Mieszko II Lambert

Poland at 1025

Mieszko was a son of King Bolesław the Brave. Since Mieszko II was politically active before his father's death, Bolesław appointed him as his successor. He participated mainly in German politics, both as a representative of his father and the commander of the Polish troops.

In 1013, Mieszko II went to Magdeburg, where he paid homage to Emperor Henry II. A few months later, Bolesław I paid homage in person. The real purpose of Mieszko II's visit is unclear, especially since soon afterwards, his father paid homage to the Holy Roman Empire. Presumably, the young prince paid homage to Milsko, Lusatia and Moravia. The relevant treaty stipulated that it was only a personal tribute, not entailing any legal obligations. Another hypothesis assumes that the territories were transferred by Bolesław to him, and as a result made Mieszko II a vassal of the Empire.

The position of the young prince, at both the Polish and Imperial courts, became stronger in 1013 when he married Richeza,[2] daughter of Count Palatine Ezzo of Lotharingia and niece of Emperor Otto III. Ezzo was a prince of considerable influence as a great leader of the opposition against Henry II. Through marriage with his daughter, Mieszko II entered the circle of the Imperial family and became a person equal to, if not higher than the Emperor himself. Probably after the wedding, and in accordance with prevailing custom, Bolesław I the Brave gave a separate district to Mieszko II to rule: Kraków. One of his towns, Wawel (now part of the city), was chosen by the prince as his residence.

In the year 1014, Mieszko II was sent by his father to Bohemia as an emissary. He had to persuade Duke Oldřich to make an alliance against Emperor Henry II. The mission failed as Oldřich imprisoned Mieszko II. He was released only after the intervention of the Emperor, who, despite the planned betrayal of Bolesław I, loyally acted on behalf of his vassal. As a result, Mieszko II was sent to the Imperial court in Merseburg as a hostage. Henry II probably wanted to force the presence of Bolesław I in Merseburg and make him explain his actions. The plan failed however, because, under pressure from his relatives, the Emperor soon agreed to release Mieszko II.

A year later, Mieszko II stood at the head of Polish troops in the next war against the Emperor. The campaign was not favorable to Henry. His army needed over a month to reach the line of the Oder River, and once there, his troops encountered strong resistance led by Mieszko II and his father. Henry II sent a delegation to the Polish rulers, in an effort to induce them to conclude a peace settlement. Mieszko II refused, and after the Emperor's failure to defeat his troops in battle, Henry decided to begin retreating to Dziadoszyce. The Polish prince went in pursuit, and inflicted heavy losses on the German army. When the Polish army advanced to Meissen, Mieszko II unsuccessfully tried to besiege the castle of his brother-in-law, Margrave Herman I (husband of his sister Regelinda). The fighting stopped in autumn and was resumed only in 1017 after the failure of peace talks. Imperial forces bypassed the main defensive site near Krosno Odrzańskie and besieged Niemcza. At the same time, at the head of ten legions, Mieszko II went to Moravia and planned an allied attack together with Bohemia against the Emperor. This action forced the Emperor to give up on any plan of a frontal attack. A year later, the Peace of Bautzen (30 January 1018) was concluded, with terms extremely favorable to the Polish side.

Beginning in 1028, Mieszko II successfully waged war against the Holy Roman Empire. He was able to repel 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 II's in Germany who opposed Emperor Conrad II.

Due to the death of Thietmar of Merseburg, the principal chronicler of that period, there is little information about Mieszko II's life from 1018 until 1025, when he finally took over the government of Poland. Only Gallus Anonymus mentions the then Prince on the occasion of the description of his father's trip to Rus in 1018: due to the fact that his son (...) Mieszko wasn't considered yet capable of taking the government by himself, he established a regent among his family during his trip to Rus. This statement was probably the result of the complete ignorance of the chronicler, since in 1018, Mieszko II was 28 years old and was already fully able to exercise power by himself.

Historians estimate that the reason for the rapid capitulation of Mieszko II was the bad internal situation in the country. Bolesław left an unstable kingdom to his son, who had to defend his autonomy and position amongst neighboring rulers. Also, the cost of Mieszko II's extensive war against Emperor Conrad II caused his popularity to decline among his subjects, despite the fact that during the invasion of Saxony the King only defended their territory. Furthermore, the final loss of the war against the Holy Roman Empire weakened the position of the King, who had to face several rebellions from the opposition, who claimed that the previous war did not produce the expected benefits. An additional problem was a dynastic crisis: Mieszko II's brothers continued their attempts to gain power with the help of foreign forces.

The brother who caused the first problems to Mieszko II was most likely Bezprym, who allegedly won the alliance of Kiev in order to take power with the support of Otto. When Mieszko II was busy defending Lusatia from the troops of Conrad II, the Kievan expedition came from the east with Yaroslav I the Wise as the leader. In 1031, Poland was invaded and then Bezprym was settled on the throne. Mieszko II and his family were forced to flee the country. Queen Richeza and her children found refuge in Germany. The King could not escape to Hungary because, during his travel, he was stopped by Rus' troops. King Stephen I of Hungary was not favorable to accepting him in his country. Without alternatives, Mieszko II went to Bohemia. Duke Oldřich once again imprisoned him. This time, the King could not count on Imperial support. Mieszko II was not only imprisoned but also castrated, which was to be a punishment to Bolesław I the Brave, who blinded Duke Boleslaus III the Red (Oldřich's brother) thirty years before. Mieszko II and his wife never reunited again; according to some sources, they were either officially divorced, or only separated.

Bezprym probably made bloody persecutions against the followers of Mieszko II. At the time, power was exercised in the face of mutiny by the people, an event known as the "Pagan Reaction". Having degraded the structure of power, the Duke's authority collapsed, and he was forced to send the Polish regalia to the Emperor. After only one year of reign, Bezprym was murdered (1032), probably at the instigation of his brothers.

After the death of Bezprym, the Polish throne remained vacant. Mieszko II was still imprisoned in Bohemia and Otto probably in Germany. German sources report that the Emperor organized an expedition in order to invade Poland. It is unknown what happened after this, but certainly Mieszko II was released by Duke Oldřich and he could return to the country. After his recent opponent had regained power, the Emperor immediately reacted and began the preparations for the expedition against Poland. Mieszko II was not prepared for the confrontation, so he used his influence in the German court in order to resolve the conflict.

On 7 July 1032, in Merseburg, a meeting took place between Conrad II and the surviving heirs of the Piast dynasty. Without alternatives, Mieszko II was forced to surrender the crown and agreed to the division of Poland between him and the other two competitors: his brother Otto and a certain Dytryk (German: Thiedric) —his cousin, grandson of Duke Mieszko I and his third wife, Oda von Haldensleben. Mieszko II probably received Lesser Poland and Masovia, Otto obtained Silesia, and Dytryk took Greater Poland.[5] According to another hypothesis, Mieszko II received Greater Poland, and other neighborhoods were given to Otto and Dytryk.[6] Although the distribution was uncertain, this division was short-lived: in 1033, Otto was killed by one of his own men, and Mieszko II took his domains. Shortly afterwards, he likely had Dytryk expelled and thus was able to reunite the whole country in his hands. Mieszko II regained full power, but he still had to fight against the nobility and his own subjects. In Poland, his renunciation of the crown was disregarded, and after 1032, he was still called king in the chronicles.

Mieszko II died suddenly on either 10 or 11 May 1034, probably in Poznań. The Polish chronicles clearly stated that he died of natural causes; the information given by the chronicles of Gottfried of Viterbo that he was murdered by the sword-bearer (Miecznik) refers in fact to Bezprym. He was buried in the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul.

After Mieszko II's death, Poland's peasants revolted in a "pagan reaction." The exact reasons and date are unknown. Mieszko II's only son and heir, 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 Silesia and Greater Poland from the south (1039). The land became divided among local rulers, one of whom is known by name: Miecław, ruler of Masovia. Greater Poland was so devastated that it ceased to be the core of the Polish Kingdom. The capital was moved to Kraków, in Lesser Poland.

In Merseburg ca. 1013, Mieszko II married with Richeza (b. bef. 1000 – d. Saalfeld, 21 March 1063), daughter of Count Palatine Ezzo of Lotharingia. They had at least three children, possibly four:

1. Ryksa (b. 22 September 1013 – d. 21 May 1075), married by 1039/42 to King Béla I of Hungary.
2. Casimir I the Restorer (b. 25 July 1016 – d. 19 March 1058).
3. Gertruda (b. 1025 – d. Kiev, 4 January 1108), married by 1043 to Grand Prince Iziaslav I of Kiev.
4. possibly Agatha, wife of Edward the Exile, whose origins are unknown. One theory that has been put forward is that she was the daughter of Mieszko II and Richeza.[7]

• History of Poland (966–1385)

• Media related to Mieszko II of Poland at Wikimedia Commons