List of Polish monarchs

Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes (the 9th–14th century) or by kings (the 11th-18th century). The longest-reigning dynasties were the Piasts (ca. 960–1370) and Jagiellonians (1386–1572). Intervening and subsequent monarchs were often rulers of foreign countries or princes recruited from foreign dynasties.

During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16th–18th centuries). Polish independence ended with the Third Partition of Poland (1795) and was restored at the end of World War I (1918) on a republican basis.

Poland in the Early Middle Ages

See: Poland in the Early Middle Ages

Legendary rulers

Semi-legendary rulers of the western Polans (Greater Poland)

Piast Dynasty (Dukes of the Polans)

Kingdom of Poland, 966–1569

Piast dukes and kings

Fragmentation of the Kingdom of Poland, 1138–1314

See also: Fragmentation of the realm and Testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth

Piast high dukes

Reunification attempts in the Kingdom of Poland 1232–1305

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Duke of Finland

Duke of Finland (in Finnish Suomen herttua; Swedish hertig av Finland) was an occasional medieval title granted as a tertiogeniture to the relatives of the King of Sweden between the 13th and 16th centuries. It included a duchy along with feudal customs, and often represented a veritably independent principality. Grand Duke of Finland was a nominal royal title used by Swedish monarchs from the 1580s until 1720, was revived again briefly 1802-1805 (then as Great Prince of Finland) and was also used by Russia's monarchs until 1917.

History of actual duchy

Bishop-Duke Kol

In the late 15th century, historian Ericus Olai claimed that Bishop Kol of Linköping (died about 1196) had been the Duke of Finland (Dux Finlandiae). In the late 12th century in Sweden, the Latin title "dux" was still used in the meaning of jarl and came to mean duke only a hundred years later (see Swedish duchies). Ericus Olai's claim is not supported by other sources. However, some historians date the small Stenberga Castle in Masku to the late 12th century, when the Novgorodian wars reached Finland and may have resulted in a temporary Swedish military presence in the area.