Henry was the only son of Duke
Henry III the White of Silesia-Wrocław by his first wife Judith, daughter of Duke
Konrad I of Masovia.
Early life and tutelage A minor upon the early death of his father in 1266, Henry was placed under the guardianship of his paternal uncle, Archbishop
Władysław of Salzburg. The Archbishop decided that the constant travels between
Wrocław and
Salzburg were inappropriate for a child, and, in 1267, sent Henry to
Prague to be raised at the court of King
Ottokar II of Bohemia. Ottokar, after Władysław's death in 1270, also took over Wrocław. Shortly after the death of his uncle (who left him as his universal heir), Henry returned to Wrocław, where he found himself under the direct care of one of the closest advisers of his late father, Simon Gallicusa. Henry received a careful education, which may explain his subsequent interest in culture and poetry (there are reasonable suspicions that the Duke had
asperger syndrome). The cooperation between Henry and King Ottokar II was exemplary. In 1271, Henry participated in an armed expedition against
Hungary, which brought an attack on Wrocław by the
Árpád princes and their allies, the Dukes of
Greater and
Lesser Poland. In 1273 Henry was formally proclaimed an adult and by himself assumed the government of his Silesian Duchy of Wrocław, which, however, after the split between
Opole,
Legnica and
Głogów only comprised the eastern part of the
Lower Silesian lands. He began to follow a policy which was more independent from
Bohemia, including in respect to friendly relations with his
Upper Silesian cousin Duke
Władysław of Opole and also with duke
Przemysł II of Greater Poland.
Kidnapping of Henry by Bolesław II the Bald Henry supported King Ottokar II in his fierce conflict with King
Rudolph I of Germany in 1276, giving food and refuge to the Bohemian troops. When Ottokar was placed under the
Imperial ban, Duke
Bolesław II the Bald of Legnica took the occasion, had his nephew Henry seized at
Jelcz and imprisoned him in 1277. Fortunately for Henry, the reaction to his imprisonment was indignation. Ottokar's Polish allies, Duke
Henry III of Głogów and Duke Przemysł II of Greater Poland, attempted to enforce Henry IV's liberation. The Bohemian king, however, only sent febrile appeals and requests for release. Henry's allies were defeated by Duke Bolesław II's son
Henry V the Fat in the bloody Battle of
Stolec (24 April 1277), where both Dukes Przemysł II and Henry III were captured. Henry could obtain his freedom only at the end of the year, when he finally decided to capitulate after hearing the defeat of his main ally, King Ottokar II, against the
Imperial and Hungarian troops at the 1278
Battle on the Marchfeld. Henry was forced to give Bolesław II one-third of his duchy, including the towns of
Środa Śląska and
Strzegom and forced to pledge
Krosno Odrzańskie, which he had obtained from the Dukes of Głogów in 1273–1274, in order to obtain the money for his ransom.
Ottokar II's death and Regency of Bohemia While Henry himself did not take part in the Battle on the Marchfeld, he had sent reinforcements to King Ottokar II, whose death was a serious blow to the Wrocław duke. After hearing the news of Ottokar's death, Henry went to
Prague and attempted to gain the guardianship of the king's son
Wenceslaus II, as one of his closest relatives (Henry's paternal grandmother was
Anna of Bohemia, a daughter of late King
Ottokar I) and ally. He was, however, not successful due to the actions of King Rudolph I of Germany, who, in his capacity as
King of the Romans, had given the regency over Bohemia to the
Ascanian margrave
Otto V, Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedel. As compensation, the German king gave Henry IV the Bohemian
County of Kladsko as a fief.
Homage to King Rudolph I in 1280 of the Silesian Piasts Upon the death of his Bohemian ally, Henry reconciled with King Rudolph I and, in 1280, went to his
Austrian court in
Vienna, where Henry tried to obtain for himself the
Polish royal crown. Some historians believed that the Duke of Wrocław took the opportunity from his
homage to King Rudolph I to present him the possibility of becoming King of Poland. At that time, he also made an alliance with Duke Władysław of Opole, who promised to help Henry with the condition that his daughter (perhaps called Constance), who had recently married Henry, would be crowned with him as Polish queen if he would obtain the royal investiture.
Attempts at authority over Silesia and Poland The relation of Henry with his Silesian relatives, in general, was not good. In 1280, he again suffered the invasion of Duke Henry V the Fat of Legnica, who was supported by the Margrave of Brandenburg, and he could resist with unusual difficulty. In order to normalise the situation in February of the next year, Henry organised a meeting in
Sądowel, a village located in the Duchy of Wrocław, for the purpose of finding ways of mutual cooperation between the Silesian dukes. Henry, however, had other plans: immediately, he captured his long-time enemy, Duke Henry V the Fat of Legnica, as well as his own allies, Dukes Henry III of Głogów and Przemysł II of Greater Poland, in order to obtain political concessions from them. Przemysł II was forced to give the strategic
Lesser Polish land of
Wieluń (also known as
Ruda) and to acknowledge Henry's overlordship, paying homage to him. In subsequent years, the good politics of Henry were reflected in the voluntary submission of the Silesian dukes
Przemko of Ścinawa and
Bolko I of Opole; the re-unification of Silesia seemed within reach. However, not all the Silesian dukes accepted his authority: Dukes
Bolko I the Strict,
Konrad II the Hunchback and three of the four sons of Władysław of Opole:
Casimir of Bytom,
Mieszko I of Cieszyn and
Przemysław of Racibórz were completely against Henry's politics. With the Opole Dukes, the situation was more delicate: in 1287, Henry obtained the annulment of his marriage with their sister, who was sent back to her homeland. The fourth of Władysław's sons, Bolko I, remained faithful to Henry's politics. The first attempt of Henry to take the
Seniorate Province at
Kraków was during 1280–1281, as a response to the invasion which the Polish High Duke
Leszek II the Black had made against Wrocław before. However, this trip ended unsuccessfully.
Conflict with Bishop Thomas II of Wrocław commemorating the founding of the
Holy Cross Church by Henry and
Matilda in
Wrocław, 1288 In the years 1282–1287, Henry was involved in a long-lasting dispute with the Bishop of Wrocław
Thomas II Zaremba. The first phase of the conflict was already noted in the years 1274–1276, concluded with an arbitration that was not satisfactory to any of the parties. The disputes erupted again in 1282; this time, the conflict was for the lands and properties seized by the church in a difficult period that followed after the
Battle of Legnica, and for the violation of the immunity of the Church hierarchy in trials. At the beginning of 1282, the Bishop sent their complaint to the Papal Legate Philip of Ferno, who was to address the settlement of the dispute. His ruling was favourable to the Church hierarchy, and Henry IV appealed. In 1283, Henry organised a big Episcopal convention in
Nysa, whose main attraction was a knight's tournament. However, the tensions continued and Thomas II, using the support of the Papal Legate, and wanting to break the rebelliousness of Henry, excommunicated him and the whole Duchy in March 1284. However, the Duke of Wrocław refused to be subject to the Bishop's will and in the same year appealed to
Pope Martin IV. It soon became clear, of course, that he could not expect a positive message from Rome. Despite Thomas II's efforts to subordinate the local clergy under his rule, several religious Orders remained faithful to Henry, among others, the
Franciscans. The conflict continued, even after the unsuccessful attempts for mediation by the
Archbishop of Gniezno,
Jakub Świnka. In 1285, Henry took advantage of his power over the clergy and confiscated some lands which belonged to the bishopric Duchy of
Nysa,
Otmuchów. The humiliated Bishop Thomas II was forced to emigrate to the
Duchy of Racibórz. The last act of the dispute took place in 1287 when Henry entered Racibórz. Thomas II was no longer able to escape and finally decided to submit to the Duke of Wrocław. But Henry was generous in his triumph: he restored the rich lands obtained earlier from the Bishopric and also founded a Kolegiata consecrated to the Holy Cross. Meanwhile, in foreign politics, Henry continued to try to obtain the subordination of the other Silesian Dukes, which indirectly could bring him the Royal Crown. In 1284, he used the betrayal of the Greater Poland noble family of Zaremba (Thomas II's family) as a pretext to capture the town of
Kalisz. It soon became clear that the Dukes of Greater Poland never accepted this loss, so after some discussions, Kalisz was exchanged for the town of
Ołobok by Duke Przemysł II.
Henry, High Duke of Poland in the
Codex Manesse, about 1304 On 30 September 1288, Leszek II the Black, Duke of
Sieradz and High Duke of Poland, died without issue. This event opened an opportunity for Henry to realise his ambitious plans to gain Kraków and the title of High Duke. With this purpose, he began to find suitable allies from 1287, when he reconciled with Przemysł II, returning him
Wieluń. According to the Professor and Historian
Oswald Balzer, shortly before, the preparations for the First Coalition of Piast Dukes formed by
Leszek II the Black, Henry,
Przemysł II and
Henry III of Głogow, which had the intention to make the unification of Poland. Notwithstanding the veracity of this theory, after hearing the news of Leszek II's death, Henry was ready for action. Henry's major contenders for the Kraków throne were Leszek II's half-brother
Władysław I the Elbow-high and Duke
Bolesław II of Płock, who counted on the support of the Lesser Poland nobility. However, the Duke of Płock failed to obtain the decisive support of the Castellan Sulk the Bear (
Sułk z Niedźwiedzia), who was the Governor of the city. On 26 February 1289, the bloody
Battle of Siewierz took place between the troops of the Dukes of
Płock and
Kuyavia, and Henry's troops, supported by King Rudolph I and the Dukes of
Opole,
Głogów and
Ścinawa. The battle ended with a victory for the Masovia-Kuyavia coalition; two of Henry's allies, Duke Przemko of Ścinawa, was killed in the battle, and Duke Bolko I of Opole was seriously injured and captured by
Władysław I Łokietek. Despite this success, Duke Bolesław II of Płock unexpectedly resigned his pretensions, leaving all the Kraków inheritance to Władysław I Łokietek. As the war turned favourable to him, Wladyslaw I, with the assistance of the
Bishop of Kraków,
Paul of Półkozic (who was later imprisoned after rebelling against him), managed to besiege and capture
Wawel castle and forced the Silesian troops to retreat to
Skała. However, Henry regrouped his forces and marched against Kraków in person at the head of his army in August 1289. Thanks to the betrayal of the Kraków townspeople and the help of the Franciscans (who even hid him in their monastery), Henry IV took the city and was recognised as High Duke. Despite his victory, Henry decided to remain in
Sandomierz.
Internal politics During his reign, Henry succeeded in strengthening central power across his duchy, as well as improving its economy. He supported the progress of mining and cities, many of which received German city law and various privileges. He was also an educated man, fluently spoke several languages and actively supported Western court culture and chivalric ethos. Henry himself was a talented poet; two of his poems were recorded in
Codex Manesse. == Death ==