Lech the White: Duke of Poland

Extract

[...] Lech le Blanc 1. Presentation Lech le Blanc was a Duke of Kraków, a Duke of Sandomierz, a Duke of Masovia and finally a Duke of Kuyavia. He was the son of Kazimierz II or Casimir II the Just and of Helena of Znojmo. He was born in 1186 or 1187 and died on 23 November 1227. 2. Difficult beginnings On 5 May 1194, Lech the White becomes Duke of Kraków, Duke of Masovia and Duke of Kuyavia, his father Casimir II passing away. [...]

[...] The two men allied themselves with a very precise idea: to lay a trap for Lech the White and Henry I of Silesia. Indeed, the Duke of Pomerania thought of giving his territories to Ladislas Odonic, once the crime had been committed. On November the trap closed on the two sovereigns, on the occasion of the assembly of the Piast dukes at Gasawa. Henry I the Bearded will be seriously injured, and will struggle to acquire the throne of Cracow, and to place Ladislas III on it, who will emerge victorious from the war of succession of the Duchy of Cracow. [...]

[...] Lech the White found an agreement with Hungary concerning the Principality of Halych-Volodymyr. In 1205, Prince Roman Mstislavitch attacked Poland. The troops of Conrad of Masovia and Lech the White stopped his attack. Lech the White became interested in the Principality of Roman Mstislavitch and went to interfere in his affairs, but he was not the only one interested in the Principality of Halych-Volodymyr. The death of Prince Roman Mstislavitch on 19 June 1205, during a battle, was followed by a bitter confrontation between Lech the White and Hungary. [...]

[...] An agreement is found, it is hard for Mieszko III but who has no choice, Lech the White will be the new heir to the Duchy of Greater Poland and Kuyavia will return to him. Mieszko III will still have a satisfaction in becoming the regent in the name of his nephew, until his majority. 3. The reign of Lech the White On 13 March 1202, upon the death of Mieszko III, Lech the White became his successor as agreed. In Kraków, he was driven out by Ladislas III with the slender legs for a short period. Conrad, Lech's brother, became Duke of Masovia and Kuyavia. [...]

[...] On 16 May 1211, upon his death, Lech the White regained power. In 1215, Lech the White granted new privileges to a church that had become a state within a state. In 1217 or 1218, Lech the White, Henry I of Silesia, also known as the Bearded, and Ladislas III with the Slender Legs signed a peace agreement. Little Poland and Greater Poland would return either to Ladislas III or to Lech the White, depending on their lifespan. In 1222 and 1223, Lech the White participated in the two crusades against the Prussians, with the goal of pacifying and Christianizing Prussia. [...]