*** Welcome to piglix ***

Casimir II of Poland

Casimir II the Just
Kazimierz II Sprawiedliwy 2.jpg
Portrait by Jan Matejko.
High Duke of Poland
Tenure 1177–1191
1191–1194
Predecessor Mieszko III the Old
Successor Leszek I the White
Duke of Masovia
Tenure 1186–1194
Predecessor Leszek
Successor Leszek I the White
Born c. 1138
Died 5 May 1194 (aged 56)
Kraków
Burial Wawel Cathedral, Kraków
Spouse Helen of Znojmo
Issue Maria, Grand Princess of Kiev
Casimir
Bolesław
Odon
Adelaide
Leszek I the White
Konrad I of Masovia
House Piast dynasty
Father Bolesław III Wrymouth
Mother Salomea of Berg

Casimir II the Just (Polish: Kazimierz II Sprawiedliwy; 1138 – 5 May 1194) was a Lesser Polish Duke at Wiślica during 1166–1173, and at Sandomierz after 1173. He became ruler over the Polish Seniorate Province at Kraków and thereby High Duke of Poland (see Seniorate Province) in 1177; a position he held until his death, interrupted once by his elder brother and predecessor Mieszko III the Old. In 1186 Casimir also inherited the Duchy of Masovia from his nephew Leszek, becoming the progenitor of the Masovian branch of the royal Piast dynasty, great-grandfather of the later Polish king Władysław I the Elbow-high. The honorific title "the Just" was not contemporary and only appeared in the 16th century.

Casimir, the sixth but fourth surviving son of Bolesław III Wrymouth, Duke of Poland, by his second wife Salomea, daughter of Count Henry of Berg, was born in 1138, probably on the brink of his father's death. It's however also possible that he was born shortly after, and in consequence was posthumous. Maybe this was the reason that in the Bolesław III's Testament, he was omitted and left without any land.

During his first years, Casimir and his sister Agnes (born in 1137) lived with their mother Salome in her widow land of Łęczyca. There, the young prince remained far away from the struggles of his brothers Bolesław IV the Curly and Mieszko III the Old with their older half-brother High Duke Władysław II, who tried to reunite all Poland under his rule and in 1146 was finally expelled.


...
Wikipedia

...