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- Mieszko II Lambert (990-1034) ruled from 1025-1034 as duke and short-term king of Poland. He was the son of Boleslaw I the Brave and Enmilda, daughter of Dobromir, possible Duke of Lusatia. Mieszko II was married in 1013 to Richeza (aka Richensa or Rixa) of Lotharingia, the granddaughter of Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor. Richeza was born between 995-1000 and died March 21, 1063 in Saalfeld, Germany. She was the daughter of the Count Palatine Ezzo of Lotharingia (Ezzonen) and Mathilde of Saxony (daughter of emperor Otto II and Theophanu). Her mother, Mathilde of Saxony, was the sister of Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor.
Richeza was the mother of Casimir I of Poland (1016-1058) and two daughters, Gertrud (c.1020, married to Prince Isjaslaw of Kiew) and unknown (married Hungarian King B?la). She returned to Germany in 1032, stayed at Klotten, and became a nun after 7 September 1047. She was buried in Cologne's St. Maria ad Gradus and later transferred to the Cologne Cathedral. Her feast day is celebrated on March 21.
Mieszko II was very well educated for the period. He was able to read and write, and knew both Greek and Latin. He is unjustly known as Mieszko "Gnusny" (the Lazy, Stagnant or Slothful). He received that epithet due to the unfortunate way his reign ended; but at the beginning he acted as a skillful and talented ruler. He sought to rule as king in 1025, he probably served as his father's governor in Krak?w, most likely from 1013, and reputedly built many churches.
Beginning in 1028, he successfully waged war against the Holy Roman Empire: he was able to repel the its invading army, and later even invaded Saxony. He allied Poland with Hungary, resulting in a temporary Hungarian occupation of Vienna. This war was probably prompted by family connections of Mieszko's in Germany who opposed Emperor Conrad II.
An understanding of what happened later requires an understanding of Mieszko's family. His older half-brother Bezprym was the son of an unknown Hungarian wife of Boleslaw's and was later expelled by Mieszko. He also had a younger brother, Otton. By Slavic custom, a father should divide his legacy among all his sons. However, since a kingdom cannot be divided, Mieszko's brothers received nothing from their father's legacy.
As Bezprym was the oldest son, many probably felt that he should have succeeded his father as king. Bezprym had, however, always been disliked by his father, as indicated by his name (the Piasts tended to give names such as Boleslaw, Mieszko and later Kazimierz, Wladyslaw and emperors' names such as Otto, Conrad and Heinrich: Bezprym was a commoner's name, which implied that Boleslaw did not wish Bezprym to succeed him). Around 1003 Boleslaus sent Bezprym to Italy, where he became a monk in one of Saint Romuald's hermitages. Mieszko's two brothers escaped abroad: Otton to the Holy Roman Empire and Bezprym to Kievan Rus. In 1031, in alliance with Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor and Rus Grand Prince Yaroslav I the Wise, with Rus and German support, he gained the throne. Mieszko II escaped to Bohemia and Bezprym then sent the Polish crown and regalia to the emperor.
Mieszko soon returned, but was forced to pledge fealty to the German Emperor, and Poland was divided among him, his brothers Otton and Bezprym, and a certain Thiedric (cousin, grandson of Mieszko I and Oda). Bezprym was murdered in 1032, and a year later Otton was killed by one of his own men, and Mieszko was able to reunite Poland.
What happened next is a mystery. Historians now think that Mieszko was killed in 1034 in a plot hatched by the aristocracy. After Mieszko's death, Poland's peasants revolted in a "pagan reaction." The exact reasons and date are unknown. Mieszko's son, Casimir I, was either expelled by this insurrection, or the insurrection was caused by the aristocracy's expulsion of him.
Some modern historians argue that the insurrection was caused more by economic than by religious issues, such as new taxes for the Church and the militarization of the early Polish polity. Priests, monks and knights were killed; cities, churches and monasteries were burned.
The chaos became still greater when unexpectedly the Czechs invaded from the south. The land became divided among local rulers, one of whom is known by name: Maslaw, ruler of Masovia. Greater Poland was so devastated that it ceased to be the core of Polish Kingdom. The capital was moved to Krak?w in Lesser Poland.
This database researched and compiled by Norman Lee Madsen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 21 July 2015.
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990 - 1034 (44 år)
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