Silesia is a region situated in the borderland between present-day Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland. New book tells the story.

During the Middle Ages it constantly shifted allegiance.  It is an example of a borderland territory, whose historical development was substantially influenced by various cultural traditions.

A recently published collection of articles – Open Access – represents the output of the first stage of research on the history of the region of Silesia, conducted under the patronage of the European Science Foundation as part of the project Cuius Regio (An analysis of the cohesive and disruptive forces determining the attachment and commitment of (groups of) persons to and cohesion within regions).

Cuius Regio? Ideological and Territorial Cohesion of the Historical Region of Silesia (c. 1000-2000)
Vol. 1. The Long Formation of the Region Silesia (c. 1000–1526)
By Lucyna Harc, Przemysław Wiszewski, Rościsław Żerelik, and Mateusz Goliński, (Eds)
Wrocław, eBooki.com.pl 2013
ISBN 978-83-927132-1-0

ABSTRACT:

Silesia is one of the regions analysed in the project. It is an example of a borderland territory, whose historical development was substantially influenced by various cultural traditions.

Silesia’s borders and national affiliation changed over time, both when it was a hereditary possession of noble houses and after the rise of modern nation-states. The first known states to hold power there were those of Greater Moravia at end of the 9th century and Bohemia early in the 10th century. In the 10th century Silesia was incorporated into the early Polish state, but it later broke into independent duchies, coming under increasing Czech and German influence. In the 14th century it became a constituent part of the Bohemian Crown Lands under the Holy Roman Empire, which passed to the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy in 1526. To a large degree Silesia represents a common type of European border regions to which also belongs regions like Alsace-Loraine and Schleswig-Holstein. Like these regions Silesia became early on a contested region between what later became Germany and its neighbours (Polish Silesia was among the first regions invaded during Germany’s 1939 attack on Poland).

The primary goal of the research on the Silesian history has been to determine the factors that led to disintegration and subsequent re-creation of the region, as there are arguments indicating that the history of the local community has been – and continues to be – the product of a dynamic process, whose course has not been solely determined by the factor of its constant existence within the limits demarcated by the borders of the 16th-century Kingdom of Bohemia.

CONTENTS:

The book contains a number of articles outlining the specific history of the region in the later Middle Ages:

Geographical Characteristics of Silesia
By Gerard Kosmala

This article contains basic geographical information about Silesia, useful as a starting point for further historical analysis. Silesia is a region in central Europe located within the borders of several nations. At different times in its history it has been part of Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland. The rough outline of the relief of Silesia was formed in the Paleozoic Era, finally reaching its ultimate form in the Cenozoic Era. The same holds true for both the Sudetes as well as the entire tectonic foreland, which was shaped by a glacier. Silesian land has always been rich in mineral resources such as building rocks, coal and copper, although only a few of these can be found in real abundance. The terrain’s shape results from the general structure of the hydrographical network which, with the exception of the eastern frontiers, is symmetrical, with the Odra river, flowing from the south-east to the north-west, as the axis of symmetry. Reservoirs have been built along many rivers for both energy-related and retention purposes. Due to the total absence of lakes, these reservoirs are the largest

bodies of water in Silesia. The temperate, transitory climate with an annual average rainfall of 600–700 mm and average annual temperature of 8 °C results in conditions which are favourable for vegetation. Considering the abundance of fertile land one can easily understand why the agricultural scenery dominates the landscape. This, along with the development of industry at the base of the Sudetes and in the South-Eastern part of Upper Silesia, is the reason for the relatively small amount of woodland areas. Silesia is an area, which has been deeply transformed by human activity. The dominant landscape is culturally harmonious, with the exception of industrial districts, which often represents more long-lasting or even irreversible scars.

Whose region is it? A few words on a certain research project and Silesian history
By Przemysław Wiszewski

Silesia is an example of a borderland territory whose historical development was substantially influenced by various cultural traditions. The primary goal of the research on the Silesian history was to determine the factors that led to disintegration and subsequent re-creation of the region, for there are arguments indicating that the history of the local community has been – and continues to be – the product of a dynamic process whose course was not determined solely by the factor of its constant existence within the limits demarcated within the 16th-century Kingdom of Bohemia.

The formation of Silesia (to 1163). Factors of regional integration
By Stanisław Rosik

Silesia took shape as a distinct region along with the development of state and church structures under Piast rule. The formation of these structures led to the dissolution of tribal relations. During this process, the central indicator of regional identity, the name (which belonged to the cultural legacy of barbaricum) acquired two new meanings, one territorial by nature and another new, which was far removed from its original, ideological sense. Cultural interpretation has led the Ślęża mountain, a source of myths and an essential part of both many legends and of the landscape, to undergo a similar transformation. In the period under consideration the influence of a so-called anthropo-regional structure reaching back to prehistoric times on the structure of settlement is noticeable. When compared to the tribal era, the period of early state formation of the Piast monarchy saw the increased significance of the Odra river as an axis for the establishment of administration in both the state and Church. The region’s integration progressed around its centre, located in Wrocław. The division of the Piast state into various territories after 1138 halted this process. The resulting divisions broke up regions formerly belonging to one diocese, and likely those previously belonging to one province as well. Of significance for the formation of the region during the second half of the 12th and beginning of the 13th centuries was the restriction of the meaning of the term “Silesia” to the latter-day Lower Silesia, as well as the definition of its regional identity by territorial authorities rather than that of Wrocław. This was a reference to a naming convention, which was as old as the Ślężanie tribe. Silesia as a region thus became an undeniable fact of the social and political life of the fragmented Poland. The extension of Silesian territory to the upper part of the Odra river occurred only in the 15th century.

The administrative structure of Silesia as a determinant of legal and constitutional cohesion (12th–15th century)
By Marcin Pauk and Ewa Wółkiewicz

An analysis of crucial legal and systemic issues indicates that the most important aspect in the formation of Silesian regional cohesion was the ‘transformation’ that took place in the 13th century, including the reception of German law and the institution of the self-governing municipality. The main factor determining the functionality of administrative and judicial structures was the proceeding territorial fragmentation. In the 12th century the provincial comites, appointed by the principes, as well as the Bishops of Wrocław, performed the function of intermediaries between Silesia and the rest of the monarchy. After 1163, the Silesian dukes concentrated on the particular needs of their territorial dominions that were taking shape. These were sometimes also used as power bases for carrying out state-wide political interference. Hence initiatives were undertaken for the purpose of consolidating the duchies in their administrative and economic dimensions. In this innovative socio-systemic mechanisms were introduced such as the establishment of new towns, constructions of castles and administrative reforms of both the Castellans and Weichbilds; To this should be added the promotion and migration of foreign knights into the region. Yet another breakthrough took place when the Silesian duchies fell under either the direct or feudal dominion of the Bohemian Crown. As the House of Luxembourg was not interested in the creation of centralized institutions and did not interfere in internal relations between the duchies, institutional differences deepened. Unification policies took shape only within individual duchies, with the limitations of such policies. The focus on short-term solutions was evident. Attempts to make the administrative structures uniform were rare. Rapid changes in the feudal fragmentation also proved a hindrance to unification activities. Remaining within a unified Church structure and single political organism was, however, a cohesive factor.

Did Silesia constitute an economic region between the 13th and the 15th centuries? A survey of region-integrating and region-disintegrating economic factors
By Grzegorz Myśliwski

This article constitutes an attempt to answer the question of whether Silesia, aside from being a distinct historical region, was also a distinct economic region. The author starts with Robert E. Dickinson’s theory of economic regions, the basic assumptions of which are shared by contemporary researchers of regional economies.

Economic resources, the similar economic policies of Silesian rulers in the 13th and 14th centuries, high levels of urbanization in comparison to neighbouring regions and the centralizing capacity of Wrocław are considered to be the forces which bound together Silesian as an economic region. Factors retarding the economic cohesion of Silesia has been analysed as well. Those included natural disasters, invasions, internal strife, criminal activity along trade routes and a crisis in the mining industry beginning in the middle of the 14th century. Beginning with the final years of the 13th century, Silesia stabilized as an economic region containing Upper Silesia, Lower Silesia and Opava. This was not, however, a perfect cohesion, as Lower Silesia was economically superior to the other regions, which themselves had strong ties to Lesser Poland. Despite that, the crisis that took place from about 1350 until 1450 did not break the economic bonds between these three constituent elements of Silesia. In comparison to every historical and economic region on its borders, Silesia was distinguished by its advanced gold mining industry, the export of a red dyeing agent (madder) as well as the highest number of cities with a population of between 3,000 and 14,000. Further distinct properties of the Silesian economy are noticeable when contrasted with other historical regions.

Region-integrating or region-disintegrating? The social groups of medieval Silesia examined in the context of their political activity (from the last decades of the 12th century to the 15th century)
By Przemysław Wiszewski

Did the political and social elite of the Odra region engage in intentional and coordinated activity in the period from the latter part of the 12th century to the latter part of the 15th century? Or did they, after being forced by external factors to take such action, continue to coordinate their activities after these external factors ceased to be operative? Yet another question is whether the members of this political elite considered the notion of a unified, territorial unit called “Silesia” in their activities? Various political undertakings of the Odra region’s elite in the Middle Ages makes a unified model of the formation of regional unity unfeasible to establish. Joint political actions undertaken by the dukes continued to foster an awareness of Silesia’s unity despite their and their courts’ tendency to focus on the importance of their particular duchies. The dukes, via conventions and confederations, focused their activities on building a sense of regional community. However, despite extensive cooperation on various issues, which crossed the borders of individual duchies, separatist tendencies were still visible in the latter part of the 14th and early 15th centuries. Silesian society, forged through the political activities of its elite, was by nature a network, which reacted dynamically to influences from its external environment. At times the structure may have hardened, although its members valued their local identity at least as greatly as their regional one.

The multi-ethnic character of medieval Silesian society and its influence on the region’s cohesion (12th–15th centuries)
By Przemysław Wiszewski

From the end of the 13th century the number of German settlers rapidly grew in what had been a mostly Polish-speaking community of Silesians. Piotr Górecki indicated that the presence of newcomers from Germany in the Piast realm led to an assimilation that did not involve the complete adoption of the norms of one ethnic group by another. On the contrary, those involved in these relations acknowledged the differences between the two groups. At the same time, in order to avoid conflict it was important to gain knowledge about the other group, thus enabling the stable coexistence of the two communities in the same territory. However, this well-proven hypothesis leaves open the question of how this dynamic process affected regional cohesion. Did it lead to the strengthening of local communities by forcing their members to focus on cooperation in the local context, ignoring the broader regional setting? Or did it perhaps, on the contrary, foster the need to mediate between groups of different cultural and linguistic backgrounds stretched beyond local boundaries? Dynamically changing ethnic relations in Silesia between the 13th and 15th centuries had a mixed impact on the cohesion of the regional community. But this diversity ultimately strengthened the sense of the region’s separateness from its neighbours. A common administrative framework set up in the 15th century did not, in the eyes of contemporaries, overshadow the specificity of the multi-ethnic, multilingual and inter-ethnic relationships within Silesian society. These were perceived as unique when contrasted with similar phenomena taking place in neighbouring countries. At the local level, the possibility to make reference to the situation in the region as a whole when resolving ethnic conflicts sustained awareness of the importance of this regional dimension to the proper functioning of the local community. This was not a static system. Silesians demonstrated diverse perceptions and attitudes towards multi-ethnicity and the impact of this phenomenon on the cohesion of various communities operating within the region was diverse as well. A presentation of these phenomena in the context of time and in the pragmatic perspective of the sources describing them, paves the way for a new approach towards Silesian multi-ethnicity as a dynamic phenomenon, which did not necessarily take one course throughout the entire territory.

The cultural identity of medieval Silesia: the case of art and architecture
By Romuald Kaczmarek

The cultural identity of architecture and visual arts of the Middle Ages in Silesia can be analysed in the following frameworks: 1.) The distinct formal features of local artwork; 2.) The specific content expressed through it. Macro factors (the type of materials and their availability) are important in architecture, as are architectural patterns and styles. It appears brick buildings, with sandstone used for details, were the most frequent type of architecture. In the 14th century distinct and formal patterns of style in architecture took shape (such as the basilica form of town churches), as was the case with detailed construction and aesthetic solutions applied to walls and vaults. Factors shaping the specific nature of Silesian art were the influence of dominant styles (initially from the Czech state, later southern Germany, including Nuremberg), political contexts (affiliation with the Bohemian Crown) and religious ones (mostly the selection and popularity of patron saints).

Regional identity in Silesia (until 1526)
By Wojciech Mrozowicz

During the search for factors constituting proof of the existence of a Silesian regional identity in the Late Middle Ages, the author analyses the process of formation and functioning of common traditions. Among the contributing factors analysed is the name Śląsk/Silesia and the process through which it entered the collective consciousness. The Piast dynasty played a significant element in fostering this tradition through its attempts to preserve their memory, primarily within historiographical works. Saint Hedwig of Silesia (d. 1243) was of particular significance to this dynasty; her cult changed from dynastic into regional, when she became the patron saint of Silesia. In Silesian tradition Piotr Włostowic (d. circa 1151) is another very important figure; his literary and historiographical prowess allowed him to rise to the status of regional hero. The local Church was also significant in the forging of regional identity. The actions it undertook for the purpose of preserving and strengthening knowledge about the Bishops of Wrocław, is indicated by such sources as the bishop catalogues which were widespread in Silesia. Much attention has also been paid to the regional discourse present within chronicles and other publications; in the Late Middle Ages these became the main platform for expression of regional issues. Analysing the particulars of some events, the author has indicated the tangled paths to the formation of a Silesian regional identity. This was primarily the result of the far-reaching ethnic changes taking place in Silesia at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries, alongside with the influence of cultural traits imported from bordering regions.

Many communities, too little community? Conclusions on the analysis of region-integrating forces in Medieval Silesia
By Przemysław Wiszewski,

The contents of this volume may disappoint those readers who would wish to find simple answers to traditional questions about the moment at which the Silesian region came to life and the role played in it by different social groups. The results of research performed by historians prove that these questions are in fact anachronistic. The authors reject the deterministic concept of the region’s evolution from a polycentric community to a monocentric (with Wrocław as its capital city) unit of state and Church administration. Indeed, phenomena, which are typically recognized as elements in this process, are highlighted, but also understood in a new way. The picture of the region provided in the course of research has been very dynamic. The authors’ aim was not to discover the nature of phenomena taking place within ‘the region’, but rather to determine the true number of the many “regions” subsumed and co-existing at the time, in order to examine the dynamics and factors behind the constantly changing affiliations of their members as well as to shed light on how the community was affected by top-down political decisions. A continuous interplay of various factors, among which the connection of political and economic elites with the traditions of local duchies was of pivotal importance, meant that although Silesia would undoubtedly prove a durable entity, at the end of Middle Ages an understanding of its past, present and future as a region remained far from certain.

READ MORE:

Cujus Regio
Cuius Regio aims at a synthesizing analysis of a group of regions within Europe. The regions chosen represent a morphological, typological and historical variety of territorial entities. They will allow a comparison of the cohesive and disruptive forces that shaped regions in the period from ca. 1200 until the present day. The project is part of the EuroCORECODE programme of the European Science Foundation.