Post by Bonobo on Jan 19, 2013 14:25:31 GMT 1
The title`s critical means
4. of or forming a crisis; crucial; decisive: a critical operation
First one that comes to mind is Feudal Fragmentation which lasted almost 200 years in the Middle Ages:
in history of Poland, the fragmentation of Poland or regionalization refers to the period following the testament of Boles³aw Krzywousty (1138) that led to the split of the Kingdom of Poland into several mostly independent provinces, unified only by W³adys³aw £okietek approximately two centuries later, in the early 14th century.
Boles³aw III Wrymouth
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boles%C5%82aw_III_Wrymouth
was a great warrior king who successfully defended and expanded Polish lands
but on his death bed he issued a fatal decree
Before his death in 1138, Boles³aw Wrymouth published his testament dividing his lands among four of his sons. The "Senioral Principle" established in the testament stated that at all times the eldest member of the dynasty was to have supreme power over the rest and was also to control an indivisible "senioral part": a vast strip of land running north-south down the middle of Poland, with Kraków its chief city. The Senior's prerogatives also included control over Pomerania, a fief of the Holy Roman Empire. The "senioral principle" was soon broken, leading to a period of nearly 200 years of Poland's feudal fragmentation.
which led to this:
Fragmentation of the realm (1138–ca. 1314)
Before he died, Boles³aw Krzywousty divided the country, in a limited sense, among four of his sons. He made complex arrangements intended to prevent fratricidal warfare and preserve the Polish state's formal unity, but after Boles³aw's death the plan's implementation had failed and in reality a long period of fragmentation was ushered in. For nearly two centuries the Piasts were to spar with each other, the clergy, and the nobility for the control over the divided kingdom. The stability of the system was supposedly assured by the institution of the senior or high duke of Poland, based in Kraków and assigned to the special Seniorate Province that was not to be subdivided. Following his concept of seniorate, Boles³aw divided the country into five principalities: Silesia, Greater Poland, Masovia, Sandomierz and Kraków. The first four provinces were given to his four sons, who became independent rulers. The fifth province, the Seniorate Province of Kraków, was to be added to the senior among the Princes who, as the Grand Duke of Kraków, was the representative of the whole of Poland. This principle broke down already within the generation of Boles³aw III's sons, when W³adys³aw II the Exile, Boles³aw IV the Curly, Mieszko III the Old and Casimir II the Just fought for power and territory in Poland, and in particular over the Kraków throne.[26]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragmentation_of_Poland#Fragmentation_of_the_realm_.281138.E2.80.93ca._1314.29
Certainly, it weakened Poland and allowed neighbours to take advantage of Polish lands some of which weren`t recovered until 20 century.
4. of or forming a crisis; crucial; decisive: a critical operation
First one that comes to mind is Feudal Fragmentation which lasted almost 200 years in the Middle Ages:
in history of Poland, the fragmentation of Poland or regionalization refers to the period following the testament of Boles³aw Krzywousty (1138) that led to the split of the Kingdom of Poland into several mostly independent provinces, unified only by W³adys³aw £okietek approximately two centuries later, in the early 14th century.
Boles³aw III Wrymouth
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boles%C5%82aw_III_Wrymouth
was a great warrior king who successfully defended and expanded Polish lands
but on his death bed he issued a fatal decree
Before his death in 1138, Boles³aw Wrymouth published his testament dividing his lands among four of his sons. The "Senioral Principle" established in the testament stated that at all times the eldest member of the dynasty was to have supreme power over the rest and was also to control an indivisible "senioral part": a vast strip of land running north-south down the middle of Poland, with Kraków its chief city. The Senior's prerogatives also included control over Pomerania, a fief of the Holy Roman Empire. The "senioral principle" was soon broken, leading to a period of nearly 200 years of Poland's feudal fragmentation.
which led to this:
Fragmentation of the realm (1138–ca. 1314)
Before he died, Boles³aw Krzywousty divided the country, in a limited sense, among four of his sons. He made complex arrangements intended to prevent fratricidal warfare and preserve the Polish state's formal unity, but after Boles³aw's death the plan's implementation had failed and in reality a long period of fragmentation was ushered in. For nearly two centuries the Piasts were to spar with each other, the clergy, and the nobility for the control over the divided kingdom. The stability of the system was supposedly assured by the institution of the senior or high duke of Poland, based in Kraków and assigned to the special Seniorate Province that was not to be subdivided. Following his concept of seniorate, Boles³aw divided the country into five principalities: Silesia, Greater Poland, Masovia, Sandomierz and Kraków. The first four provinces were given to his four sons, who became independent rulers. The fifth province, the Seniorate Province of Kraków, was to be added to the senior among the Princes who, as the Grand Duke of Kraków, was the representative of the whole of Poland. This principle broke down already within the generation of Boles³aw III's sons, when W³adys³aw II the Exile, Boles³aw IV the Curly, Mieszko III the Old and Casimir II the Just fought for power and territory in Poland, and in particular over the Kraków throne.[26]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragmentation_of_Poland#Fragmentation_of_the_realm_.281138.E2.80.93ca._1314.29
Certainly, it weakened Poland and allowed neighbours to take advantage of Polish lands some of which weren`t recovered until 20 century.
