There was a dark interregnum that lasted until 1038 in the Piast state. This is what you can read in history textbooks. Perhaps, however, it was completely different and another ruler sat on the Piast throne, but his name was doomed to oblivion. It was the firstborn son of Mieszko II, Bolesław.
It is puzzling why, after receiving the news of Mieszko's death, Rychez did not take any steps to immediately place her son, Kazimierz Karol, on the throne. Perhaps because someone else was already sitting on it, just that mysterious Bolesław, about whom history textbooks are unanimous.
Days of Horror
The reason for this silence may be the removal of his name from all historical documents of the time. Centuries earlier, Egyptian priests had done the same with Pharaoh Akhenaten, erasing all traces of his reign. In the case of our prince, as in the country on the Nile, the reason for this was religion.
Bolesław stained the honor of the entire Piast dynasty, because he returned to the religion of his ancestors, i.e. to the pagan Slavic beliefs, and at the same time became an enemy of the Church . The days of terror came for Christian priests, the apostate persecuted the new faith with great determination, fighting it by all means.
The days of terror came for Christian priests, the apostate persecuted the new faith with great determination, fighting it by all means.
The return to the pagan religion should come as no surprise if we take into account that Bolesław, being the fruit of a union contained in the Slavonic rite, was considered a bastard by the Church. And it was the Church that deprived him not only of power, but also of his life, sending assassins on him, and then erasing his name from the pages of history, and so effectively that today many people doubt his existence. It was easy because the rule of Bolesław the Forgotten lasted only four years.
Evidence for the existence of Bolesław
However, there are quite reliable sources on the basis of which it can be concluded that Bolesław the Forgotten was not a fictional character . The son of Mieszko Lambert, doomed to be forgotten, is mentioned, for example, by the Greater Poland Chronicle from the 15th century in which there is a mention that after the death of Mieszko II, his firstborn son Bolesław took over the rule, but due to severity and terrible crimes, his life ended badly. Because of the wickedness he had committed, he was to be condemned to be forgotten forever.
Also in Annals of the Krakow Chapter there is a record from 1038 regarding the death of King Bolesław, and since Chrobry died in 1025, and another ruler named Bolesław - Bolesław Szczodry, also called the Bold, died only fifty years later, historians believe that it is about the son of Mieszko II and his concubines.
The existence of the prince is also confirmed, admittedly, indirectly, by The Lesser Poland Yearbook , in which Bolesław the Wrymouth was called Bolesław IV, and the Tyniec Code no longer existing in the original , in which the name of Bolesław the Bold was given the Roman number III, which gives grounds to believe that there was one more Bolesław between the Brave and the Bold.
The text is an excerpt from the book by Iwona Kienzler "Foreign wives and mothers of the rulers of Poland", which has just been published by the Bellona publishing house.
Proof of the existence of Bolesław the Forgotten is also provided by the prayer book of his half-sister, Duchess Gertrude, daughter of Mieszko II and Rycheza, in which we find a psalm by her, as it is believed. brothers ", from which the conclusion that Gertrude, apart from Kazimierz, must have had a brother.
Moreover, according to the Polish historian Oswald Balzer, Bolesław did not come from the relationship between Mieszko and Dąbrówka, but was his and Rycheza's son, and the firstborn ! For unknown reasons, her mother loved the second in line, Kazimierz Karol more, and she saw him, not Bolesław, on the Piast throne. Meanwhile, her spouse had other plans:Bolesław was to be a successor, and he assigned Kazimierz to the clergy so that he could in the future hold some important ecclesiastical function. According to many, it was the disputes over the future of both sons that led to the breakup of the marriage of Rycheza and Mieszko.
Poland of the Piasts in ruin
Regardless, however, whether Bolesław the Forgotten really existed and whether he was the son of Riches, or concubines or, if you prefer, the prince's Slavic wife, and whether he actually sat on the throne, leading to the return of the ancestral religion, the years 1034–1038 were a tragic period in history our country.
Not only there was an indescribable chaos in the Polish lands, in 1038 a popular uprising broke out in Greater Poland and Silesia, but also a cup of Mieszko II, Miecław, created his own independent state in Mazovia. In the same 1038, after the alleged death of Bolesław , the Czech prince from the Přemyslid dynasty, Brzetysław I . He managed to capture Silesia and Lesser Poland, as well as completely destroy almost the entire country.
Did Mieszko II Lambert have a son, Bolesław?
He plundered Krakow, but he was the worst to deal with the capital of the state - Gniezno, because he not only took away valuable valuables and valuables from the Piast metropolis, but also relics from the local cathedral. On the occasion of his army, they destroyed almost all the sacred buildings that were erected in Poznań on the orders of Mieszko I to celebrate the baptism of the ruler. As a result of the actions of the Czech prince, the Piast capital lost its importance, and Gall Anonim writes that in the local “St. Wojciech Męczennik and St. Peter the Apostle, wild animals have found lairs. ”
Poland as a state practically did not exist:it was deprived of the army, administration, church structures - destroyed, like Christian temples, by a pagan revolt. The Piast monarchy seemed to disappear forever.
Kazimierz the Restorer - mummy?
Worse still, Jarosław Mądry was going to expand his rule, intending to base his country's borders on the Vistula. And it was precisely these intentions that disturbed Konrad II, which Rychez eagerly used, convincing the German ruler that it was in his interest to have a buffer state, effectively separating Germany from Russia leading its expansion to the west. The country on whose throne her son Kazimierz will sit.
At the same time, spared no means to help Kazimierz Karol gather an army to facilitate his return to the country . Indeed, my beloved son, headed by over five hundred trained and skilled warriors, returned to the country in 1039 or 1040. Unfortunately, he found the former Piast capital of Gniezno in such a deplorable condition that he had no choice but to move his seat to Krakow, which had suffered much less than Gniezno.
Although Rycheza did not return to Poland with him, she supported her son as much as she could.
Although Rycheza did not return to Poland with him, she supported her son as much as she could. Realizing that he would need the support of the Church, assisted him with generous donations, compensating for the losses suffered in the pagan rebellion . The support given to Kazimierz by her brother, Bishop Herman, who was also the papal chancellor, was not without significance.
Admittedly, observing the actions of her beloved son, who devoted his reign to the difficult struggle to reunite the devastated country, made her proud. Kazimierz, nicknamed the Restorer by history, first of all stabilized Poland's position by normalizing relations with the Czechs, and more importantly, made a surprising alliance with one of the greatest enemies of the state, Jarosław the Wise, Prince of Kievan Rus, by marrying his daughter, Maria Dobroniega.
Interestingly, the prince, taking her to be his wife, also related to many European courts, because Jarosław gave his daughters to the kings of France, Norway and Hungary. Much more important, however, is that, with the help of his father-in-law, Kazimierz defeated Miecław in the war for Mazovia, which he restored to Poland, just like Silesia. Undoubtedly, he was a talented, persistent politician, which he owed above all to his mother.
Source:
The text is an excerpt from the book by Iwona Kienzler "Foreign wives and mothers of the rulers of Poland", which has just been published by the Bellona publishing house.