Henry III of Głogów (Polish: Henryk; 1251/60 – 11 December 1310) was a duke of Głogów from 1274 to his death and also duke of parts of Greater Poland during 1306–1310.
He was one of the sons (probably the second) of Konrad I, Duke of Głogów, by his first wife Salome, daughter of Duke Władysław of Greater Poland.
Little is known about his first years of life. In 1267 Henry III participated in the canonization of his great-grandmother Hedwig of Andechs. At the time of his father's death in 1274 he and his brothers are still minors; for this, his step-mother Sophie of Landsberg (widow of his father) and the Chancellor Mikołaj took their guardianship. Shortly after, they sold the towns of Bolesławiec and Nowogrodziec to the Archbishop of Magdeburg.
Beginning of cooperation with Henry II Probus
The first participation of Henry III in the political arena was in 1277, when together with Przemysł II of Greater Poland he took part in an armed expedition against his uncle Bolesław II the Bald. The trip was provoked by the attitude of the Duke of Legnica, who, in order to obtain territorial concessions, kidnapped the young Henry IV and imprisoned him in his castle of Legnica. Henry III and the Bohemian King Ottokar II formed a coalition of Silesian Princes to help the prisoner Duke. However, they were defeated in the Battle of Stolec on 24 April 1277. At the head of the Legnica troops came the son and heir of Bolesław II, Henry V the Fat. It was probably here that the conflicts between him and Henry V began, which later caused great suffering to the Duke of Legnica.
Fall of King Ottokar II and Division of the Duchy of Głogów
One year later Henry III participated in the great Battle on the Marchfeld (26 August 1278), where King Ottokar II was defeated and killed. In the same year Henry III was forced to make a division of his lands between his brothers: he retained the main cities of the Duchy —Głogów, Bytom Odrzański and Kożuchów—; Konrad II the Hunchback obtained Ścinawa and Przemko received Żagań and Nowogród Bobrzański; soon after Konrad II went to study in Bologna, and Henry IV Probus took his lands in his name; with this, the ruler of Wroclaw showed his intentions to stretch his sovereignty over all the other Głogów princes and Silesian rulers.
Influence of Henry IV Probus over Silesia
In 1281 Henry III, together with Henry V the Fat and Przemysł II of Greater Poland were invited by Henry IV Probus to a meeting in Sądowel. The Duke of Wrocław broke the law of hospitality and captured the three Dukes. Henry IV released them only after they recognized his overlordship. Although the agreement was concluded under duress, it has stood the test of time and in the next few years, we see Henry III, together with his brother Przemko II among the close associates of the Duke of Wroclaw in his great political ecclesiastical conflict Thomas II, bishop of Wroclaw. His loyalty to Henry IV Probus caused that the ruler of Głogów would be excommunicated twice. It was only after the death of Henry IV that Henry III's relations with the clergy returned to normality.
Henry IV's death and execution of his will
The close cooperation between Henry III and Henryk IV Probus was evident when in Krosno Odrzańskie on 11 January 1288 Henry III was knighted by the Duke of Wrocław. The major proof of the subjugation of the Duke of Glogów was after the death of his brother Przemko on 26 February 1289: his Duchy of Ścinawa was annexed by Henry IV without any protest of Henry III. However, one year later, on 23 June 1290, Henry IV Probus died suddenly, probably poisoned, an event which seriously affected the further career of the Duke of Glogów. In his will, the dying Duke of Wrocław left Henry III as his main heir. However, the Wrocław knights and burghers had other plans and one month later (mid-July 1290) they forced Henry I to escape. As their new ruler, the rebels invited Duke Henry V the Fat of Legnica to take the government. The reasons for the Wrocław revolt were unknown, but maybe the harsh rule of Henry III was a decisive factor. In any event, Henry III refused to accept this and immediately declared war on Henry V.
Shortly after taking control over Wrocław, Henry V the Fat forced the Duke of Głogów to renounce all his pretensions over the disputed territories of Chojnów, Boleslawiec, Gościszów, Nowogrodziec, Ścinawa, Wińsko, Syców, Uraz, Trzebnica, Milicz and Sądowel. However, Henry III managed to recover Ścinawa soon after.
Both sides quickly began to find allies who would support them in the war. Henry III made a treaty with the House of Wettin, strengthening this alliance by marrying the daughter of Duke Albert I of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Matilda (March 1291). Further allies were Otto IV, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal and Przemysł II of Greater Poland. With the latter Henry III entered into an arrangement under which if Przemysł II died without male issue, the Duke of Głogów would inherit his lands. In the meanwhile, Henry V the Fat obtained the support of King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia.
Henry V's rule over Wrocław was extremely conservative and clashed with some political opponents among the nobility. One of them, Pakosław Zdzieszyca, was sentenced to death accused of murder. The revenge of Pakosław's son Lutka, was impressive: on 11 November 1293 he captured Henry V and gave him to Henry I, who put him in an iron cage for almost six months. Henry V only obtained his freedom after surrendering the towns of Namysłów, Bierutów, Oleśnica, Kluczbork, Byczyna, Wołczyn, Olesno, Chojnów and Bolesławiec (almost 1/3 of Henry IV's lands) with their respectives fortresses to Henry III, paying of a ransom of 30,000 pieces of silver and promising to assist the Duke of Głogów for the next five years in all his wars.
Death of Przemysł II and the succession over Greater Poland
On 8 February 1296 the Duke of Greater Poland and since 1295 King of Poland Przemysł II was murdered. The Greater Poland-Głogów alliance collapsed around 1293, when Przemysł II attacked Duke Władysław I the Elbow-high of Kuyavia. Because of this, the Greater Poland nobility chose Władysław I to succeed Przemysł II in Poznań, despite the claims of Henry III, who considered that the treaty signed with Przemysł II in 1290 was still valid and in consequence, he was his sole heir (Przemysł II married three times but only left one daughter from his second marriage, Richeza).
Henry III and Władysław I quickly concluded a settlement on 10 March 1296 in Krzywin, under which the Duke of Głogów obtained all the lands from the south of the Obra River. At the same time Władysław I designated Henry III's eldest son, Henry IV the Faithful as his heir over Poznań, and, in case of his death without male issue, over all Greater Poland.
War against Bolko I the Strict