1.
Mieszko II the Fat
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This article is about a Piast duke. See also King Mieszko II Lambert, Mieszko II the Fat was a Duke of Opole-Racibórz from 1230 until his death, and Duke of Kalisz-Wieluń during 1234–1239. He was the eldest son of Duke Casimir I of Opole by his wife Viola, following her late husbands politics, the Dowager Duchess Viola led a policy of close cooperation with the Church. In 1238, Henry I the Bearded died and was succeeded by his son Henry II the Pious, shortly after, Mieszko II began to claim the government of their lands. It is unknown exactly when Mieszko II took over the rule over Opole-Racibórz, one of the first politic decisions of Mieszko II was his marriage with Judith, daughter of Duke Konrad I of Masovia, who gave to the Duke of Opole-Racibórz greater autonomy in his rule. Mieszko IIs mother Viola and brother Władysław are expected to remain in Kalisz, the calm government of Mieszko II was brutally interrupted by the Mongol invasion at the beginning of 1241. In contrast to Bolesław V the Chaste, Duke of Sandomierz, Mieszko II didnt have any intention to give up his principality at the mercy of the enemy, on 9 April 1241 the Mongol and Christian forces clashed in the Battle of Legnica. There Mieszko II played a part, he was tricked by the Mongols into retreating in the decisive moment of the battle. This is one of the reasons of the total defeat of the Christian troops. Already in May 1241, Mieszko II began the reconstruction of the territories by the Mongolian army. Władysławs authority was threatened by the Dukes of Greater Poland. In 1243, Mieszko II military supported his father-in-law Konrad I of Masovia in his struggle for the throne of Kraków. The Masovia-Opole forces were defeat, in part because the mutual distrust between both rulers, despite the fact that Mieszko II brought further retaliatory expeditions against Bolesław V the Chaste, the cooperation has brought tangible benefits only three years later when he took the fortress of Lelów. Mieszko IIs suddenly death, however, prevent the permanent union of land to the Duchy of Opole-Racibórz. In the internal politics, Mieszko II, tried to continue his fathers politics in the spread of settlements under the German law, the Duke paid particular care to the Teutonic Order, who acquired in Upper Silesia high-value properties. By the other hand, Miesko II didnt give any support to the monastery of Czarnowąsy near Opole, Mieszko II, who — as reflected in his nickname — had not enjoyed good health, died at only twenty-six years of age, on 22 October 1246 without issue. In his will, he left all of his lands to his brother Władysław, except the district of Cieszyn, complete Genealogy of the House of Piast. Genealogical database by Herbert Stoyan MIESZKO II OTYŁY Cawley, Charles, SILESIA, Medieval Lands database, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy
2.
Jan Matejko
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Jan Alojzy Matejko was a Polish painter known for paintings of notable historical Polish political and military events. His works include oil on canvas paintings like Rejtan, Union of Lublin or Battle of Grunwald, numerous portraits, a gallery of Polish kings. He is counted among the most famous Polish painters, Matejko spent most of his life in Kraków. His teachers at the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts included Wojciech Korneli Stattler, later, he became a director at this institution, which eventually was renamed the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts. A number of his students became prominent painters themselves, including Maurycy Gottlieb, Jacek Malczewski, Józef Mehoffer, Matejko was born on June 24,1838, in the Free City of Kraków. His father, Franciszek Ksawery Matejko, a Czech from the village of Roudnice, was a graduate of the Hradec Králové school who became a tutor. He first worked for the Wodzicki family in Kościelniki, Poland, then moved to Kraków, Jan was the ninth child of eleven that his parents had. He grew up in a building on Floriańska Street. After the death of his mother in 1845, Jan and his siblings were cared for by his maternal aunt, Anna Zamojska. At a young age he witnessed the Kraków revolution of 1846 and the 1848 siege of Kraków by the Austrians and his two older brothers served in them under General Józef Bem, one died and the other was forced into exile. He attended St. Anns High School, which he dropped out of in 1851 because of poor results, from his earliest days Matejko showed artistic talent, but he had great difficulty with other subjects. He never mastered a foreign language, despite that and because of his exceptional talent he studied at the School of Fine Arts in Kraków from 1852 to 1858. His teachers included Wojciech Korneli Stattler and Władysław Łuszczkiewicz and he selected historical painting as his specialization, and finished his first major work, Tsars Shuyski before Zygmunt III, in 1853. During this time, he began exhibiting paintings at the Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Arts. His seminal project for his graduation in 1858 was Sigismund I the Old ennobles the professors of the Jagiellonian University, following his graduation, Matejko received a scholarship to study under Hermann Anschütz at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich in 1859. Next year he received a scholarship to study at Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, but after a few days. There he opened a studio at his house at Floriańska Street. It would however be years before he would gain success, for a time he was the proverbial starving artist
3.
Coronation
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The ceremony can also be conducted for the monarchs consort, either simultaneously with the monarch or as a separate event. A ceremony without the placement of a crown on the head is known as an enthronement. Coronations are still observed in the United Kingdom, Tonga, in addition to investing the monarch with symbols of state, Western-style coronations have often traditionally involve anointing with holy oil, or chrism as it is often called. Wherever a ruler is anointed in this way, as in Great Britain and Tonga, some other lands use bathing or cleansing rites, the drinking of a sacred beverage, or other religious practices to achieve a comparable effect. Such acts symbolise the granting of divine favour to the monarch within the relevant spiritual-religious paradigm of the country, in the past, concepts of royalty, coronation and deity were often inexorably linked. Rome promulgated the practice of worship, in Medieval Europe. Coronations were once a direct expression of these alleged connections. Thus, coronations have often been discarded altogether or altered to reflect the nature of the states in which they are held. However, some monarchies still choose to retain an overtly religious dimension to their accession rituals, others have adopted simpler enthronement or inauguration ceremonies, or even no ceremony at all. In non-Christian states, coronation rites evolved from a variety of sources, buddhism, for instance, influenced the coronation rituals of Thailand, Cambodia and Bhutan, while Hindu elements played a significant role in Nepalese rites. The ceremonies used in modern Egypt, Malaysia, Brunei and Iran were shaped by Islam, Coronations, in one form or another, have existed since ancient times. Egyptian records show coronation scenes, such as that of Seti I in 1290 BC, judeo-Christian scriptures testify to particular rites associated with the conferring of kingship, the most detailed accounts of which are found in II Kings 11,12 and II Chronicles 23,11. Following the assumption of the diadem by Constantine, Roman and Byzantine emperors continued to wear it as the symbol of their authority. Although no specific coronation ceremony was observed at first, one gradually evolved over the following century, the emperor Julian was hoisted upon a shield and crowned with a gold necklace provided by one of his standard-bearers, he later wore a jewel-studded diadem. Later emperors were crowned and acclaimed in a manner, until the momentous decision was taken to permit the Patriarch of Constantinople to physically place the crown on the emperors head. Historians debate when exactly this first took place, but the precedent was established by the reign of Leo II. This ritual included recitation of prayers by the Byzantine prelate over the crown, after this event, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the ecclesiastical element in the coronation ceremonial rapidly develop. This was usually performed three times, following this, the king was given a spear, and a diadem wrought of silk or linen was bound around his forehead as a token of regal authority
4.
Gniezno
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Gniezno is a city in central-western Poland, some 50 kilometres east of Poznań, with some 70,000 inhabitants. One of the Piast dynastys chief cities, it was mentioned in 10th-century sources, including the Dagome Iudex, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Gniezno is the primate of Poland, making it the countrys ecclesiastical capital. It has belonged since 1999 to the Greater Poland Voivodeship, and is the seat of Gniezno County. There are archaeological traces of settlement since the late Paleolithic. Early Slavonic settlements on the Lech Hill and the Maiden Hill are dated to the 8th century, at the beginning of the 10th century this was the site of several places sacred to the Slavic religion. The ducal stronghold was founded just before AD940 on the Lech Hill, according to the Polish version of legends, Three brothers Lech, Czech and Rus were exploring the wilderness to find a place to settle. Suddenly they saw a hill with an old oak and an eagle on top. Lech said, This white eagle I will adopt as an emblem of my people, and around this oak I will build my stronghold, the other brothers went further on to find a place for their people. Czech went to the South and Rus went to the East and it is here that the Congress of Gniezno took place in the year 1000 AD, during which Bolesław I the Brave, Duke of Poland, received Holy Roman Emperor Otto III. The 10th-century Gniezno Cathedral witnessed royal coronations of Bolesław I in 1024, the cities of Gniezno and nearby Poznań were captured, plundered and destroyed in 1038 by the Bohemian duke Bretislav I, which pushed the next Polish rulers to move the Polish capital to Kraków. The archiepiscopal cathedral was reconstructed by the ruler, Bolesław II the Generous. In the next centuries Gniezno evolved as a seat of the eastern part of Greater Poland. Gniezno was again the site in 1295 and 1300. The city was destroyed again by the Teutonic Knights invasion in 1331, Gniezno was hit by heavy fires in 1515,1613, was destroyed during the Swedish invasion wars of the 17th–18th centuries and by a plague in 1708–1710. All this caused depopulation and economic decline, but the city was revived during the 18th century to become the Gniezno Voivodeship in 1768. Gniezno was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in the 1793 Second Partition of Poland, but because of Kościuszkos defeat at the Battle of Maciejowice he gave up his plan to winter in Bydgoszcz and moved through Toruń and retreated to central Poland. Thus, the Prussians retook it on 7 December 1794, during the Napoleonic Wars there was an uprising against Prussian rule. Gniezno was subsequently governed within Kreis Gnesen of the Grand Duchy of Posen, following the Greater Poland Uprising and the Treaty of Versailles Gniezno became part of the Second Polish Republic
5.
Poland
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Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe, situated between the Baltic Sea in the north and two mountain ranges in the south. Bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, the total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres, making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the 8th most populous country in Europe, Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, and its capital and largest city is Warsaw. Other metropolises include Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Szczecin, the establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966, when Mieszko I, ruler of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe, Poland regained its independence in 1918 at the end of World War I, reconstituting much of its historical territory as the Second Polish Republic. In September 1939, World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, followed thereafter by invasion by the Soviet Union. More than six million Polish citizens died in the war, after the war, Polands borders were shifted westwards under the terms of the Potsdam Conference. With the backing of the Soviet Union, a communist puppet government was formed, and after a referendum in 1946. During the Revolutions of 1989 Polands Communist government was overthrown and Poland adopted a new constitution establishing itself as a democracy, informally called the Third Polish Republic. Since the early 1990s, when the transition to a primarily market-based economy began, Poland has achieved a high ranking on the Human Development Index. Poland is a country, which was categorised by the World Bank as having a high-income economy. Furthermore, it is visited by approximately 16 million tourists every year, Poland is the eighth largest economy in the European Union and was the 6th fastest growing economy on the continent between 2010 and 2015. According to the Global Peace Index for 2014, Poland is ranked 19th in the list of the safest countries in the world to live in. The origin of the name Poland derives from a West Slavic tribe of Polans that inhabited the Warta River basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century, the origin of the name Polanie itself derives from the western Slavic word pole. In some foreign languages such as Hungarian, Lithuanian, Persian and Turkish the exonym for Poland is Lechites, historians have postulated that throughout Late Antiquity, many distinct ethnic groups populated the regions of what is now Poland. The most famous archaeological find from the prehistory and protohistory of Poland is the Biskupin fortified settlement, dating from the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age, the Slavic groups who would form Poland migrated to these areas in the second half of the 5th century AD. With the Baptism of Poland the Polish rulers accepted Christianity and the authority of the Roman Church
6.
Bezprym
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Bezprym was a Duke of Poland during 1031–1032. His reign was short-lived and, according to sources, extremely cruel. He was murdered in 1032 and Mieszko II returned to the throne of Poland and its speculated that Pagan Reaction began during his short reign. In primary sources Bezprym appears as, Besprim Besfrim, Bezbriem and this name wasnt used among the Polish nobility but was known in the Bohemian sources, where it appears as, Bezprim, Bezprem, Bezperem. According to one of the hypotheses the name is of Slavonic origin, due to tradition and the impossibility of determining the correct version of the name, Bezprym remains the form used, although, according to K. Jasiński, it probably requires modifications. Older historiography frequently combined the figures of Bolesław Is two sons, Otto and Bezprym, or even attributed to Bezprym the middle name of Otto, marian Gumowski also suggested, on the basis of numismatic research that this combined prince could have governed Bohemia in 1003. These theories are based on the chronicle of Wipo of Burgundy, modern historians assume, however, that Bezprym in fact did exist, and that the chronicler erroneously combined Otto and Bezprym into one person. Though opinions vary about the identity of Bolesław I s second wife, soon after his birth, the marriage of his parents ended, probably because of the deterioration in political relations between Poland and Hungary. Bezpryms mother was repudiated and sent away, although probably she remained in Poland, shortly after his divorce, Bolesław I remarried with Emnilda, who bore him five children. The eldest son of union, the future Mieszko II Lambert. About Bezpryms first years of life almost nothing is known, in contrast with his half-brother Mieszko II and this probably showed that his father disliked him and considered Mieszko II as his successor since his birth, which was already confirmed by Bolesław Is later political activity. Bezprym was then destined to a Church career, a fact who is demonstrated in the Vita of St. Saint Romuald, there it is stated that in one of the hermitages resided a son of a Polish Duke, who in 1001 gave him a horse. According to modern historians, this Polish prince could only be Bezprym and its possible that he was in Hungary and there he was appointed head of Veszprém and Zala county. In this case the name Veszprém originated from his name, nevertheless, this hypothesis proposed by a Hungarian researcher didnt find acceptance among Polish historians. It is also probable that Bezprym was present at the coronation of his father as King of Poland in Gniezno Cathedral on 25 April 1025. Probably after Mieszko II took control over the government of Poland, however, soon Mieszko II expelled Bezprym from the country, and probably he did the same with Otto in 1030, when he discovered that they conspired against him with the help of Emperor Conrad II. Bezprym took refuge in Kievan Rus and probably used the position of Mieszko II as an excuse to gain the alliance of the Rurikids ruler Yaroslav I the Wise. In 1031, while Mieszko II was defending the border from the German expedition of Conrad II, Bezprym
7.
Richeza of Lotharingia
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Richeza of Lotharingia was a German noblewoman by birth, a member of the Ezzonen dynasty. She married Mieszko II Lambert, King of Poland, becoming Queen consort of Poland and she returned to Germany following the deposition of her husband in 1031, later becoming a nun, and today is revered as Blessed Richeza of Lotharingia. Richeza had three children, Casimir I the Restorer, Ryksa, Queen of Hungary, and Gertruda. She was also noted in 2009 as the mother of Agatha, wife of Edward the Exile. From her descended the eastern rulers of the Piast, Rurikid, four of her Árpád descendants were canonized, Elizabeth, Landgravine of Thuringia, Kinga, Duchess of Kraków, and Margaret and Irene of Hungary. She was beatified with one of her descendants, Yolanda. She was the eldest daughter of Ezzo, Count Palatine of Lotharingia by his wife, Matilda, daughter of Emperor Otto II and she could be even the eldest child of Ezzo and Matilda. Through her mother, Richeza was a niece of Emperor Otto III, Adelheid I, Abbess of Quedlinburg and Sophia I, Richezas parents were married in 993, so she could be born no earlier than in 993. Polish historian Kazimierz Jasiński supposed that she was few years younger than her husband Mieszko II Lambert, in 1000 during the Congress of Gniezno, an agreement was apparently made between Bolesław I the Brave and Emperor Otto III. Among the usual political talks, they decided to strengthen ties through marriage, Ottos childlessness meant that the seven daughters of his sister Mathilde were the potential brides for Mieszko, Bolesław Is son and heir, the oldest of Otto IIIs nieces, Richeza, was chosen. The Emperor took the opportunity of a settlement with the Ezzonen family, the marriage between Mieszko and Richeza took place in Merseburg, probably during the Pentecost festivities. After the final agreement between the Holy Roman Empire and Poland, which was signed in 1018 in Bautzen, Richeza. In 1021 they participated in the consecration of part of the Bamberg Cathedral, Bolesław I the Brave died on 17 June 1025. Six months later, on Christmas Day, Mieszko II Lambert and Richeza were crowned King and Queen of Poland by the Archbishop of Gniezno, Hipolit, in the Gniezno Cathedral. Mieszkos reign was short-lived, in 1031, the invasion of both German and Kievan troops forced him to escape to Bohemia, where he was imprisoned and castrated by orders of Duke Oldrich. Mieszko IIs half-brother Bezprym took the government of Poland and began a persecution of the followers of the former King. The Brauweiler Chronicle indicated that soon after the escape of her husband, Richeza and her children fled to Germany with the Polish royal crown and regalia and she subsequently played an important role in mediating a peace settlement between Poland and the Holy Roman Empire. However, modern historians discount this account, Richeza and Mieszko II never reunited, according to some sources, they were either officially divorced or separated
8.
Casimir I the Restorer
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Casimir I the Restorer, was Duke of Poland of the Piast dynasty and the de jure monarch of the entire country from 1034 until his death. He was the son of Mieszko II Lambert by his wife Richeza, daughter of Count Palatine Ezzo of Lotharingia. Casimir is known as the Restorer because he managed to reunite all parts of the Polish Kingdom after a period of turmoil and he reinstated Masovia, Silesia and Pomerania into his realm. However, he failed to crown himself King of Poland, mainly because of internal and external threats to his rule, relatively little is known of Casimirs early life. He must have spent his childhood at the court of Poland in Gniezno. In order to acquire an education, he was sent to one of the Polish monasteries in 1026. According to some sources he initially wanted to have a career in the Church. This hypothesis, however, is not supported by modern historians, regardless, he left church work for good in 1031. Casimirs father, Mieszko II, was crowned King of Poland in 1025 after the death of his father Bolesław I the Brave, however, the powerful magnates of the country feared a strong central government like the one that existed under Bolesław Is rule. This led to friction between the King and the nobility. Sometime during the reign of Bezprym, Casimir and his sisters were taken by their mother to Germany for refuge. At the time of his fathers death in 1034, Casimir was about 18 years old and in Germany at the court of his uncle Hermann II, the central district of Greater Poland revolted against the nobles and Catholic clergy in a mass rebellion. A pagan revival in the area lasted for several years, the district of Masovia seceded and a local lord, Miecław, formed a state of his own. A similar situation occurred in Pomerania, in 1037 both the young prince and his mother returned to Poland and attempted to seize the throne. This precipitated a rebellion by local barons, which coupled with the so-called Pagan Reaction of the commoners, forced Casimir, however, soon Casimir returned to Poland and in 1038, once again, tried to regain power with the aide of his influential mother. This also failed and he had to again, this time to the Kingdom of Hungary where he was imprisoned by Stephen I. The Dowager Queen remained in Germany as a nun until her death, taking advantage of the chaos and his neighbours weakness, Duke Bretislaus I of Bohemia invaded and ravaged the country in 1039. Lesser and Greater Poland were severely pillaged, Poznań was captured, and Bretislaus sacked Gniezno, taking the relics of Saint Adalbert, Radim Gaudentius, and the five hermit brothers with him
9.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
10.
Piast dynasty
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The Piast dynasty was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Prince Mieszko I, the Piasts royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branches of the Piast dynasty continued to rule in the Duchy of Masovia, the Piasts intermarried with several noble lines of Europe, and possessed numerous titles, some within the Holy Roman Empire. However, the term Piast Dynasty was not applied until the 17th century, in a historical work the expression Piast dynasty was introduced by the Polish historian Adam Naruszewicz, it is not documented in contemporary sources. The first Piasts, probably of Polan descent, appeared around 940 in the territory of Greater Poland at the stronghold of Giecz, shortly afterwards they relocated their residence to Gniezno, where Prince Mieszko I ruled over the Civitas Schinesghe from about 960. The name Polani, from Slavic, pole, did not appear until 1015, the Piasts temporarily also ruled over Pomerania, Bohemia and the Lusatias, as well as Ruthenia, and the Hungarian Spiš region in present-day Slovakia. The ruler bore the title of a duke or a king, depending on their position of power. The Bohemian Přemyslid dynasty, the Hungarian Arpads and their Anjou successors, the Kievan Rus, later also the State of the Teutonic Order, the Piast position was decisively enfeebled by an era of fragmentation following the 1138 Testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty. Numerous dukes like Mieszko III the Old, Władysław III Spindleshanks or Leszek I the White were crowned, only to be overthrown shortly afterwards. After the Polish royal line and Piast junior branch had died out in 1370, the Masovian branch of the Piasts became extinct with the death of Duke Janusz III in 1526. The last ruling duke of the Silesian Piasts was George William of Legnica who died in 1675 and his uncle Count August of Legnica, the last male Piast, died in 1679. The last legitimate heir, Duchess Karolina of Legnica-Brieg died in 1707 and is buried in Trzebnica Abbey, nevertheless, numerous families, like the illegitimate descendants of the Silesian duke Adam Wenceslaus of Cieszyn, link their genealogy to the dynasty. About 1295, Przemysł II used a coat of arms with a white eagle – a symbol later referred to as the Piast coat of arms or as the Piast Eagle, Piast kings and rulers of Poland appear in list form in the following table. For a list of all rulers, see List of Polish monarchs
11.
Mieszko I of Poland
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Mieszko I was the ruler of the Polans from about 960 until his death. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was a son of Siemomysł, and he was the father of Bolesław I the Brave and Gunhild of Wenden with his wife Oda. The first Christian ruler of territories later called Poland, Mieszko I is considered the de facto creator of the Polish state and he continued the policy of both his father and grandfather, who were rulers of the pagan tribes located in the area of present-day Greater Poland. Through both alliances and the use of force, Mieszko extended ongoing Polish conquests and early in his reign subjugated Kuyavia. For most of his reign, Mieszko I was involved in warfare for the control of Western Pomerania, during the last years of his life, he fought the Bohemian state, winning Silesia and probably Lesser Poland. Mieszko Is marriage in 965 to the Czech Přemyslid princess Dobrawa and his baptism in 966 put him, apart from the great conquests accomplished during his reign Mieszko I was renowned for his internal reforms, aimed at expanding and improving the so-called war monarchy system. According to existing sources, Mieszko I was a politician, a talented military leader. He successfully used diplomacy, concluding alliances, first with Bohemia, then Sweden, in foreign policy, he placed the interests of his country foremost, even entering into agreements with his former enemies. On his death, he left to his sons a country with greatly expanded territories, Mieszko I also enigmatically appeared as Dagome in a papal document dating to about 1085, called Dagome iudex, which mentions a gift or dedication of Mieszkos land to the Pope. It is roughly his borders that Poland was returned to in 1945, There is no certain information on Mieszko Is life before he took control over his lands. Only the Lesser Poland Chronicle gives the date of his birth as somewhere between the years 920–931, however, modern researchers dont recognize the Chronicle as a reliable source, There are three major theories concerning the origin and meaning of Mieszko Is name. The most popular theory, proposed by Jan Długosz, explains that Mieszko is a diminutive of Mieczysław, today, this theory is rejected by the majority of Polish historians, who consider the name Mieczysław to have been invented by Długosz to explain the origin of the name Mieszko. Today, we know that ancient Slavs never formed their names using either animal names or weapon names, ancient Slavic names were abstract in nature. The chronicler related this story as follows, At that time Prince Siemomysł urgently asked the people of his country whether his sons blindness conveyed some miraculous meaning. They explained that this meant that Poland was blind back then. In addition, it is known that the Slavic word mzec can be interpreted as having his eyes closed or be blind, in that symbolic rite a child became a man. That explains that Mieszko wasnt blind in fact, besides his sons name was also Mieszko and it is hard to believe that he was also blind. In addition, as we know today ancient Slavs used only abstract names among nobility, the third theory links the name of Mieszko with his other name, Dagome, as it appeared in the document called Dagome iudex
12.
Lambert of Maastricht
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Saint Lambert Latin, Landebertus/Lambertus was the bishop of Maastricht-Liège from about 670 until his death. Lambert was from a family of Maastricht, possibly son of Robert II, Lord Chancellor of France. When Theodard was murdered soon after 669, the councillors of Childeric II made Lambert bishop of Maastricht, Lambert was related to Hugobert and Plectrude, Pepin of Herstals lawful wife and thus an in-law of hereditary mayors of the palace who controlled the Merovingian kings of Austrasia. After Childeric was murdered in 675, the faction of Ebroin, majordomo of Neustria, Lambert spent seven years in exile at the recently founded Abbey of Stavelot. With a change in the turbulent political fortunes of the time, the Cathedral of Our Lady and St. Lambert in Liege was built in his honor. In company with Willibrord, who had come from England in 691, Lambert preached the gospel to the pagans in the stretches of the Meuse. Around 705, Lambert completed the Christianization of Liège and its surroundings, christian conversion may still not have been quite universal, since Lambert was murdered in Liège and thereafter regarded as a martyr for his faith. To enshrine Lamberts relics, his successor, Hubertus, built a basilica near his residence became the true nucleus of the city. Lambert had been the director of Hubertus. Lambert thus became a martyr for his defence of marital fidelity, denouncing Pepins liaison with Alpaida, daughter of Dodo, although Lambert was buried at Maastricht, his successor as bishop, Hubertus, translated his relics to Liège, to which the see of Maastricht was eventually moved. The shrine became St. Lamberts Cathedral, destroyed in 1794 and its site is the modern Place Saint-Lambert. Lamberts tomb is now located in the present Liège Cathedral and his feast day in the Roman Catholic Church calendar is 17 September. The Lambertusfest in Münster has long been a holiday, celebrated for two weeks culminating on the eve of 17 September. Children build Lambertus pyramids of branches, decorated with lanterns and lamps around which they dance, das Ökumenisches Heiligenlexikon, Lambert von Maastricht Herbermann, Charles, ed. St. Lambert
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Saxony
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Its capital is Dresden, and its largest city is Leipzig. Saxony is the tenth largest of Germanys sixteen states, with an area of 18,413 square kilometres, located in the middle of a large, formerly all German-speaking part of Europe, the history of the state of Saxony spans more than a millennium. It has been a medieval duchy, an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, a kingdom, the area of the modern state of Saxony should not be confused with Old Saxony, the area inhabited by Saxons. Old Saxony corresponds approximately to the modern German states of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony is divided into 10 districts,1. After a reform in 2008, these regions - with some alterations of their respective areas - were called Direktionsbezirke, in 2012, the authorities of these regions were merged into one central authority, the Landesdirektion Sachsen. The Erzgebirgskreis district includes the Ore Mountains, and the Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district includes Saxon Switzerland, the largest cities in Saxony according to the 31 December 2015 estimate. To this can be added that Leipzig forms a metropolitan region with Halle. The latter city is located just across the border to Saxony-Anhalt, Leipzig shares for instance an S-train system and an airport with Halle. Saxony has, after Saxony Anhalt, the most vibrant economy of the states of the former East Germany and its economy grew by 1. 9% in 2010. Nonetheless, unemployment remains above the German average, the eastern part of Germany, excluding Berlin, qualifies as an Objective 1 development-region within the European Union, and is eligible to receive investment subsidies of up to 30% until 2013. FutureSAX, a business competition and entrepreneurial support organisation, has been in operation since 2002. Microchip makers near Dresden have given the region the nickname Silicon Saxony, the publishing and porcelain industries of the region are well known, although their contributions to the regional economy are no longer significant. Today the automobile industry, machinery production and services contribute to the development of the region. Saxony is also one of the most renowned tourist destinations in Germany - especially the cities of Leipzig and Dresden, new tourist destinations are developing, notably in the lake district of Lausitz. Saxony reported an unemployment of 8. 8% in 2014. By comparison the average in the former GDR was 9. 8% and 6. 7% for Germany overall, the unemployment rate reached 8. 2% in May 2015. The Leipzig area, which recently was among the regions with the highest unemployment rate, could benefit greatly from investments by Porsche. With the VW Phaeton factory in Dresden, and many part suppliers, zwickau is another major Volkswagen location
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Yaroslav the Wise
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Yaroslav I, Grand Prince of Rus, known as Yaroslav the Wise or Iaroslav the Wise was thrice grand prince of Veliky Novgorod and Kiev, uniting the two principalities for a time under his rule. Yaroslavs Christian name was George after Saint George, a son of the Varangian Grand Prince Vladimir the Great, he was vice-regent of Novgorod at the time of his fathers death in 1015. Subsequently, his eldest surviving brother, Sviatopolk I of Kiev, Yaroslav, with the active support of the Novgorodians and the help of Varangian mercenaries, defeated Svyatopolk and became the Grand Prince of Kiev in 1019. Under Yaroslav the codification of customs and princely enactments was begun. During his lengthy reign, Kievan Rus reached the zenith of its cultural flowering, the early years of Yaroslavs life are shrouded in mystery. He was one of the sons of Vladimir the Great, presumably his second by Rogneda of Polotsk. It has been suggested that he was a child out of wedlock after Vladimirs divorce from Rogneda and marriage to Anna Porphyrogenita. Yaroslav figures prominently in the Norse sagas under the name Jarisleif the Lame, in his youth, Yaroslav was sent by his father to rule the northern lands around Rostov but was transferred to Veliky Novgorod, as befitted a senior heir to the throne, in 1010. While living there, he founded the town of Yaroslavl on the Volga River and his relations with his father were apparently strained, and grew only worse on the news that Vladimir bequeathed the Kievan throne to his younger son, Boris. In 1014 Yaroslav refused to pay tribute to Kiev and only Vladimirs death, in July 1015, during the course of this struggle, several other brothers were brutally murdered. However, the name is given there as Burizaf, which is also a name of Boleslaus I in the Scandinavian sources. It is thus possible that the Saga tells the story of Yaroslavs struggle against Svyatopolk, Yaroslav defeated Svyatopolk in their first battle, in 1016, and Svyatopolk fled to Poland. But Svyatopolk returned in 1018 with Polish troops furnished by his father-in-law, seized Kiev, Yaroslav at last prevailed over Svyatopolk, and in 1019 firmly established his rule over Kiev. One of his first actions as a prince was to confer on the loyal Novgorodians, numerous freedoms. Thus, the foundation of the Novgorod Republic was laid, for their part, the Novgorodians respected Yaroslav more than they did other Kievan princes, and the princely residence in their city, next to the marketplace was named Yaroslavs Court after him. It probably was during this period that Yaroslav promulgated the first code of laws in the lands of the East Slavs, a less appealing side of his personality is revealed by his having imprisoned his youngest brother Sudislav for life. Yaroslav and Mstislav then divided Kievan Rus between them, the area stretching left from the Dnieper River, with the capital at Chernihiv, was ceded to Mstislav until his death in 1036. In his foreign policy, Yaroslav relied on the Scandinavian alliance, in 1030, he reconquered Red Ruthenia from the Poles and concluded an alliance with King Casimir I the Restorer, sealed by the latters marriage to Yaroslavs sister, Maria
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Upper Lusatia
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Upper Lusatia is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the north, it makes up the region of Lusatia, both Lusatias are home to the West Slavic minority group of the Sorbs. The major part of Upper Lusatia belongs to the German state of Saxony, roughly comprising the Bautzen, the northwestern extremity around Ruhland and Tettau is incorporated into the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district of Brandenburg. The Polish part, east of the Neisse River, belongs to Lower Silesian Voivodeship, a small strip of land in the north around Łęknica, together with the Polish part of Lower Lusatia, is incorporated into Lubusz Voivodeship. The historic capital of Upper Lusatia is Bautzen, while the largest city in the region is Görlitz/Zgorzelec, the name Lusatia superior was first recorded in a 1474 deed, derived from the adjacent Lower Lusatian lands in the north, which originally were just called the March of Lusatia. The Upper Lusatian territory was referred to as Milsko in contemporary chronicles, named after the local West Slavic Milceni tribe. Geomorphological Upper Lusatia is shaped by the uniform Lusatian granite massif, only the north and northeast, the UNESCO has declared this area a Biosphere Reserve in 1996, in particular for the protection of otters. The middle part is hilly, while the south of the is characterized by the Lusatian Mountains, the highest peaks of the Zittau Mountains are the Lausche at 792.6 m and Hochwald at 749 m. The adjacent Lusatian Highlands comprise the Landeskrone, Löbauer Berg, Kottmar, Czorneboh, Bieleboh, all major rivers in the Upper Lusatia flow from south to north. In the west, the Pulsnitz at Königsbrück formerly marked the border with the Meissen lands of the Saxon Electorate, the Spree river has its source in the Lusatian Highlands in the far south of the country and flows through Bautzen. The Lusatian Neisse has formed the German-Polish border since 1945, the river rises in the Czech Jizera Mountains, enters Upper Lusatia near Zittau, flows through Görlitz/Zgorzelec and leaves the country at Bad Muskau for Lower Lusatia. Most of the rivers are called -wasser, often in combination with the name of a village which the stream flows through. The eastern border of Upper Lusatia with Lower Silesia is marked by the River Kwisa, the central hilly Gefilde landscape between Kamenz and Löbau was especially well suited for agriculture and is still very profitable. In the 19th century, in the part of Upper Lusatia. Especially the digging in open pits has destroyed large parts of the old cultural landscape, currently the Nochten pit south of Weißwasser and Turów near Bogatynia in the Polish part are still active. Many of the old mines have been restored since the 1970s, especially after 1990. The newly formed lakes are named and advertised as the Lusatian Lake District. Even the oldest agricultural cultures left behind only little evidence of settlement, in the early Bronze Age people of the Lusatian culture entered the previously uninhabited region from Bohemia and the Lusatian Neisse
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Lower Lusatia
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Lower Lusatia is a historical region in Central Europe, stretching from the southeast of the German state of Brandenburg to the southwest of Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Like adjacent Upper Lusatia in the south, Lower Lusatia is a settlement area of the West Slavic Sorbs whose endangered Lower Sorbian language is related to Upper Sorbian, the sparsely inhabited area within the North European Plain is characterised by extended pine forests, heathlands and meadows. In the north it is confined by the middle Spree River with Lake Schwielochsee, in the glacial valley between Lübben and Cottbus, the Spree River branches out into the Spreewald riparian forest. Other rivers include the Berste and Oelse tributaries as well as the Schlaube, in the east, the Bóbr River from Łagoda via Krzystkowice down to the historic town of Żary forms the border with the lands of Lower Silesia. In the west the course of the upper Dahme River down to Golßen separates it from the former Electoral Saxon lands of Saxe-Wittenberg, between Lower and Upper Lusatia is a hill region called the Grenzwall, the eastern continuation of the Fläming Heath. In the Middle Ages this area had forests, so it represented a major obstacle to civilian. Today it is roughly congruent of the border between Brandenburg and the state of Saxony, today the area comprises the Brandenburg districts of Oberspreewald-Lausitz and Spree-Neiße with the unitary authority of Cottbus, as well as parts of Elbe-Elster, Dahme-Spreewald, and Oder-Spree. Since 1945, when a part of Lusatia east of the Oder-Neisse Line was incorporated into Poland. Emperor Conrad II reconquered the territories in 1031, in 1136 Conrad the Great of the mighty House of Wettin, margrave of Meissen since 1123, also received the March of Lusatia. This remained under the rule of the Wettin dynasty until in 1303 it was acquired by the Ascanian margraves of Brandenburg, Charles father King John of Bohemia had already acquired the adjacent territory to the south around Bautzen and Görlitz, which became known as Upper Lusatia. The former Lordship of Cottbus was acquired by Brandenburg in 1455, both Lusatias formed separate Bohemian crown lands under the rule of the Luxembourg, Jagiellon and—from 1526—Habsburg dynasties. In the course of the Reformation the vast majority of the population turned Protestant, as the Kingdom of Saxony had sided with Napoleon it had to cede Lower Lusatia to Prussia in the 1815 Congress of Vienna, whereafter the territory became part of the Province of Brandenburg. With the implementation of the Oder-Neisse line by the 1945 Potsdam Conference, the Lower Lusatian bull is first documented in 1363, upon the death of Emperor Charles IV in 1378 it appeared in gules on a field argent, similar to the coat of arms of Luckau. Spreewald biosphere reserve Lusatian Lake District Lower Lusatian Heath Nature Park Lower Lusatian Ridge Nature Park List of regions of Saxony
Polish (help·info); c. 990 – 10/11 May 1034) was King of Poland from 1025–1031, and Duke from 1032 until his death.
Media related to Mieszko II Lambert at Wikimedia Commons
