Casimir III The Great

Casimir III the Great (Polish: Kazimierz Wielki) (30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) who reigned in 1333–1370, was the last King of Poland from the Piast dynasty, the son of King Władysław I the Elbow-high and Duchess Hedwig of Kalisz.

Born in Kowal, Casimir the Great first married Anna, or Aldona Ona, the daughter of the Prince Gediminas of Lithuania. The daughters from this marriage were Cunigunde (d. 1357), who was married to Louis VI the Roman, the son of Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor, and Elisabeth, who was married to Duke Bogislaus V of Pomerania. Aldona died in 1339 and Kazimierz then married Adelaide of Hesse. He divorced Adelheid in 1356, married Christina, divorced her, and while Adelaide and possibly also Christina were still alive (ca. 1365) married Hedwig (Jadwiga) of Głogów and Sagan.

His three daughters by his fourth wife were very young and regarded as of dubious legitimacy because of their father's bigamy. Because all of the five children he fathered with his first and fourth wife were daughters, he would have no lawful male heir to his throne.

When Casimir, the last Piast king of Poland, died in 1370, his nephew King Louis I of Hungary succeeded him to become king of Poland in personal union with Hungary.

Read more about Casimir III The Great:  The Great King, Concession To The Nobility, Relationship With Polish Jews, Ancestors, Title and Style, Gallery

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