A Summary of The History of Poland to 1067
Prehistory
The name of Poland comes from the name of the Polanie tribe or people tilling land. That tribe settled down in the Warta River basin, an area which was later called Wielkopolska [Great, or Upper Poland]. The center of authority was in Gniezno. Archaeological excavations permit an examination of the development of the Gniezno castle and its powerful fortifications, dating back to the 8th century. The tribal rulers of the Polanie who later resided in the castle were called the Piasts, from the name of their legendary ancestor.
Throughout the 10th century, the Polanie and their Piast princes conquered and consolidated their rule over other Lecithic tribes living between the Odra and Bug Rivers, the Baltic coast and the Carpathian Mountains. The Polanie conquered successively the Kujawianie tribe, whose main castle was in Kruszwica, the Mazowszanie tribe and their castle of Plock, the Ledzianie tribe and Sandomierz, and the Pomeranian tribe and their castles of Gdansk and Wolin. Toward the end of the century they seized the Wislanie tribe with their castle of Krakow, as well as the Silesian tribes with Wroclaw, Opole and Legnica.
Mieszko I
Mieszko I was the first prince of the Piast dynasty to be mentioned by contemporary historical sources (ca. 960-992). We even know the names of his forefathers from oral tradition. Nonetheless, it is Mieszko I who is recognized as the founder of the Polish state. It was during his time that conquests were completed and the tribes whose languages and cultures showed great affinity were united. The prince reorganized the new territories and united them into a uniform state system. In 966, Mieszko was baptized, thus placing the Polish state in the political system of Central Europe and determining the European and Christian road of development of the Polish state and society.
Poland of the 10th through 12th centuries, as many other states of the early Middle Ages, was a monarchy treated by the ruler as a dynastic property and heritage--a patriarchy. The duke and a small group of magnates who surrounded him (the erstwhile tribal chiefs or people elevated to power by the duke) commanded strong and centralized powers. The army was made up of an elite several- thousand-strong team, provided for and equipped by the duke, as well as of free yeomen called to serve whenever such need arose.
The state was divided into provinces, but the administrative set-up had much to do with old tribal patterns. Provinces, in turn, were divided into castle districts, some one hundred of them altogether. In each district there was the master representing the duke and wielding power on his behalf: military, judicial, fiscal and administrative. He had an entourage of a small number of warriors. Yeomen, making up the hardcore of the population, had to pay a levy to the duke. High social position during these early stages of the monarchy stemmed not from personal wealth or tribal ownership, but from having a share in power and the rights bestowed by the duke to use part of the state income.
When Mieszko assumed power around 960, a basic dilemma appeared for Poland, which would confront her over the next few centuries: what attitude the Piast-created state should take towards the Empire and the Papacy. The expansion of the German state to the lands on the middle and lower stretches of the Elbe River, the conquest of the Slavonic tribes living there, caused the Polish state to face a powerful, dangerous and, at the same time, relatively civilized neighbor.
The aspirations of Germany found expression in the imperial coronation of Otto I in 962. The Polish Duke could opt either for supporting a pagan realm and struggle for full political independence (this would have been an option eventually leading to defeat) or for acceptance of baptism and bringing Poland into the sphere of European Christian civilization. The latter choice would shape relations with the Empire on the principle of the recognition of its informal superiority. Thanks to the decision of Mieszko I, Poland was provided with the foundations of her development and participation in the commonwealth of the states and nations of Europe.
In 965 Mieszko married Czech Princess Dobrawa. Her retinue included priests who took up missionary work in Poland. The ruler himself was baptized in 966. Two years later, the first Polish bishopric was established in Poznan with Bishop Jordan at the head. The alliance with the Czech state, the baptism and the person of bishop Jordan (most probably an Italian) reflect Poland's striving to counter-balance her attitude of dependence on the Empire. A more eloquent manifestation of this policy is provided by the act of putting Poland under the papal protection by Mieszko I around 990.
Boleslaw the Brave
The son of and successor to Mieszko, Boleslaw the Brave (992-1025), went along the same path of increasing Poland's independence at the early stages of his rule. In 997, he organized a mission by the Czech Bishop Adalbert to the lands of the Prussian tribes and, after the missionary perished, he paid for his body, deposited it in the Gniezno Cathedral and took advantage of the canonization of the martyr to upgrade Poland's rank. The short-lived international political conditions favored those plans.
The idealistically-minded Emperor Otto III wanted to build a universal Christian community to embrace Sclavinia (Slavonic) lands, to be represented by Boleslaw the Brave. Both rulers met at the St. Adalbert's grave in Gniezno in the year 1000. There the Emperor dubbed Boleslaw a patrician of the Empire and handed him St. Maurice's spear, put the imperial diadem on his head and, most importantly, agreed (with Rome's approval) to establish a Polish Church metropolis in Gniezno. The Church hierarchy, complemented with the first Benedictine monasteries, became an important component of the political structure of the state. The political independence acquired in that way had to be defended by Poland later, when heirs to Otto III changed the Empire's policy toward Poland.
Boleslaw the Brave defeated the Germans in a long war which lasted from 1002 to 1018, solidifying the Polish state’s status as an independent and sovereign entity. Afterward, he consolidated his edge in East-Central Europe with an expedition against Kiev in 1018. Poland's independence was manifested by Boleslaw’s coronation in 1025. Unfortunatly, the new King died just two months later, and Poland’s fortunes would take a turn for the worse.
Mieszko II Lambert
Boleslaw’s thirty-five year old son Mieszko was crowned King of Poland on Christmas Day of the year 1025. The first few years of his reign were prosperous and promising.
In 1028 Mieszko invaded Saxony in support of the opposition to the new Holy Roman Emperor, Konrad II. The campaign was a failure and its consequences would be disastrous for the young Kingdom. The next year the Emperor Konrad and Duke Brzetyslaw of Bohemia invaded Poland. Though Polish forces managed to push Konrad back, Brzetyslaw managed to capture and annex Moravia. Konrad, unsatisfied with the results of his campaign, began to conspire against the Polish crown. All was silent for two years, but it was to prove to be the calm before the storm.
In 1031 The Emperor Konrad and The Prince of Kiev, Jaroslav the Wise, invaded Poland, supporting Bezprym’s (Mieszko’s older brother) claim to the Polish throne. Mieszko’s forces were badly beaten, and he was forced to flee to Bohemia. There, he was captured, imprisoned, and castrated. Bezprym assumed the throne, allowed both Konrad and Jaroslav to annex much Polish land, and swore allegiance to the Emperor. He reigned only a few months before being assassinated.
The next year, Mieszko was allowed to return to his throne, but only upon the condition that he would remain a vassal of The Emperor. He died two years later, in 1034, at the age of forty-four. His son, Casimir, was not present in Poland, having been in hiding since they were forced to flee the country three years earlier. The lack of a successor lead to a great destabilization. Peasants rose up against their lords and raided churches. Counts began to war with each other for supremacy. Eventually, a full scale Pagan reactionary uprising engulfed much of the country. Chaos reigned in Poland. In 1038, taking advantage of Poland’s poor state, Duke Brzetyslaw of Bohemia invaded her, and annexed Silesia. Gniezno and Poznan were ravaged, and holy relics stolen.
Casimir the Restorer
The next year, with the help of the new Emperor Heinrich III, Jaroslav of Kiev, and a retinue of Hungarian knights, Casimir finally returned to Poland, and began the reconstruction of his fallen Kingdom. He moved the capital from ravaged Gniezno to Krakow, and put down the uprisings, the revolts, and the disloyal Counts. With the turn of the decade, relative order was restored to the Kingdom of Poland, but there was still much work to be done. By 1044 the last of the Pagan reactionary groups had been broken, and an ambitious program of rechristianization was applied throughout the country. In 1047 Casimir defeated the last of the disloyal Counts, Maslaw, in battle with the help of Kievan forces. In 1050, he went to war with Bohemia, and reconquered Silesia. During his 19 year reign, Casimir had done much in the way of restoring Poland to her former position of stability and power. He had assured his successor a stable inheritance, and a head start to making Poland a great nation once again. There was much that had been lost and not regained, lands in the west lost to the Empire, in the east lands lost to Kiev, and Pommerania in the north lost to Pagan separatists. Still, Casimir had done much in the time he was given. He would go down in history as a great man, a good King, and a hero to his people.
Boleslaw II the Generous
Casimir died on the 19th of March, 1058. His throne was inherited by his eldest son, sixteen year old Boleslaw. He spent the first few years of his rule battling German and Bohemian forces in Hungary for influence over that Kingdom, and achieve great success. At the end of 1066 Boleslaw is twenty-four years old, unmarried, and has yet to put his mark on history. Only time can tell what kind of King he will make…
