Which Bolko? On the Subject of the Difficulty in Identifying the Culprit in an Attack on a Student from Prague

Abstract

The following article returns to the difficulties in identifying the Duke of Opole, the culprit in the attack on a student from Prague, Henryk Stange. To this end, the article refers to an article by Robert T. Tomczak, agreeing with the suggestion that there exists no sufficient evidence that Bolko V obtained a bachelor degree at the university in Prague. However, the article disagrees with the further claims made in Tomczak’s article, who argues that the culprit in the attack could be, in fact, Bolko IV, Duke of Opole. To support this dissent, the article proves that, contrary to Tomczak’s claims, the oldest son of Bolko IV was also identified in foreign sources as the Duke of Opole, even after he was given his own province (Głogówek). Moreover, the emphasis on the young age of Bolko V, which supposedly rules him out as a suspect, appears to be misleading. In addition, the author doubts the correctness of identifying the rambunctious duke as Bolko IV, considering the political situation at that time as well as later historical records. The author also points to the similarities between the description of Bolko V in the Annales Glogovienses — concerning multiple instances of reproof which ended with excommunication — and the actual excommunication of Bolko V’s father in the beginning of the 15th century.