Poland. His maternal grandfather Casimir III the Great, the last king of Poland from the Piast dynasty, had no sons and brought him up at his court. After grandfather's death in 1370, young Casimir initially became his partial successor, as the last will gave him lands of Dobrzyń, Bydgoszcz, Kruszwica, Złotów and Wałcz as fiefs. Yet, his ambitions were soon thwarted by Louis I of Hungary, who became the next king of Poland on the ground of earlier pacts, and nullified the Piast's last will. Duke Casimir only held the land of Dobrzyń as a temporary fief.^[4]

In 1360, Casimir married his first wife Kenna of Lithuania. She was a daughter of Algirdas and Uliana Alexandrovna of Tver, raised in the Eastern Orthodox faith. With her marriage, she joined the Roman Catholic Church and was baptised again under the name "Johanna". She died on 27 April 1368, leaving no children.

After a year, Casimir IV married his second wife Margaret of Masovia. She was a daughter of Siemowit III of Masovia and his first wife Euphemia of Opava. They had no children, too. After the death of Casimir, she married Henry VIII, Duke of Lubin and Brzeg.

Although after the death of his grandfather Bogislaw V in 1374 Casimir IV stayed several times in Pomerania-Stolp, most of the time he spent in Bydgoszcz; with his death in 1377 his fiefs fell back to Poland.^[5]

Ancestors

Ancestors of Casimir IV, Duke of Pomerania

16. Barnim I, Duke of Pomerania               8. Bogislaw IV, Duke of Pomerania                       17. Margaret of Adenoys               4. Wartislaw IV, Duke of Pomerania                             18. Wizlaw II, Prince of Rügen               9. Margaret of Rugia                       19. Agnes of Brunswick-Lüneburg               2. Bogislaw V, Duke of Pomerania                                   20. Günther I, Count of Lindow               10. Ulrich I, Count of Lindow-Ruppin                       21. Euphemia of Rugia               5. Elisabeth of Lindow-Ruppin                             22. Meinhard, Count of Schladen               11. Adelaide of Schaden                       23. Adelaide of Warberg               1. Casimir IV, Duke of Pomerania                                         24. Casimir I of Kuyavia               12. Władysław I the Elbow-high                       25. Euphrosyne of Opole               6. Casimir III the Great                             26. Bolesław the Pious               13. Hedwig of Kalisz                       27. Jolenta of Poland               3. Elizabeth of Poland                                   28. Butvydas               14. Gediminas                       7. Aldona of Lithuania                             30. Ivan of Polatsk               15. Jewna

See also

• List of Pomeranian duchies and dukes
• Pomerania during the Late Middle Ages
• Duchy of Pomerania
  • Partitions of the Duchy of Pomerania
    • Pomerania-Stolp
• House of Pomerania

References

1. Historical dictionary of Poland, pp. 250, ISBN 0-313-26007-9
2. Hartmut Boockmann, Die Anfänge der ständischen Vertretungen in Preussen und seinen Nachbarländern, Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 1992, p.132, ISBN 3-486-55840-4
3. Martin Wehrmann, Geschichte von Pommern, Verlag Friedrich Andreas Perthes, Gotha 1904 / Augsburg 1992, ISBN 3-89350-112-6, p.168
4. Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p.154-158, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
5. Hans Braning: Geschichte Pommerns. Vol. I, Böhlau, Cologne 1987, p. 19 (in German).

External links

• Cawley, Charles, His listing . The project "involves extracting and analysing detailed information from primary sources, including contemporary chronicles, cartularies, necrologies and testaments.", Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, retrieved August 2012