Zbigniew (Poland)

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Zbigniew (* around 1070; † 1112 ) was the eldest son Władysław I. Herman from his first marriage to a woman from Pomerania. He was Duke of Poland in Greater Poland , Kujawien and Mazovia from the Piast dynasty .

Life

He was born around 1070 as the first son of Duke Władysław of Poland and was the older half-brother of Duke Bolesław III. Crooked mouth . Since the marriage of his parents was concluded according to the Slavic rite, it was valid for the Catholic Church, according to the followers of Boleslaw III. as void and Zbigniew as illegitimate. However, church marriages in Poland only became mandatory in later years. In contrast to the strong personality of his brother, he was considered to be modest and weak-willed and relied on diplomacy rather than armed conflicts.

At the urging of Duke Władysław's second wife (and mother Bolesław), he was disinherited in 1087 and sent to the monastery in Quedlinburg . In 1090 Pomerania was attacked and parts were conquered at short notice. When resistance arose against the ruler in 1092, Zbigniew was kidnapped from the monastery and brought to Silesia . In 1096 he was legitimized by his father and appointed heir to the throne. He received the province of Silesia, which he quickly lost again through the war against him, unleashed by his brother Bolesław, in which Zbigniew was defeated and was captured by Palatine Sieciech . Through the intervention of the church and the nobility, he was liberated in 1097 and, together with his brother, forced his father to announce a partition of Poland between the brothers in 1099, with Zbigniew receiving Greater Poland and Kuyavia, Boleslaw Silesia with Lesser Poland .

After the father's death in 1102, the Duchy of Mazovia was added. Relations between the brothers were very tense. Attempts to conquer Pomerania also went under Boleslaw III. further. Zbigniew's area was adjacent to the Pomeranian and he wanted to keep on good terms with them. However, the attacks of Boleslaws meant that the Pomeranians came to his area first when taking countermeasures. Already in 1106 Zbigniew had to recognize the suzerainty of Bolesław. He was expelled from Poland entirely in 1107 and fled to the Emperor Heinrich V.

In 1109, during the Polish-Bohemian War, the latter undertook a campaign against Poland, which ended with the defeat of the German army near Hundsfeld, not far from Breslau . The Polish-Bohemian peace agreement in 1111 made possible the reconciliation between the brothers and his return to Poland. However, he was charged with treason (attempted coup) by Bolesław, imprisoned and blinded . Zbigniew died shortly afterwards in prison. After his death, Bolesław made a public penance in the medieval style, which allowed him to keep his throne as sole ruler.

Individual evidence

  1. Zbigniew's mother was from Pomerania Dr. Max Gumplowicz

literature

  • Stary Matus (pseud.): Dzieje Narodu Polskiego , Warszawa 1905
predecessor Office successor
Wladyslaw I. Herman Duke of Poland
1102–1107
Bolesław III. Crooked mouth