Mazowsze w polityce litewskiej 1. połowy XIV w. (do śmierci Giedymina)

ENWhen defining Gediminas’ policy with regard to Masovia, from the very outset the author draws particular attention to two issues: the internal divisions of Masovia and the external conditions which influenced the policies of Bolesław II’s sons. He emphasizes that Gediminas’ actions differed from those which characterized Vytenis’ rule, i.e. they went beyond being merely offensive ones. However, this did not mean that the Grand Duke of Lithuania was interested in Masovia from a strategic point of view. Wacław, Duke of Płock, who was Gediminas’ son-in-law, became his father-in-law’s political ally. The latter had always spared this region and had been prepared to engage in military interventions in the interests of his son-in-law (the invasion of the Duchy of Dobrzyń in 1323). The author believes that Gediminas consistently (as far as was possible) sought to weaken or intimidate the states with which he was in conflict as well as those states which were allies of his enemies.This aspect of his policies can also be seen in his contacts with the duchies of Masovia. In their case an additional factor came into play: the Grand Duke of Lithuania’s expeditions spread fear, which had a demoralizing effect on the inhabitants. In subsequent parts of the text, the author discusses the historiography concerning the legacy of the Principality of Galicia-Volhynia of the Romanovych dynasty, the chronology of Lithuanian rule in Podlasie (cynically referring to the early subjugation of Podlasie by Gediminas), and casts doubt on the Masovian mediation in the Polish-Lithuanian alliance of 1325. In conclusion, referring to one of the very unjust opinions regarding the dukes of Masovia, he draws attention to the complex situation in which Bolesław II’s sons found themselves, which influenced their political decisions.