Mayor Albert's Rebellion

Vogt Albert's Rebellion (Polish: bunt wójta Alberta) was a 1311–12 rebellion by the burghers of the Polish city of Kraków against Duke Władysław I the Elbow-high.[1] The rebellion was led by Albert, the wójt (Latin: advocatus), who under Magdeburg Law was effectively vogt of Kraków.[2] It ended in Duke (later King) Władysław's victory.

Background

After Kraków had been devastated during the 1241 Mongol invasion of Poland, it was re-established according to Magdeburg Law by Prince Bolesław V the Chaste.[3] In 1291 the Duchy of Kraków fell to the Přemyslid king Wenceslaus II of Bohemia who in 1300 also became King of Poland. Upon the extinction of the Přemyslids in 1306, the Piast duke Władysław I the Elbow-high assumed the rule at Kraków, while in 1310 the Bohemian Kingdom passed to the House of Luxembourg. The new king, John of Bohemia, continued to claim the Polish royal title and moreover sought to vassalize the Piast dukes of the adjacent Silesian region.

Rebellion

In 1311 wójt Albert (?-1317), vogt of Kraków (1290-1312), instigated a mutiny against Prince Władysław, with the goal of turning the city – then the capital of the Polish Seniorate Province – over to the Bohemian House of Luxembourg.[4] Albert, himself of German[2] or Czech[5] origin, had the support of some of the city's German burghers.[4] He also had the support of Bishop Jan Muskata, himself of German-Silesian origin, and the Silesian duke Bolko I of Opole, as well as of many Kraków citizens. After Władysław laid siege to the city, the revolt ended in failure.[2][4] Similar rebellions took place in several other cities, particularly Sandomierz and Wieliczka; these were also crushed by Władysław.

Massacre on German townspeople

To distinguish the German-speaking minority of Kraków, the shibboleth Soczewica, koło, miele, młyn ("Lentil, wheel, grinds (verb), mill) was used. Those who could not properly pronounce these words were massacred before the city gates.[6]

Aftermath

Albert fled to Bohemia[4] and his house was demolished, while the Polish Primate Archbishop Jakub Świnka of Gniezno charged Bishop Muskata with being "an enemy of the Polish people". In the aftermath the city of Kraków lost many of its privileges due to the support some of its burghers gave to the uprising. From Prince Władysław's point of view the revolt had been motivated by anti-Polish sentiment and the German citizens proved their disloyalty. In the following century, Cracow was gradually Polonized, and the Polish Burghers rose from a minority to a majority. [7] The uprising was chronicled in a contemporary Latin poem De quodam advocate Cracoviensi Alberto ("About a Certain Reeve Albert of Kraków") written by an anonymous author.

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References
  1. (in English) David Abulafia (1995). The New Cambridge Medieval History: c. 1198-c. 1300. Cambridge University Press. p. 775. ISBN 978-0-521-36289-4. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  2. Laurențiu Rădvan (2010). At Europe's Borders: Medieval Towns in the Romanian Principalities. BRILL. p. 49. ISBN 978-90-04-18010-9. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  3. Jan Hahn, Ilustrowana historia Śląska w zarysie, Narodowa Oficyna Śląska, Zabrze 2012, ISBN 978-83-60540-26-8
  4. (in English) Jerzy Jan Lerski (1996). Historical dictionary of Poland, 966-1945. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-313-26007-0. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  5. Encyklopedia; Kirchen-Lexikon (1876). Encyklopedja Kościelna podług teologicznej encyklopedji [Kirchen-lexikon] Wetzera i Weltego, wydana przez M. Nowodworskiego. p. 466. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  6. Nora Berend (2017). The Expansion of Central Europe in the Middle Ages. Routledge.
  7. Robert Bartlett (2003). The Making of Europe: Conquest, Colonization and Cultural Change 950 - 1350. Penguin UK.
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