Dobiesław of Oleśnica

Dobiesław Oleśnicki (Dobiesław of Oleśnica) was a soldier, aristocrat and politician in 15th century Poland.

Born in Sienno into the Dębno family coat of arms, he was Castellan of Wojnicki (1411-1433), Lublin (1433) and Sandomierz (1435), starosta of Kraków (1438), podczaszy of Kraków (1438-1439), voivode of Sandomierz (1438-1440) participant in the battle of Grunwald and the commander of the siege of Marienburg, builder of the new castle in Rymanów, founder of churches and the father of the Sienieńskich family. He was a brother of the Primate of Poland and is described by Maurycy Dzieduszycki[1] as comparing to lives of the Knights in song and poem.

Battle of Grunwald

Battle of Grunwald

He is best known for his role in the Battle of Grunwald which affected Polish/Prussian relations for over a century. According to Cronica conflictus, Dobiesław of Oleśnica thrust a lance through the Grand Master's neck,[2] while Jan Długosz presented Mszczuj of Skrzynno as the killer. With the death of the Grand Master the Teutonic knights/Prussian army fell into disarray and were defeated by the Polish/Lithuainian forces, thus securing Polish supremacy in central Europe.

Cronica conflictus Wladislai regis Poloniae cum Cruciferis anno Christi 1410 is the most important and trustworthy source on the Battle of Grunwald being written within a year of the battle by an eyewitness.[3]

Its authorship is uncertain, but several candidates have been proposed including the Polish deputy chancellor Mikołaj Trąba or Władysław II Jagiełło's secretary (Cardinal) Zbigniew Oleśnicki[4] who was also Dobiesław's brother.

Among 50 Polish units in the battle of Grunwald, Jan Długosz lists his squadron as the 38th.[5][6] and his banner was a white cross on a red field.

Life

He was born in Sienno. In 1404, Dobiesław accompanied King Jogaila to a Congress with the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, Konrad von Jungingen. In a tournament organized by the Grand Master, Dobiesław conquered all challenges, by successively dropping from the saddles all previous winners of the fights.[7]

In 1413, he married Catherine, the daughter of Dymitr of Goraj, and his wife Beata of Mokrsko (d 30 April 1424). Through his marriage he was the Lord of Rymanów, a town in Krosno County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. He began construction of a Castle there and in 1409 hosted King Władysław Jagiełło there. In 1431 Dobiesław founded a brick Church in the Gothic style, in the nearby town of Sienno, where he was born.

With Jan Kobylański of Grzymała, he also besieged city of Malbork.[8] As a trusted advisor to the King he was a signatory to the Act of Union of Horodło of 1413[9] and he signed peace in Brest Kujawski,[10] on December 31, 1435. In 1440, he traveled with his nephew )Zbigniew Oleśnicki, the Bishop of Kraków, to Budapest on a dyplomatic trip. He died in 1440.

Gallery

Death of Ulrich von Jungingen, detail of the painting by Jan Matejko, 1878

Family

References

  1. ↑ Maurycy Dzieduszycki: Zbigniew Oleśnicki, (Kraków, 1853)
  2. ↑ Stephen Turnbull Tannenberg 1410: Disaster for the Teutonic Knights, Campaign Series 122, (London: Osprey,2003) p168.
  3. ↑ Jučas, Mečislovas (2009), The Battle of Grünwald, (Vilnius: National Museum Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania), p8.
  4. ↑ Jučas, Mečislovas (2009), The Battle of Grünwald, Vilnius: National Museum Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, p9.
  5. ↑ Rozdział: "Wiek szesnasty w Oleśnicko-Zborowskich losach", p. 56, 57.
  6. ↑ Samsonowicz: Polska Jana Długosza, Warszawa 1984, p.223
  7. ↑ Teresa Romańska-Faściszewska, Oleśnica. Wydawnictwo ALLELUJA, Kraków 2007, ISBN 978-83-89660-74-9. Rozdział: "Wiek szesnasty w Oleśnicko-Zborowskich losach", p56-57.
  8. ↑ H. Samsonowicz: Polska Jana Długosza, Warszawa 1984, p.249.
  9. ↑ Skocz do góry, Codex diplomaticus Regni Poloniae et Magni Ducatus Lituaniae, wydał Maciej Dodgiel, vol4, Wilno 1764, p.133.
  10. ↑ Statuta, Prawa Y Constitucie Koronne Łacinskie Y Polskie z Statutow Łaskiego Y Herborta Y Z Constituciy Koronnych Zebrane, Kraków 1600, p749.
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