Lestek

Lestek (also Lestko, Lestik, Leszek ; † around 930 ) was a prince of the Polans at the turn of the 9th century to the 10th century . As the son of Prince Siemowit, he came from the Piast dynasty . His son and successor was Siemomysław .

Life

Since Lestek is only mentioned in the Chronicle of Gallus Anonymus , its existence and reign have been disputed since the end of the 19th century. According to a lesser opinion in Polish historical studies, Lestek was invented by Gallus Anonymus or one of his oral sources. However, this hypothesis is just as undetectable as Lestek's existence. According to another opinion, Lestek is actually the grandfather of Mieszko I. Probably the prevailing opinion in 20th century Polish history (including Henryk Łowmiański, Gerard Labuda, Kazimierz Jasiński) considers Lestek to be a historical ruler of the Polans from the early 10th century. Several sources from the 10th century refer to the Polanen as Litzke (Emperor Constantine VII of Byzantium) or Licikaviki ( Widukind ), which would roughly mean the people of the Lesteks or tribe of the Lesteks . According to one hypothesis , these names, used only in the presumed reign of Lestek, go back to himself. In contrast, the names of his wives - there are probably several according to pagan-Slavic custom - are not known. According to Stanisław Zakrzewski, he (inter alia) could have been married to a Moravian princess. In contrast, a Belgian chronicle from the 14th century states that he and a Saxon princess had their son Ewraker , who later became Bishop of Leodium . Lestek's presumed successor is his son Siemomysław. It is not excluded that Lestek already united the tribes of the Polans, Goplanes and Mazovians around 920.

literature

• Kazimierz Jasiński: Rodowód pierwszych Piastów , Warszawa-Wrocław (1992).
• Feliks Koneczny: Dzieje Polski za Piastów , p. 28, Kraków 1902.
• Henryk Łowmiański: Dynastia Piastów we wczesnym średniowieczu, Początki Państwa Polskiego , Poznań 1962.
• Henryk Łowmiański: Początki Polski , p. 5, Warszawa 1973.
• Jerzy Wyrozumski: Dzieje Polski piastowskiej (VIII f. - 1370) , p. 70, Kraków 1999.

predecessor	Office	successor
Siemowit	Prince of the Polans approx. 890 - approx. 930	Siemomyslaw