Mieszko I. (Opole)

Mieszko I. (also: Mieszko I. Kreuzbein ; Mieszko I. Schlenkerbein ; Polish: Mieszko I Plątonogi ; Czech: Měšek I. Opolsko-Ratibořský Křivonohý ; * between 1132 and 1146; † May 16, 1211 ) was 1163–1173 Duke of Silesia , after the partition of Silesia from 1173 Duke of Ratibor , from 1202 Duke of Opole ; from 1210 as Mieszko IV. Senior Duke ( Princeps ) of Poland . He came from the line of the Silesian Piasts .

Origin and family

His father Wladyslaw II. The "expellee" († 1159) was the founder of the line of the Silesian Piasts. Mieszko's mother was Agnes , daughter of the Austrian margrave Leopold III. Mieszko's brothers were:

• Boleslaw I († 1201), Duke of Silesia
• Conrad I († after 1178), Duke of Silesia
• Mieszko's sister Richildis had been married to King Alfonso VII of Castile since 1152 .

Between 1170 and 1178 Mieszko married Ludmilla († 1211), who presumably came from the Bohemian family of the Přemyslids , whose exact origin is not known. She gave birth to five children:

• Casimir I of Opole († 1230)
• Ludmila
• Agnes
• Euphrosyne

Life

Mieszko was expelled in 1146 together with his parents and his older brother Boleslaw by his uncle Boleslaw IV. "Kraushaar" . After the family at the court of the Roman-German King Konrad III. Mieszko initially spent some time in the imperial palace of Altenburg in Thuringia , where his younger brother Konrad was born. While in exile, Mieszko received his education in the Benedictine monastery Michaelsberg in Bamberg .

It was only four years after the death of their father that Mieszko and Boleslaw were allowed to return to Silesia in 1163 with the help of Emperor Friedrich I “Barbarossa” , while their younger brother Konrad initially stayed in the empire. The returned brothers Mieszko and Boleslaw had to hand over their uncle Duke Boleslaw IV. "Kraushaar" Silesia. They received their territory within the Polish seniority constitution as an independent duchy and had to pay tribute to the emperor. Their dominion, which later included the Central and Lower Silesia as well as the Opole region, they ruled together at first.

After a dispute between the brothers, the land was divided in 1173. Boleslaw as the elder received Central and Lower Silesia with the areas of Liegnitz, Breslau and Opole. Mieszko received the territories of Racibórz and Teschen . Since Mieszko had been disadvantaged in the partition of Silesia, he was assigned in 1177 by the new senior duke Casimir "the just" Beuthen , Auschwitz , Zator , Sewerien and Pless . After Kasimir's death in 1194, Mieszko supported the candidacy of his uncle Mieszko "the old man" as Princeps of Krakow against his cousin Leszek I "the white" .

1202 conquered Mieszko, a few months after the death of his brother Boleslaw, the Opole region whose legacy Boleslaw son Henry I was. Boleslaw had to transfer Opole to his son Yaroslav for his life in 1180 , and after his death in 1201 it reverted to Boleslaw according to the contract. On November 25, 1202 Heinrich had to forego any inheritance right between the two Silesian duke lines for the future in addition to the payment of 1000 silver marks. Mieszko permanently connected Opole with his previous rule and became the founder of the Opole line of the Silesian Piasts and the Duchy of Opole.

After the death of Mieszko III. In 1202 the Silesian princes raised a claim to the Krakow seniorate, which, as the oldest living Piast Mieszko I, was entitled to. However, he was passed over by the Cracow Noble Party in favor of Leszek "the White". With papal confirmation, a new order of succession was issued, according to which the Kraków land with Sandomir as hereditary property should remain with the sons of Leszek. The new regulation was not recognized by Mieszko I. and he fought for years for the senior council. It was not until June 9, 1210 that Pope Innocent III ordered. the Gnesen bishop compliance with the seniority constitution of 1138, on which Mieszko based his claim. Mieszko was then able to ascend the Krakow throne, but died a year later.

He was followed as Duke of Opole by his then around 32-year-old son Casimir I. Mieszko's widow Ludmilla died on October 20, 1211.

literature

• Ulrich Schmilewski:  Opole. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 19, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-428-00200-8 , pp. 558 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Historical Commission for Silesia (Ed.): History of Silesia. Volume 1: Ludwig Petry , Josef Joachim Menzel, Winfried Irgang (eds.): From primeval times to the year 1526. 5th, revised edition. Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1988, ISBN 3-7995-6341-5 , pp. 87-93.

predecessor	Office	successor
Leszek I the White	Senior Duke of Poland 1210–1211	Leszek I the White