Bolko III of Strzelce (also known as of Opole; ; – 21 October 1382) was a Duke of Opole during 1356–1370 (with his brothers as co-rulers) and Duke of Strzelce from 1375 until his death. He was the second son of Duke

Bolko II of Opole Bolko II of Opole (; before 1300 – 21 June 1356) was a Duke of Opole from 1313 (with his brother as co-ruler until 1323). He was the second son of Duke Bolko I of Opole by his wife Agnes, probably a daughter of Margrave Otto III of Brandenburg ...

by his wife Elisabeth, daughter of Duke

Bernard of Świdnica Bernard (II) of Świdnica () (c. 1291 – 6 May 1326) was a Duke of Jawor- Lwówek-Świdnica-Ziębice between 1301 and 1312 (with his brothers as co-rulers), of Świdnica-Ziębice during 1312–1322 (with his brother as co-ruler), and the sole Duke ...

Life

After his father's death in 1356, Bolko III and his brothers

Władysław Opolczyk Vladislaus II of Opole (, , , ; ca. 1332 – 18 May 1401), nicknamed Naderspan, was Duke of Opole from 1356, Count palatine of Hungary (1367–1372), Duke of Wieluń (1370–1392), Governor of Ruthenia (1372–1378), Count palatine of Poland ...

and

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

inherited

Opole Opole (; ; ; ) is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 127,387 as of the 2021 census, it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (province) and the seat of ...

as co-rulers; however, the full government was held by the oldest brother, Władysław Opolczyk. The independent rule of Bolko III began only around 1375, when he inherited Strzelce after the death of his uncle

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mar ...

without male issue. During his reign, he didn't play any political role. Bolko III spent much of his time at the courts of

King Charles King Charles may refer to: Kings A number of kings of Albania, Alençon, Anjou, Austria, Bohemia, Croatia, England, France, Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, Ireland, Jerusalem, Naples, Navarre, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Sardinia, Scotland, Sicily, S ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

and King Louis I in

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

. In 1355, Bolko III, with several other Silesian Dukes, went to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

with King Charles of Bohemia, who came to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

for his coronation as

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

; ten years later, in 1365, he made a journey from

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

, and in 1377, together with King Louis I of Hungary and Władysław Opolczyk, he made a military expedition to

Bełz Belz (, ; ; ) is a small city in Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine, located near the Poland–Ukraine border, border with Poland between the Solokiya River (a tributary of the Bug River) and the Richytsia stream. Belz hosts the administration of Belz ...

. Bolko III died on 21 September 1382 and was buried in the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

chapel of St. Anna in

. Upon his death, his title passed to his four sons as co-rulers. Because his sons were minors, their guardianship was held by his uncle

Marriage and issue

By 1355, Bolko III married a certain Anna (b. ca. 1340? – d. 8 April 1378), who may have been daughter of Duke Jan I of Oświęcim.This theory is supported by two facts. First, the introduction of the name Jan in the Opole branch. Second, one of the entries of the books of the Dominican Chapter of Oświęcim (14th century) in which two women appear as direct relatives of Duke Jan I: one of them was probably Jan I's mother Euphrosyne and the other his daughter. Source
JAN I SCHOLASTYK (OŚWIĘCIMSKI)
. They had five children: #

Jan Kropidło Jan Kropidło (1360 or 1364 – 3 March 1421), was an ecclesiastic leader in Poland during the late Middle Ages. Jan was the eldest son of Duke Bolko III of Strzelce and his wife Anna. Jan was titled Duke of Strzelce (1382–96, with his brothe ...

(b. 1360/64 – d. 3 March 1421). # Bolko IV (b. 1363/67 – d. 6 May 1437). #

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

(b. 1374 – d. 22 December 1394). #

Bernard Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It has West Germanic origin and is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''be ...

(b. 1374/78 – d. 2/4 April 1455). #Anna (b. bef. 8 April 1378 – d. 2 December 1455), Abbess of

Trzebnica Trzebnica (Polish pronunciation: ; , ) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in west-central Poland. It is the seat of Trzebnica County, and of the smaller administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Trzebnica. It lies within the eastern Trzebni ...

(1428).

Footnotes

References

*
Genealogical database by Herbert Stoyan
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bolko 03 of Strzelce 1330s births 1382 deaths Year of birth uncertain Piast dynasty Dukes of Opole