Vladislaus of Opole (1326/1330-1401), a representative of the Upper Silesian line of the Piast dynasty, played an important role in the history of a few countries in the central and eastern Europe. He was certainly one of the most skillful monarchs in the second half of tcentury. He owed his career not only to his skills but also to the protection of the HungarEurope. He was certainly one of the most skillful monarchs in the second half of the 14th century. He owed his career not only to his skills but also to the protection of theHungarian court. On all lands that he ruled, starting from Hungary, through Red Ruthenia, the land of Wieluń, the land of Dobrzyń, Kujawy, to the inherited Duchy of Opole, he was known as a great landlord and organizer. Due to the fact that he was assigned numerous tasks by the king’s court and he ruled on lands that were part of the Kingdom of Poland, and for a short period of time also in the kingdom itself as a regent (1377/1378), Vladislaus of Opole remained in contact with Krakow. During the 30 years (1363–1393), his itineranium mentions his presence in the city seven times. His visits wer connected to political matters and economic affairs. When it comes to the former, the most important visits include his presence on the Krakow convention (1364), participation in the funeral of Casimir the Great and the coronation of his successor Louis I of Hungary in 1370 (then he was granted Wieluń as a fief), meetings with the regent Elizabeth Piast (1374, 1379) and Queen Jadwiga (1385). Vladislausof Opole could not work out proper relations with the King Vladislaus Jagiello and in May 1389 (after meeting with the Polish monarch) he was accused of an attempt of taking over the Krakow castle. For a long time, Duke carried out financial operations with Krakow city councilors, borrowing money from them. There are a couple of records in the city bills that notify about sending money to Vladislaus of Opole and maintaining the messengers of the Duke that were sent to collect that money. Contacts of Vladislaus of Opole with Krakow stopped with the outburst of wars with the Kingdom of Poland (1391–1396).
The article presents the current state of comparative research into the Kalmar Union and the Polish-Lithuanian unions, contributing to the postulate of the need for further detailed comparative studies in this field. It outlines a genesis of the unions (their causes, the 1385 Act of Krewo and the 1397 Kalmar Union [unionsbrevet]), then characterises the both documents and conducts a comparative analysis; indicates the similarities between the unions as regards rivalry for the leadership; emphasises the role played by Queen Margaret in the conclusion of the union, and describes the independent rule of Erik of Pomerania with its results. Next, it analyses the transformation of the Kalmar Union together with its successive stages and the causes of its collapse; the fate of the two unions after they formally ended and their impact on the historical development of the member states. Finally, it attempts to indicate lines of further comparative research into the both unions.
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Artykuł prezentuje dotychczasowy stan badań komparatystycznych nad unią kalmarską i uniami polsko-litewskimi. Na wstępie przedstawiono genezę obu unii: przyczyny ich zawarcia, scharakteryzowano i porównano dokumenty obu układów: w Krewie (1385 r.) i unii kalmarskej (unionsbrevet) (1397 r.). Wskazano również podobieństwa obu związków na płaszczyźnie rywalizacji o przywództwo, a także rolę królowej Małgorzaty w zawarciu unii oraz samodzielne rządy Eryka Pomorskiego i ich skutki. Następnie przybliżono transformację unii kalmarskiej, jej poszczególne etapy i przyczyny upadku oraz losy obu związków unijnych po ich formalnym ustaniu i ich wpływ na dalszy rozwój państw członkowskich. Na zakończenie podjęto próbę wytyczenia kierunków dalszych badań porównawczych nad obydwoma uniami, stawiając postulat o konieczności ich kontynuowania i rozwijania.
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