Przemysł II (Polish: [ˈpʂɛmɨsw] also given in English and Latin as Premyslas or Premislaus or in Polish as Przemysław; 14 October 1257 – 8 February 1296) was the Duke of Poznań from 1257–1279, of Greater Poland from 1279 to 1296, of Kraków from 1290 to 1291, and Gdańsk Pomerania (Pomerelia) from 1294 to 1296, and then King of Poland from 1295 until his death. After a long period of Polish high dukes and two nominal kings, he was the first to obtain the hereditary title of king, and thus to return Poland to the rank of kingdom. A member of the Greater Poland branch of the House of Piast as the only son of Duke Przemysł I and the Silesian Princess Elisabeth, he was born posthumously; for this reason he was brought up at the court of his uncle Bolesław the Pious and received his own district to rule, the Duchy of Poznań in 1273. Six years later, after the death of his uncle, he also obtained the Duchy of Kalisz.
In the first period of his government, Przemysł II was involved only in regional affairs, first in close collaboration and then competing with the Duke of Wrocław, Henry Probus. This policy caused the rebellion of the prominent Zaremba family and the temporary loss of Wieluń. Working with the Archbishop of Gniezno, Jakub Świnka, he sought the unification of the principalities of the Piast dynasty. Unexpectedly, in 1290, under the will of Henry Probus, he managed to obtain the Duchy of Kraków and with this the title of High Duke of Poland; however, not having sufficient support from the local nobility (who supported another member of the Piast dynasty, Władysław I Łokietek) and faced with the increasing threats of King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia, Przemysł II finally decided to retreat from Lesser Poland, which was then under the rule of Přemyslid dynasty.
In 1293, thanks to the mediation of Archbishop Jakub Świnka, he joined a close alliance with the Kuyavian princes Władysław the Elbow-high and Casimir II of Łęczyca. This alliance was anti-Bohemian, and his goal was to recover Kraków, then in the hands of King Wenceslaus II.
After the death of Duke Mestwin II in 1294, and according to the Treaty of Kępno signed in 1282, Przemysł II inherited Pomerelia. This strengthened his position and enabled his coronation as King of Poland. The ceremony was held on 26 June 1295 in Gniezno, and was performed by his ally Archbishop Jakub Świnka. Only nine months later, on 8 February 1296, Przemysł II was murdered during a failed kidnapping attempt made by men of the Margraves of Brandenburg, with some help from the Polish noble families of Nałęcz and Zaremba.
Przemysł II was born on 14 October 1257 in Poznań as the fifth child and only son of Duke Przemysł I of Greater Poland and his wife Elisabeth of Wrocław, daughter of Duke Henry II the Pious of Silesia. It is known that he was born in the morning, because according to the Chronicle of Greater Poland, when Dowager Duchess Elisabeth gave birth to a son, the vicars and canons of the city were singing morning prayers. At the news of the birth, the local clergy chanted the Te Deum laudamus. Shortly after his birth, the prince was baptized by the Bishop of Poznań, Bogufał III.
According to the Chronicle of Greater Poland (Kronika wielkopolska), Przemysł II was named after his father, who had died four months before his birth, on 4 June 1257. The form of the name in the days of his contemporaries certainly sounded like Przemysł or possibly Przemyśl. However, due to the fact that the word "Przemysł" (English: Industry) means production of a good or service within an economy today, it is reasonable to be considered that his name could be a valid form from Przemysław, especially as this version is undoubtedly more medieval (occurs at the beginning of the 14th century). Another name under which the Duke of Greater Poland was probably known, following the indications of the Rocznik Kołbacki, is Peter (Polish: Piotr), but Oswald Balzer considered this an obvious mistake. The only historian who recognised the name Peter as authentic was K. Górski.
No sources about contemporary rulers provided information about a nickname. Only in sources related to the Teutonic Order from 1335, he is given the nickname Kynast. In current historiography he is sometimes nicknamed Posthumous (Polish: Pogrobowiec), but this has not been universally accepted.
Tutelage of Bolesław the Pious (1257–1273)
At the time of his birth, Przemysł II was the nominal ruler of the Duchy of Poznań. The guardianship of the Duchy, probably along with his mother Elisabeth, was taken by his uncle, Duke Bolesław the Pious and his wife, the Hungarian princess Jolenta (Helena). In consequence, the prince remained at the court in Poznań, where his mother raised him. On 16 January 1265 Dowager Duchess Elisabeth died at her estate in Modrze, and the orphaned Przemysł together with his sisters were later cared for by their uncle.
Very little information exists about the education given to Przemysł II. Diplomatic sources have retained only the names of two of his teachers: Dragomir and Przybysław. It is assumed (although without any direct evidence) that the prince had some knowledge of at least Latin in speech and writing.
Relations with Brandenburg and Neumark
The next mention of Przemysł II came in 1272, when his uncle, Duke Bolesław the Pious, appointed him the nominal commander of an armed expedition against Brandenburg. The true commanders of the expedition were the Governor of Poznań, Przedpełk and the Castellan of Kalisz, Janko. The expedition was launched on 27 May; in addition to the specific purpose to acquire and destroy the newly built fortress in Strzelce Krajeńskie (or, in case it proved to be impossible, at least the desolation of Neumark). The young prince was to be educated in the art of war. The project, as detailed in the Chronicle of Greater Poland, was a great success. The city of Strzelce Krajeńskie, after a short but extremely fierce battle, was defeated and captured by the Greater Poland army. According to the Chronicle, while gaining command of the fortress, Przemysł II ordered the slaughter of the defenders, and only the intervention of the Polish knights saved the lives of the few survivors
Shortly after completing the expedition and with the majority of his forces in his way back, Przemysł II received a confidential message that the fortress of Drezdenko was protected by only a few German knights. The young prince, despite the fact that he only had a part of his forces, decided to make a quick attack. This completely surprised the defenders and fearing the same fate as soldiers from Strzelce Krajeńskie, they decided to surrender the fortress in exchange for a full pardon. After this, Przemysł II took the fortress in the name of his uncle and triumphantly returned home.
In the same year, Przemysł II concluded his first alliance with Duke Mestwin II of Pomerelia. At first an ally of the Margraves of Brandenburg, Mestwin II could expel his brother and uncles from Pomerania and became sole ruler in 1271, but shortly after he was defeated and even imprisoned by them; this caused him to cede the province of Gdańsk to Margrave Conrad of Brandenburg in exchange for aid against his foes. Despite Mestwin II retaining the feudal sovereignty over the territory, the Brandenburg Margraviate still occupied the main castles and fortresses of the city even after the restoration of Mestwin II to the ducal throne. With his knowledge that his forces are too weak against Brandenburg, the Pomeranian Duke decided then to make an alliance with the Greater Poland rulers, Bolesław the Pious (who was probably his first-cousin) and Przemysł II.
The Greater Poland-Pomerania alliance ended up regaining the fortresses in Gdańsk and the complete expulsion of the Brandenburg forces from Pomerania. Although soon after Mestwin II decided to conclude a separate peace with the Margraviate, the alliance with Greater Poland signed in 1272 remained in force. The continuous threat of Brandenburg and the uncertainty of the alliance with Mestwin II caused Bolesław the Pious to begin to seek new allies in case of war. For this purpose, Bolesław decided to seek an agreement with Duke Barnim I of Pomerania.