Editing Casimir III the Great (section)

==The Great King==
[[File:Polska 1333 - 1370.png|thumb|Poland (red) at the end of the reign of Casimir III (1370); [[Silesia]] (yellow) had been lost, but the kingdom was expanding to the east]]

Casimir was born on 30 April 1310 in [[Kowal (town)|Kowal]], [[Kuyavia]],<ref name="Kazimierz III Wielki (1310–1370) - Postacie | dzieje.pl - Historia Polski">{{cite news|url=https://dzieje.pl/postacie/kazimierz-iii-wielki-1310-1370 |title=Kazimierz III Wielki (1310–1370) |access-date=28 March 2020}}</ref> the third son of [[Ladislaus the Short]] and [[Jadwiga of Kalisz]].{{sfn|Lerski|1996|p=249–250}} He had two brothers who died in infancy and three sisters: Kunegunda, Elżbieta, and Jadwiga.<ref name="Kazimierz III Wielki (1310–1370) - Postacie | dzieje.pl - Historia Polski" /> When Casimir attained the throne in 1333, his position was in danger, as his neighbours did not recognise his title and instead called him "king of [[Kraków]]". The kingdom was depopulated and exhausted by war, and the economy was ruined. In 1335, in the [[Treaty of Trentschin]], Casimir was forced to relinquish his claims to [[Silesia]] "in perpetuity".

Casimir began to rebuild the country and strengthen its defenses. During his reign, nearly 30 towns were supplied with fortification walls and some 50 castles were constructed, including castles along the [[Trail of the Eagle's Nests]]. These achievements are still celebrated today, in a commonly-known ditty that translates as follows: ''inherited wooden towns and left them fortified with stone and brick'' (Kazimierz Wielki zastał Polskę drewnianą, a zostawił murowaną).<ref name="Dobrawski 2016 37">{{Cite book|last=Dobrawski|first=Patrice M.|title=Poland: The First Thousand Years|publisher=Northern Illinois University Press|year=2016|isbn=978-0-87580-756-0|location=Illinois|pages=37}}</ref>

He organized a [[Congress of Kraków|meeting of kings in Kraków]] in 1364 at which he exhibited the wealth of the Polish kingdom.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nowakowska|first=Natalia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7pU0SSK4fTIC&pg=PA13|title=Church, State and Dynasty in Renaissance Poland: The Career of Cardinal Fryderyk Jagiellon (1468-1503)|date=2007|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=9780754656449|pages=13|language=en}}</ref> Casimir is the only king in Polish history to both receive and retain the title of "Great", as [[Boleslaus I of Poland|Bolesław I]] is more commonly known as "the Brave".<ref>{{cite news|title=Czy Kazimierz Wielki zasłużenie nosi przydomek "wielki"? Argumenty za|url=https://kurierhistoryczny.pl/artykul/czy-kazimierz-wielki-zasluzenie-nosi-przydomek-wielki-argumenty-za,329|access-date=29 March 2020}}</ref>

=== Reforms ===
Casimir ensured stability and great prospects for the future of the country. He established the Corona Regni Poloniae – the Crown of the Polish Kingdom,<ref name="Dobrawski 2016 37"/> which certified the existence of the Polish lands independently from the monarch. Prior to that, the lands were only the property of the [[Piast dynasty]].

At the [[Sejm]] in [[Wiślica]], on 11 March 1347, Casimir introduced reforms to the Polish judicial system and sanctioned [[Civil law (private law)|civil]] and [[criminal law|criminal]] codes for Great and Lesser Poland, earning the title "the Polish Justinian".<ref name="Saxton" /> In 1364, having received permission from Pope Urban V, Casimir established the [[University of Kraków]], now the oldest university in Poland.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Ness|first1=Daniel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F_FnBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA569|title=International Education: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Issues and Systems|last2=Lin|first2=Chia-Ling|date=2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317467519|pages=569|language=en}}</ref> It was regarded as a rare distinction, since it was only the second university founded in Central Europe, after the Charles University in Prague.<ref name="Dobrawski 2016 37"/>

=== Politics and expansion ===
[[File:Insygnia królewskie Kazimierza Wielkiego.jpg|thumb|upright|The crown and royal insignia of Casimir the Great]]
Casimir demonstrated competence in foreign diplomacy and managed to double the size of his kingdom. He neutralized relations with potential enemies to the west and north, and began to expand his territory eastward. He conquered the Ruthenian kingdom of [[Halych]] and Volodymyr (a territory in the modern-day [[Ukraine]]), known in Polish history as Red Ruthenia and Volhynia. By extending the borders far south-east, the Polish kingdom gained access to the lucrative Black Sea trade.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dobrawski|first=Partice M.|title=Poland: The First Thousand Years|publisher=Northern Illinois University Press|year=2016|isbn=978-0-87580-756-0|location=Illinois|pages=35}}</ref>

===Succession===
In 1355, in [[Buda]], Casimir designated his nephew [[Louis I of Hungary]] as his successor should he produce no male heir, just as his father had with [[Charles I of Hungary]] to gain help against Bohemia. In exchange Casimir gained a favourable Hungarian attitude, needed in disputes with the hostile Teutonic Order and the [[Kingdom of Bohemia]]. At the time Casimir was 45 years old, and so producing a son did not seem unreasonable.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wprost.pl/historia/10267142/wladca-ktory-zasluzyl-na-swoj-przydomek-dzis-rocznica-smierci-kazimierza-wielkiego.html |title=Władca, który zasłużył na swój przydomek. Dziś rocznica śmierci Kazimierza Wielkiego |access-date=28 March 2020}}</ref>

Casimir left no legal son, however, begetting five daughters instead. He tried to adopt his grandson, [[Casimir IV, Duke of Pomerania]], in his last will. The child had been born to his eldest daughter, [[Elisabeth of Poland (1326–1361)|Elisabeth, Duchess of Pomerania]], in 1351. This part of the testament was invalidated by Louis I of Hungary, however, who had traveled to [[Kraków]] quickly after Casimir died (in 1370) and bribed the nobles with future privileges. Casimir III also had a son-in-law, [[Louis VI the Roman|Louis VI]] of Bavaria, [[Margrave]] and [[Prince-elector]] of [[Brandenburg]], who was considered a possible successor, but he was deemed ineligible as his wife, Casimir's daughter Cunigunde, had died in 1357 without issue.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://histmag.org/Kunegunda-corka-Kazimierza-Wielkiego-nieszczesliwa-panna-mloda-16829 |title=Kunegunda, córka Kazimierza Wielkiego: nieszczęśliwa panna młoda |access-date=29 March 2020}}</ref>
 
Thus King Louis I of Hungary became successor in Poland. Louis was proclaimed king upon Casimir's death in 1370, though Casimir's sister Elisabeth (Louis's mother) held much of the real power until her death in 1380.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00luko|url-access=registration|title=A concise history of Poland|last1=Lukowski|first1=Jerzy|last2=Zawadzki|first2=Hubert|date=2016|orig-year=2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521853323|pages=[https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00luko/page/34 34]}}</ref>