Mayor Albert's Rebellion ( pl, bunt wójta Alberta) was a 1311–12 rebellion by the

burgher Burgher may refer to: * Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn ** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain ** Grand Bu ...

s of the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

city of

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

against Duke

Władysław I the Elbow-high Władysław is a Polish given male name, cognate with Vladislav. The feminine form is Władysława, archaic forms are Włodzisław (male) and Włodzisława (female), and Wladislaw is a variation. These names may refer to: Famous people Mononym * ...

. The rebellion was led by Albert, the ''

wójt Wójt is a Polish senior civil administrative officer and the highest representative of the government of a '' rural gmina'', i.e., of a commune (''gmina'') comprising only villages. (Heads of towns and cities are called "burgomaster" (Polish: ''bu ...

'' ( la, advocatus), who under

Magdeburg Law Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within ...

was effectively

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Kraków. It ended with the victory of Duke Władysław and the punishment of Kraków townsmen.

Background

After Kraków had been devastated during the 1241 Mongol invasion of Poland, it was re-established in accordance with the

by Prince

Bolesław V the Chaste Bolesław V the Chaste ( pl, Bolesław Wstydliwy; 21 June 1226 – 7 December 1279) was Duke of Sandomierz in Lesser Poland from 1232 and High Duke of Poland from 1243 until his death, as the last male representative of the Lesser Polish branch o ...

. In 1291 the Duchy of Kraków fell to the Přemyslid king

Wenceslaus II of Bohemia Wenceslaus II Přemyslid ( cs, Václav II.; pl, Wacław II Czeski; 27 SeptemberK. Charvátová, ''Václav II. Král český a polský'', Prague 2007, p. 18. 1271 – 21 June 1305) was King of Bohemia (1278–1305), Duke of Cracow (1291–1 ...

who in 1300 also became King of Poland. Upon the extinction of the Přemyslids in 1306, the

Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branche ...

duke

assumed rule at Kraków, while in 1310 the Bohemian Kingdom passed to the

House of Luxembourg The House of Luxembourg ( lb, D'Lëtzebuerger Haus; french: Maison de Luxembourg; german: Haus Luxemburg) or Luxembourg dynasty was a royal family of the Holy Roman Empire in the Late Middle Ages, whose members between 1308 and 1437 ruled as kin ...

. The new king, John of Bohemia, continued to claim the Polish royal title and moreover sought to vassalize the

dukes of the adjacent

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

n region.

Rebellion

In 1311

Albert (?-1317), mayor of Kraków (1290-1312), launched a rebelliong against the rule of Prince Władysław, with the goal of turning the city – then the capital of the Polish

Seniorate Province Seniorate Province, also known as the Senioral Province, , was a district principality in the Duchy of Poland that was formed in 1138, following the fragmentation of the state. Its ruler held the title of the High Duke, ruling all duchies wit ...

– over to the Bohemian

. Albert, himself of German or Czech origin, had the support of some of the city's German

s. He also had the support of Bishop

Jan Muskata Jan Muskata (1250 – 7 February 1320) was bishop of Kraków from 1294 to 1309. Muskata was born in Wrocław, Silesia. He was the son of a German spice trader. The name Muskata is derived from Latin, for nutmeg. He had brother named Stefan (fl ...

, himself of German-Silesian origin, and the Silesian duke

Bolko I of Opole Bolko I of Opole ( pl, Bolko I opolski; before 21 October 1258 – 14 May 1313), was a Duke of Opole from 1282 (until 1284 with his brother as co-ruler), Niemodlin and Strzelce Opolskie until his death. He was the third son of Władysław, Duke ...

, as well as of many Kraków citizens. After Władysław laid siege to the city, the revolt ended in failure. Similar rebellions took place in several other cities, particularly

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; la, Sandomiria) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (as of 2017), situated on the Vistula River in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Prov ...

and

Wieliczka Wieliczka (German: ''Groß Salze'', Latin: ''Magnum Sal'') is a historic town in southern Poland, situated within the Kraków metropolitan area in Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. The town was initially founded in 1290 by Premislaus II of ...

; these were also crushed by Władysław.

Aftermath

Albert fled to Bohemia and his house was demolished, while the Polish

Primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter including ...

Archbishop

Jakub Świnka Jakub Świnka (died 4 March 1314) was a Polish Catholic priest, the Archbishop of Gniezno and a notable politician, supporter of the idea of unification of all Polish lands under the rule of Władysław I the Elbow-high ("the Short"). His coat of ...

Gniezno Gniezno (; german: Gnesen; la, Gnesna) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. One of the Piast dynasty's chief cities, ...

charged Bishop Muskata with being "an enemy of the Polish people". In the aftermath of the rebellion the city of Kraków lost many of its privileges due to the support some of its burghers gave to the uprising. From Prince Władysław's point of view the revolt had been motivated by anti-Polish sentiment and the German citizens proved their disloyalty. According to a single source, so called ''Krasiński's Annals'', to distinguish the German-speaking burghers of Kraków, the

shibboleth A shibboleth (; hbo, , šībbōleṯ) is any custom or tradition, usually a choice of phrasing or even a single word, that distinguishes one group of people from another. Shibboleths have been used throughout history in many societies as passwo ...

''Soczewica, koło, miele, młyn'' ("Lentil, wheel, grinds (verb), mill) was used. Those who could not properly pronounce this phrase were executed. The uprising was chronicled in a contemporary

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

poem ''De quodam advocate Cracoviensi Alberto'' ("About a Certain Reeve Albert of Kraków") written by an anonymous author.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rebellion Of Wojt Albert History of Kraków Medieval rebellions in Europe Rebellions in Poland 1311 in Europe 1312 in Europe 14th century in Poland Conflicts in 1311 Conflicts in 1312 14th-century rebellions