The last king of Poland from the Piast dynasty was Casimir the Great, who died in 1370. Over three centuries later, the last representative of this lineage, George IV William, passed away. What exactly is known about this duke? What was his life like? Why did the Piast dynasty die out with him?
A Youth of Extraordinary Qualities
George IV William came into the world on September 29, 1660, in Oława. His mother was Duchess Louise of Anhalt-Dessau, while his father was Duke Christian of Legnica. In 1668, Christian participated in the free election following the abdication of John II Casimir, but he found no support among the Polish nobility.
Christian, despite being a fervent Calvinist and an enemy of the Counter-Reformation, clearly gravitated toward Poland and the Poles. He was fluent in Polish. He also frequently visited Poland and was raised together with Prince Bogusław Radziwiłł. Everything therefore indicated that George IV would follow a similar path. The immediate future would show that the ducal son’s fate would unfold quite differently.
George IV William was a highly gifted child. The sharpness of his mind impressed everyone around him. Thanks to his excellent memory, he managed to learn to speak several languages in no time: Latin, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and Polish.
The young man was also well-liked because of his appearance. Unlike his mother, his looks attracted the opposite sex. Like many of his peers, he enjoyed good entertainment. He fell in love with hunting, on which he could spend entire weeks.
His parents were extremely proud of their son, who became the sole heir to the duchies of Brzeg, Legnica, and Wołów after the childless deaths of his uncles (the lords of Legnica and Wołów) and the death of his father (1672), who died from dropsy.
George’s Assumption of Power
George William was not in Silesia when his father was dying. He was in Frankfurt an der Oder, where his mother had sent him to study. He had a small court of his own there, while food was sent to him from Brzeg by water.
During all this time, the duchies of Legnica, Brzeg, and Wołów were ruled by Louise, whom her late husband had designated in his will as regent. Upon George reaching adulthood, Louise was to resign from her appointed function.
Louise’s rule did not please some of her subjects, who persuaded George to claim his rights and assume independent rule over his father’s inheritance. Surprisingly, the young duke agreed to all this without any hesitation, and on March 14, 1675, he paid solemn feudal homage in Vienna to Emperor Leopold I.
An All Too Brief Reign
George Louis began his rule by improving the administration in his duchy. To this end, he issued several new laws and announced new principles regarding duties and salaries for various court dignitaries, councilors, and servants.
In September 1675, Louise’s son appeared at a regional assembly he had convened, where deliberations were held on repairing the local roads. The duke was very keen on significantly improving the condition of the roads and increasing safety for travelers.
George IV William enjoyed himself at various entertainments during the assembly sessions. He attended a ceremonial reception where he had a splendid time with beautiful noblewomen. In addition, he participated in hunting, his greatest passion.
At the end of September of the same year, 1675, George threw a birthday celebration on which he spared no expense. During one of the feasts, a cannon exploded after firing a salvo in honor of the duke. The guests interpreted this as a bad omen for George’s future reign. It would soon prove that the revelers’ premonitions were entirely justified.
An Unfortunate Hunt and Death
In November 1675, George IV William participated in a deer hunt in the forests along the Oder River. Fortune decidedly did not favor him then, as he became seriously ill due to unfavorable weather. He developed a high fever, which forced him to stay in a peasant cottage in Kościerzyce, where he hoped to break the fever plaguing him. But this did not happen, and as if that weren’t enough, he contracted smallpox from sick children with whom he stayed under one roof.
When the duke’s courtiers noticed that his condition was only worsening with each passing day, they decided to transport him to Brzeg. They believed that the local doctors would get him back on his feet. However, these hopes proved futile, as the patient’s body became covered with smallpox lesions, which at that time no one knew how to treat. The duke’s death was therefore only a matter of time.
George William died on the morning of November 21, 1675. He was only 15 years old at the time. In his final days, he was accompanied by his mother and his sister Caroline, who had turned back from their journey to Vienna when they were informed of the duke’s illness.
The duke was buried with due honors in St. John’s Church in Legnica on February 8, 1676. Even on his deathbed, George IV wrote a letter to Emperor Leopold requesting that he care for his relatives. However, the emperor disregarded the deceased’s last wish and soon after his death incorporated into his state all the lands that had previously belonged to George. Thus ended the story of the last representative of the Piast dynasty, which had ruled Poland since the 10th century.
Bibliography
- Boraz Z., Książęta piastowscy śląska, Katowice 1974.
- Jasiński K., Rodowód Piastów śląskich, vol. 1, Kraków 2007.
- Korta W., Historia Śląska do 1763 roku, Warszawa 2003.
