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Frederick I of Liegnitz
Duke of Chojnów. Strzelin, Oława, Legnica, Brzeg
John I, Frederick I, Frederick II.
Born3 May 1446
Brzeg
Died9 May 1488(1488-05-09) (aged 42)
Legnica
Noble familySilesian Piasts
Spouse(s)Ludmila of Poděbrady
IssueJohn II of Legnica
Frederick II of Legnica
George I of Brieg
FatherJohn I of Lüben
MotherHedwig of Brzeg

Frederick I of Liegnitz (3 May 1446 – 9 May 1488), was a Duke of Chojnów and Strzelin from 1453, of Oława and Legnica from 1454, of Brzeg from 1481 and of Lubin from 1482.

Biography

Frederick was born in Brzeg. He was the only son of John I, Duke of Lubin, by his wife Hedwig, daughter of Ludwik II of Brzeg.

The successive deaths of his uncle Henry X (in 1452) and his own father (in 1453) left Frederick I as the last male representative of the Legnica-Brzeg branch of the Piast dynasty. The seven-year-old prince succeeded John I in Chojnow and Strzelin under the regency of his mother, the Dowager Duchess Hedwig. One year later (1454), Frederick I inherited Olava and Niemcza after the death of his paternal grandmother Margareta of Opole; shortly after, he also received Legnica from the Kingdom of Bohemia. The regency of Dowager Duchess Hedwig ended in 1466, when Frederick I was formally proclaimed an adult and was able to rule by himself. Throughout his reign he focused on the consolidation of his dynasty and the recovery of all the lands lost by his predecessors.

In 1481 Frederick I purchased Brzeg from the Dukes of Opole, and one year later (1482) he did the same with Lubin, then in hands of the Dukes of Głogów. In 1488 he also recovered the towns of Byczyna, Wołczyn and Kluczbork.

He died at Legnica in 1488.

Marriage and issue

On 5 September 1474, Frederick I married Ludmila, daughter of George of Poděbrady, King of Bohemia. They had three sons:

In his will, he left his wife Brzeg and Olava as widow's land, which were ruled by her until her own death.

References

Frederick I of Liegnitz House of PiastBorn: 3 May 1446 Died: 9 May 1488 Preceded byJan I Duke of Chojnów 1453–1488 Succeeded byJohn II Frederick II George I Preceded byJan II the Mad Duke of Lubin 1482–1488 Preceded byDirect Sovereignty of the Kingdom of Bohemialast holderElisabeth Duke of Legnica 1454–1488 Preceded byMargareta Duke of Oława 1454–1488 Succeeded byLudmila Preceded byJan II the Good Duke of Brzeg 1481–1488
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