The Rise of Polish Nationality. From the Reign of Mieczyslaw I. (962) to the Death of Boleslas the Brave (1026)
The first undoubted historical event in which Poland is concerned relates to the year 963, when in the time of the German Emperor Otho I. the Markgraf Geron conquered the…
From: 962 C.E. To: 1026 C.E.
Location: Poznan, Poland
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“The Rise of Polish Nationality. From the Reign of Mieczyslaw I. (962) to the Death of Boleslas the Brave (1026)” from Poland by W. R. Morfill, 1893.
The first undoubted historical event in which Poland is concerned relates to the year 963, when in the time of the German Emperor Otho I. the Markgraf Geron conquered the heathen prince Mieczyslaw or Mieszko, to use the abridged form of his name by which he is frequently mentioned, who ruled over the Poles in the country on the Warta from the Oder to the Vistula, and made him pay tribute to the emperor.
In 965 we are told that Mieczyslaw became a Christian, in order to gain the hand of Dabrowka, the daughter of Boleslas, the King of Bohemia. By these means he consolidated the power of the Slavonic tribes against the ever-increasing encroachments of the Germans. The form of Christianity received, was the Latin, and thus Poland is at the outset in contrast to Russia, whose civilisation was Greek and Byzantine. According to some writers, traces of an early Greek Christianity were originally to be found in Poland.
Mieczyslaw succeeded in bringing his subjects over to the faith which he had adopted, with the assistance of St. Adalbert, the bishop of Prague. In 977 Dabrowka died, and in 982 he married Oda, the daughter of a German Markgraf. Mieczyslaw acknowledged himself the feudatory of Otho, the German Emperor, and, dying at Posen, was buried there, aged sixty-one. In that city, in '968, he had founded a bishopric, which was considered dependent upon that of Magdeburg. The first bishop was Jordan.
Seal of Mieszko the Elder. Image from book.
Mieczyslaw was succeeded by his son Boleslas (Boleslaw), surnamed the Brave, or the Great (992-1026). Otho III., of Germany, visited this prince and raised his duchy into a kingdom. The splendour of the ceremonies attending their meeting is fully described by the Polish chroniclers. It is thus that Kromer narrates the circumstances:
Otho was received by Boleslas and treated together with all his attendants with more than real magnificence and liberality, and presented with splendid gifts, an abacus Counting board), and all the gold and silver plate on the table, a new service of which was brought out each day. Me also gave him valuable curtains and robes. Whereupon the Emperor, wishing to confer equal favours upon his host and friend, after a conference with his councillors who accompanied him, addressed him as king and ally and friend of the Roman Empire, and free from all tribute and imperial jurisdiction.
Moreover, he placed the diadem upon him, Gaudentius, the archbishop presiding at the ceremony; and he declared that the honours of a king should remain to him and his posterity reigning in Poland. To these, he added, as the gift of a guest the lance of St. Maurice, which may still be seen in the Cathedral of Cracow, where is the bishop’s seat, and in return he received the arm of St. Adalbert from the new king. So far Kromer. St Adalbert had for a short time been the second archbishop of Gnesen, but feeling it a sacred duty to preach the gospel among the heathen Prussians, he had gone there and suffered martyrdom Boleslas was only able to purchase his body at a great price, so that it might be kept as a sacred relic at Gnesen. The events of his life are figured on the brazen gates of the cathedral.
On the death of Otho III., in 1002, the relations between Boleslas and the Germans changed. The quarrels about the imperial throne enabled him to conquer all Lusatia and Misnia. He brought back from exile Boleslas III., the Prince of Bohemia; and on the latter breaking faith with him he took possession of his country and also Moravia.
Then began a long and tedious war between Poland and the Emperor, Henry II., against whom Boleslas was infuriated because at a meeting at Merseburg, he had almost lost his life through treachery. The Polish monarch, accordingly, entered into relation with all those who were ill-disposed towards the Emperor. But the first expedition was unfortunate for Boleslas; his allies acted feebly, Misnia was first lost and then Bohemian Lusatia was laid waste.
But finally, in 1013, peace was made between them at Merseburg, according to which all Slavonic territory beyond the Oder was freed from German rule. Boleslas then set about the subjugation of the Pomeranians and the heathen Prussians. Missionaries were left among them to instruct them in the doctrines of Christianity, and an iron pillar was erected between Rogozno and Laszczyn as a sign of their subjugation, from whence the city of Slupa took its name (slup Pol. pillar).
The most famous, however, of the wars of Boleslas was that with Yaroslav, Prince of Kiev, who had expelled his brother Sviatopolk. Boleslas embraced the cause of Sviatopolk, and a battle took place on the banks of the Bug in 1016, in which he was victorious. He is said to have been stimulated to join battle with the enemy by the jeers of a Russian soldier who made fun of his corpulence. Sviatopolk was restored, but he braved with treachery to Boleslas, who on a subsequent occasion is said to have taken Kiev and to have struck the golden gate, the ruins of which still exist, with his sword. Our chief authorities for these transactions are Thietmar, the German chronicler, and Martin Gallus.
Boleslas died in 1025 at Posen, and was there buried, he was fifty-eight years of age, and had reigned, thirty-three years, He had taken the title of King of Poland; his great idea was to make Poland a powerful state in opposition to Germany.
His reign was one of great progress for the nation: many new cities were built, trade was increased, Greek merchants were induced to visit the country, and money was coined. To spread Christianity more effectually among his subjects, Boleslas sent for some Benedictine Monks from France, and founded monasteries for them on Lysa Gora, at Siccicchowa, and Tynce; in his time also schools were established.
We are told that all the people wore mourning for him during a year. He was, in reality, one of the few vigorous monarchs of Poland. He had largely extended her territory, having added White Croatia (Bialo-Chrobacya) with Cracow as far as the Carpathians, the towns of Galicia, and the Baltic coast.
By founding the archbishopric of Gnesen,he established an independent Polish church, to which he subordinated the other bishoprics which he had made, including Posen, created by his father. Unfortunately, during his long wars with the Germans, the Polabes, a powerful tribe which occupied the territory now included in the territory of Hanover, were lost to the Slavs, and in course of time became more and more Germanised, although their language did not die out till the earlier part of last century. It has survived in many names of places, and also in a few vocabularies which have been preserved. A grammar of this interesting language was written by August Schleicher.
Thus by the commencement of the eleventh century Poland had absorbed nearly all the western Slavonic states including Bohemia. Of the internal condition of the country during this period we have very few accurate details, as Dr. Schiemann truly remarks. We find no trace in Poland, as we do in Russia, of veches or popular assemblies: the king confers with his comites and the bishops.
Society is organised entirely upon a military basis. The country is divided into opoljē or viciniæ—Thietmar uses the words pagi and provinciæ— and the king’s governors or castellans were stationed in the towns or fortresses. Most of the towns appear to have been kept in this way in a state of defence, and were generally the seats of bishoprics. The privileged class in whose hands lay the power was called the Szlachta, a word probably derived from the German Geschlecht. Of the condition of the rural population we shall speak afterwards. At the present time we get no mention of it; but it is obvious that the frequent wars of Boleslas must have filled the country with captives, who, according to the laws of war of the time, became slaves. It Will be seen what effect their existence had upon the pre-rural population.
Morfill, W. R. Poland. T. Fisher Unwin, 1893.
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