Constance, Duchess of Wodzisław

Constance (; died 1351) was a Polish princess from the House of Piast and sovereign Duchess of Wodzisław Śląski from 1324 until her death.

Her name appears twice in contemporary sources: firstly, in a letter of Pope John XXII dated 22 September 1321, where she is named "Duchess of Racibórz","Constantie Ducisse Ratiboriensi". Ref: Vetera monumenta Poloniae et Lithuaniae, ed. by A. Theiner, Rome 1860, vol. I, p. 170, No 259. and secondly in the Chronicle of Racibórz, who give her the title of "Duchess of Wodzisław" (księżną wodzisławską) and mentions her death in 1351."Anno MCCCLI feria quinta obiit Constantina preclarissima princeps Ladislawiensis". Ref: Ratiborer Chronik [in:] "Zeitschrift des Vereins für Geschichte und Alterthum Schlesiens", ed. by A. Weltzel, vol. IV, 1862, p. 115. None of these sources showed Constance's parentage. Historians and sources are agreed that she was a member of the Piast dynasty; however, the difficulty of establishing who her father was caused two theories to emerge about her origins.

The first hypothesisThis theory is supported by: J. Tęgowski, Konstancja, "Poczet żon królewskich", [in:] "Magazyn Razem", 1987, No 1, pp. 31–32; J. Sperka, Konstancja, [in:] Książęta i księżne Górnego Śląska, red. by A. Barciak, Katowice 1995, pp. 78–79; S.A. Sroka, Konstancja, [in:] Piastowie. Leksykon biograficzny, red. by K. Ożóg and S. Szczur, Kraków 1999, pp. 728–729. Kazimierz Jasiński treated this as a conjecture; K. Jasiński, Rodowód Piastów śląskich, Second Edition, Kraków 2007, part III, pp. 542–543, note 3. states that Constance was the daughter of Duke Władysław of Opole and wife of Henry IV Probus, Duke of Wrocław, who repudiated her after several years of marriage. She moved to Racibórz at the court of her brothers Mieszko I and Przemysław, who gave her the district of Wodzisław as her own Duchy, where she remained until her death. Historians who dispute this theory alleged that Władysław of Opole had a daughter of unknown name, who died shortly after her marriage with Henry IV,T. Jurek, Plany koronacyjne Henryka Probusa, [in:] Śląsk w czasach Henryka IV Prawego (Wratislavia antiqua 8), ed. by K. Wachowski, Wrocław 2005, pp. 27–29. or between her repudiation and Henry IV's subsequent marriage.R. Grodecki, Dzieje polityczne Śląska do r. 1290, [in:] Historia Śląska od najdawniejszych czasów do roku 1400, ed. by S. Kutrzeba, vol. I, Kraków 1933, pp. 293–294; K. Jasiński, Rodowód Piastów śląskich, Second Edition, Kraków 2007, part III, pp. 524–526.

According to the second hypothesis,This theory is supported by: K. Jasiński, Rodowód Piastów śląskich, Second Edition, Kraków 2007, part III, pp. 542–543; M. Furmanek, S. Kulpa, Zamek wodzisławski i jego właściciele, Wodzisław Śląski 2003, pp. 21–22; J. Horwat, Piastowie górnośląscy, [in:] "Rocznik Muzeum Górnośląskiego w Bytomiu. Historia", No. 8, Bytom 2007, p. 46. based on Constance's titles showed in sources: Duchess of Racibórz and Duchess of Wodzisław, she was the daughter of Duke Przemysław of Racibórz. Certainly she remained unmarried and settled in Wodzisław (which probably was her own independent Duchy) until her death.

Life

Daughter of Władysław of Opole

Problems about her identification In medieval sources, it is only known that from the marriage between Euphemia, daughter of Władysław Odonic, Duke of Greater Poland, and Władysław, Duke of Opole, was born a daughter who married Henry IV Probus, Duke of Wrocław. No source directly specified her name, and therefore the historiography is divided about this fact and her correct identification in the Piast dynasty. Some historians share the view that she was Constance of Wodzisław,J. Tęgowski, Konstancja, "Poczet żon królewskich", [in:] "Magazyn Razem", 1987, No 1, pp. 31–32; J. Sperka, Konstancja, [in:] Książęta i księżne Górnego Śląska, ed. by A. Barciak, Katowice 1995, pp. 78–79; S. A. Sroka, Konstancja, [in:] Piastowie. Leksykon biograficzny, ed. by K. Ożóg and S. Szczur, Kraków 1999, pp. 728–729. but the opponents of this idea argue that her name remains unknown.K. Jasiński, Rodowód Piastów śląskich, Second Edition, Kraków 2007, part III, pp. 524–526 (although he later presented the conjecture of the identification of Władysław of Opole as Constance; K. Jasiński, Rodowód Piastów śląskich, Second Edition, Kraków 2007, part III, pp. 542–543, note 3); J. Horwat, Piastowie górnośląscy, [in:] "Rocznik Muzeum Górnośląskiego w Bytomiu. Historia", No 8, Bytom 2007, pp. 45–48 (although he put forward the hypothesis—from which he later retreated—about the possible name of Władysław of Opole's daughter as Grzymisława, on the basis of the Obituary of the St. Vincent Abbey; J. Horwat, Grzymisława, księżniczka opolska, [in:] "Rocznik Muzeum w Gliwicach", vol. VII-VIII, Gliwice 1991–1992, pp. 380–384); T. Jurek, Plany koronacyjne Henryka Probusa, [in:] Śląsk w czasach Henryka IV Prawego (Wratislavia antiqua 8), ed. by K. Wachowski, Wrocław 2005, pp. 27–29. Also not gaining universal approval are the hypotheses arguing that Władysław of Opole's daughter was named either MargaretaEwa Maleczyńska, Wrocławskie panie piastowskie i ich partnerzy, Wrocław 1966, p. 79. See P. Boroń, Wizerunki Henryka Probusa w historiografii, [in:] Piastowie śląscy w kulturze i europejskich dziejach, ed. by A. Barciak, Katowice 2007, pp. 353–354. or Grzymisława.J. Horwat, Grzymisława, księżniczka opolska, [in:] "Rocznik Muzeum w Gliwicach", vol. VII-VIII, Gliwice 1991–1992, pp. 380–384, identified her with a certain Grzymisława, who appears in the Obituary of the St. Vincent Abbey with the title of Duchess of Opole. J. Horwat, Piastowie górnośląscy, [in:] "Rocznik Muzeum Górnośląskiego w Bytomiu. Historia", No 8, Bytom 2007, p. 46, rejected this hypothesis, stating that if Grzymisława were the wife of Henry IV Probus, she wouldn't be styled Duchess of Opole, but Duchess of Wrocław and Silesia. In the absence of proper sources who could clarify this matter, all the information and theories only created more difficulties in reconstructing her life.

Birth The exact birth date of the daughter of Władysław of Opole is unknown. The approximate year of birth was established on the basis of one of the two supplications addressed to the Pope, whose credibility are now called into question.T. Jurek, Plany koronacyjne Henryka Probusa, [in:] Śląsk w czasach Henryka IV Prawego (Wratislavia antiqua 8), ed. by K. Wachowski, Wrocław 2005, pp. 27–28. In those documents, her brothers (considered by historians as the authors of the two complaints) requested an adjournment of their sister's wedding with Henry IV, since they felt that her age wasn't appropriate for a bride. Since the marriage's date was established between 1277 and 1280, she could be born about 1265.K. Jasiński fixed the birth of Władysław of Opole's daughter approximately in 1265, because he claimed that her marriage to Henry IV Probus took place between the second half of 1277 and early 1280; K. Jasiński, Rodowód Piastów śląskich, Second Edition, Kraków 2007, part III, p. 524; J. Tęgowski, Konstancja, "Poczet żon królewskich" [in:] "Magazyn Razem", 1987, No 1, pp. 31–32, didn't give directly a date of birth. He merely stated that marrying her husband in 1277 or 1278 (probably in the second half of 1277), she was about 10–12 years old, and died in 1351 aged over 84 years. In modern historiography, one encounters another date of birth given to her, about 1256, although without justification; J. Sperka, Konstancja, [in:] Książęta i księżne Górnego Śląska, ed. by A. Barciak, Katowice 1995, p. 78, and S. A. Sroka, Konstancja, [in:] Piastowie. Leksykon biograficzny, ed. by K. Ożóg and S. Szczur, Kraków 1999, p. 728. Her birth probably took place in Opole, the capital of her father's Duchy, or in Racibórz.M. Małecki, Konstancja – księżna wodzisławska i jej księstwo, Wodzisław Śląski 1997, p. 2, he relied on the findings of J. Tęgowski (although he didn't put this information in their work) and then developed this hypothesis in footnote 3. By convention, among the offspring of Władysław of Opole and Euphemia of Greater Poland, she is placed as the fifth and last child, although she could be older than Przemysław of Racibórz.K. Jasiński, Rodowód Piastów śląskich, Second Edition, Kraków 2007, part III, p. 524. If her name was Constance, she probably was named after her cousin Constance, daughter of Przemysł I of Greater Poland.This view was expressed by K. Jasiński, Rodowód Piastów śląskich, Second Edition, Kraków 2007, part III, p. 542, note 3, presenting this conjecture to identify the daughter of Władysław of Opole from occurring in the 14th century sources of Constance. However, the researcher agreed to the hypothesis given that she was the daughter of Przemysław of Racibórz.

Marriage with Henry IV Probus

Władysław of Opole's daughter was married with Henry IV Probus, Duke of Wrocław. Historians place the wedding between the second half of 1277 and March 1280,K. Jasiński, Rodowód Piastów śląskich, Second Edition, Kraków 2007, part III, p. 524, claimed that the marriage was concluded between the second half of 1277 and early 1280; R. Grodecki, Dzieje polityczne Śląska do r. 1290, [in:] Historia Śląska od najdawniejszych czasów do roku 1400, ed. by S. Kutrzeba, vol. I, Kraków 1933, p. 286 and note 2, stated that the wedding took place shortly before the conclusion of the agreement between Henry IV and Władysław of Opole in Vienna in March 1280; T. Jurek, Plany koronacyjne Henryka Probusa, [in:] Śląsk w czasach Henryka IV Prawego (Wratislavia antiqua 8), ed. by K. Wachowski, Wrocław 2005, p. 16, assumed that marriage was most likely performed at a congress in Vienna in 1280; J. Tęgowski, Konstancja, "Poczet żon królewskich", [in:] "Magazyn Razem", 1987, No 1, p. 32, presented the hypothesis that the marriage took place in 1277 or 1278 (probably in 1277). This theory is supported by: J. Sperka, Konstancja, [in:] Książęta i księżne Górnego Śląska, ed. by A. Barciak, Katowice 1995, p. 78 and M. Małecki, Konstancja – księżna wodzisławska i jej księstwo, Wodzisław Śląski 1997, p. 4; by contrast S. A. Sroka, Konstancja, [in:] Piastowie. Leksykon biograficzny, ed. by K. Ożóg and S. Szczur, Kraków 1999, p. 728, reported that Władysław of Opole's daughter was married to Henry IV Probus in 1278. this is, between the six-months of captivity of Henry IV by his uncle Bolesław II the Bald (since 22 July 1277)Date given by: R. Grodecki, Dzieje polityczne Śląska do r. 1290, [in:] Historia Śląska od najdawniejszych czasów do roku 1400, ed. by S. Kutrzeba, vol. I, Kraków 1933, p. 276. and the Congress of Vienna. The wedding couldn't take place prior to 1277, because in the description of the events of Henry IV's imprisonment in the Polish-Silesian Chronicle, the Duke of Wrocław is identified as a boy, which would be impossible if he was then married.E. Maetschke, Wann wurde Heinrich IV. von Breslau geboren?, [in:] "Zeitschrift des Vereins für Geschichte und Altertum Schlesiens", vol. LXVI, 1932, p. 61; K. Jasiński, Rodowód Piastów śląskich, Second Edition, Kraków 2007, part I, p. 161, note 11. In the Congress of Vienna was settled the dispute between the Dukes of Wrocław and Opole, proved in a document were Władysław called Henry IV his son-in-law. It's possible that the consolidation of the agreement was just the wedding between Henry IV and Władysław's daughter.T. Jurek, Plany koronacyjne Henryka Probusa, [in:] Śląsk w czasach Henryka IV Prawego (Wratislavia antiqua 8), ed. by K. Wachowski, Wrocław 2005, pp. 27–29. See R. Grodecki, Dzieje polityczne Śląska do r. 1290 [in:] Historia Śląska od najdawniejszych czasów do roku 1400, ed. by S. Kutrzeba, vol. I, Kraków 1933, p. 286, note 2.