19th-century image of Mieszko II by Franciszek Smuglewicz.

Mieszko II Lambert

King of Poland (1025-1034) of the Piast dynasty, the second crowned ruler of the state, the prince of Poland (1032-1034). He gained political ground alongside his father, Bolesław the Brave, taking part in a long-term armed conflict with the German Reich. In 1013, he married the daughter of a Rhenish palatine and the niece of the late Emperor Otto III, Richeza. He crowned himself king with his father and wife in 1025, only to assume power after a few weeks.

He ruled in a deep crisis, in a country weakened by wars and at odds with most of its neighbors. Mieszko II Lambert was expelled in 1031 by his two brothers:Bezprym and Otto, as a result of a simultaneous, coordinated attack by German and Ruthenian troops. This event, almost forgotten today, could be considered the first partition of the Polish state in history. As a result, significant territories fell away from the territory of the Piasts and were annexed to Germany and Kievan Rus. Symbolically, this war ends the period of the superpower position of the state consolidated by Brave.

Mieszko II, the king of Poland, was imprisoned in Bohemia and - according to Gall Anonim's account - castrated by crushing his testicles with leather straps. In 1032 he managed to return to the Vistula and regain the throne, under the pressure of the German emperor Conrad II, however, he was forced to share power with his younger brother (and an earlier rebel) Otto and one of his further relatives, a certain Dytryk. One of the German chronicles said that he also renounced his title of King of Poland. It is worth noting that in Poland the renunciation of the crown was not acknowledged and after 1032 Polish generals still called him king.

He barely reunited the country and died in mysterious circumstances in 1034. According to a late Traska chronicle, he experienced "confusion of his senses" before his death. Another source said that the son of Bolesław died at the hand of his bodyguard, but this is incorrect news, referring in fact to Bezprym. During his time, Poland lost the territorial acquisitions of Chrobry:Milsko and Łużyce, Grody Czerwienskie and Morawy (and possibly Slovakia). He was the first Polish ruler who could read and write . He knew German, Latin and Greek. He was buried in the cathedral in Poznań.