Boleslaw Piast wasn't a clever man but he was old. More than that he was a king. His 40th birthday saw people from distant corners of the world coming to Krakow. It wasn't long ago that these people would never have dreamt of kneeling before the King of Poland. Yet today they did. Speech by speech the admiration started to morph into something real and simple prestige would turn into power. The Piasts would rule Poland for centuries, and yet in 1082 it seemed as if all there was to the dynasty was a feeble old man with matching socks. What had Boleslaw done with his time? Few knew and even fewer asked the question. What had time done with Boleslaw? Now that is a story worth telling.
Born to the world in the 1042nd year of our lord, destined to be the king, he had spent his time learning from his father. Strictly religious and with the country poised by the threat of the pagans beyond the borders, his father had him sent to the military. Filled with false ideals of honour and justice, Boleslaw would take to the throne with courage in his heart and blindness in his eyes at the age of just 24. His brother Wladyslaw viewed him with contempt and there were only a few who saw any potential in the young king. Both the nobles and the clergy saw the younger brother as far more reasonable, far more controllable for the good of the people, or parts of it at any rate.
The split between the two brothers has been dramatized out of proportion in history writing. Many believe that Wladyslaw the deceitful was after the throne. Yet, infact, it was he who in reality controlled Poland. Boleslaw had been brought up to trust his family, a grave mistake, by his father. It was in 1074 that the Prussians attacked without a warning, summoning his troops Boleslaw marched out to meet the threat. Wladyslaw would refuse any and all of his troops to support the Polish effort. Boleslaw dind't lose heart, in fact he thought that a victory with fewer troops might improve his status. Newly wed and eager to conceive babies, the king spent less time riding at the front than at home. Still, disorganized and disheartened by the sheer number of opposition, the Pagans quickly surrendered. Boleslaw wasn't sure how to deal with victory. His father had taught him to fear and hate the pagans, but how to deal with them once they lay down their arms and lives at your feet was another thing altogether. The Archbishop of Kuyavia, Stanislaw, demanded that all Pagans be burned and the lands donated to crusaders and settlers. Wladyslaw at the time wished those lands to become his. Unsure what to do the young king consulted his wife. It would be the first, but certainly not the last time, that Queen Scholastyka would step in. Demands left and right were met by denial, instead the lands would remain with the family.
The son of Boleslaw, Zbyszko, was appointed the duke of Prussia, with her sisters gaining the surrounding counties. With the lot of them being under age at the time, rumours started to circulate on who truly was in control. In an attempt to undermine the authority of Boleslaw, probably led by Wladyslaw, it was told that the Queen had stepped in to save her fellow pagans. Scholastyka was a Polish Catholic but coming from a relatively poor family, she would continue to be targetted by these false claims till the end of her days. In 1076 in a feeble attempt to seize power Stanislaw the Archbishop of Kuyavia would demand the king to give up his throne in favor of his brother. The king would not act and neither would his brother. The Archbishop was in no position to force through his desires and all that his words would do, was to start a feud that would last until the end of his life.
The war on the Pagans would continue, as the tribes bordering the Baltic would one after the other attack the Polish lands. After the fall of Pommeralia which was given to the second son of the king, also Boleslaw, the chiefdom of Werle would plea to the Polish for support in their fight against the tribe of Mecklemburg. Unsure whether or not to engage in the war, as the lands had been claimed by the king of Germany, Boleslaw would again consult her wife. As a result the rumours circulating the royal family would again rise. Opting to engage in the war, with hopes of destroying the Western Pagans once and for all, Boleslaw quickly learned that the kings of Denmark and Germany would not look favourably upon the annexation of these lands into Poland. Yet at the time neither Germany or Denmark could act upon their threats. Denmark, having been beaten in a war against the pagans losing Holstein and more importantly Norway gaining Lübeck, and Germany fighting internal revolts. With their armies out of order and treasuries emptied, the kings of Europe turned to other means of curbing the expansion of Poland. In 1078 it was decided that the archbishop of Kuyiva, a fierce rival of the King of Poland, would become the next Pope. The lands of the Archbishop, as a final insult to the king, would be turned over to Wladyslaw. The king, of course, could have overruled this, but seeing his brother with five sons, decided to act upon the advice of his father and trust his kin. Even with the acquisitions of the duchies of Prussia and Pommeralia, the armies of Wladyslaw were now more numerous by far. This further convinced Boleslaw to conquer Mecklemburg.
By the time the Polish armies reached the Oder river, Werle had fallen as had many of the Pagans. Mecklemburg would crumble at the feet of Boleslaw, with parts of it given to his son, ruler of Pommeralia and now Pommerania as well. Boleslaw the younger had grown to be an ambitious character and it was not something to be overlooked. It seemed as if Zbyszko, like his father, would have to share the throne with a brother. The king, now old, had granted Pommerania to his second son to turn his interest into subduing Pagans and serving the country, instead Boleslaw was to turn his ambition against his brother and cousins, and even on Germany. The king, disheartened by the moral character of his nine-year-old, would never suspect his own brother in poisoning the mind of young Boleslaw, so strongly did he remember the words of his father. His wife, on the other hand, would not be fooled. The last act of the young king therefore just hours before turning forty was to form an alliance with Hungary, with the paragraphs clearly stating that the allegiance was to Zbyszko, now 11, after the death of his father.
Such was the story of young Boleslaw, now old, bitter and afraid. Had he only been challenged by the Pope, the most powerful courts of Europe and, to the East, numerous Pagans, the situation would not have been intolerable. But to be challenged by his own kin, not only his brother, but his son aswell, and to rely on the Hungarians for protection, was something that he could never forgive himself, nor would his father. The thoughts that surrounded Boleslaw on that day must have been crushing. The most eloquant speeches and the most wonderous presents were of no comfort to a man who had lost everything. Boleslaw was never to be the same again. The king is dead, long live the king.
Born to the world in the 1042nd year of our lord, destined to be the king, he had spent his time learning from his father. Strictly religious and with the country poised by the threat of the pagans beyond the borders, his father had him sent to the military. Filled with false ideals of honour and justice, Boleslaw would take to the throne with courage in his heart and blindness in his eyes at the age of just 24. His brother Wladyslaw viewed him with contempt and there were only a few who saw any potential in the young king. Both the nobles and the clergy saw the younger brother as far more reasonable, far more controllable for the good of the people, or parts of it at any rate.
The split between the two brothers has been dramatized out of proportion in history writing. Many believe that Wladyslaw the deceitful was after the throne. Yet, infact, it was he who in reality controlled Poland. Boleslaw had been brought up to trust his family, a grave mistake, by his father. It was in 1074 that the Prussians attacked without a warning, summoning his troops Boleslaw marched out to meet the threat. Wladyslaw would refuse any and all of his troops to support the Polish effort. Boleslaw dind't lose heart, in fact he thought that a victory with fewer troops might improve his status. Newly wed and eager to conceive babies, the king spent less time riding at the front than at home. Still, disorganized and disheartened by the sheer number of opposition, the Pagans quickly surrendered. Boleslaw wasn't sure how to deal with victory. His father had taught him to fear and hate the pagans, but how to deal with them once they lay down their arms and lives at your feet was another thing altogether. The Archbishop of Kuyavia, Stanislaw, demanded that all Pagans be burned and the lands donated to crusaders and settlers. Wladyslaw at the time wished those lands to become his. Unsure what to do the young king consulted his wife. It would be the first, but certainly not the last time, that Queen Scholastyka would step in. Demands left and right were met by denial, instead the lands would remain with the family.
The son of Boleslaw, Zbyszko, was appointed the duke of Prussia, with her sisters gaining the surrounding counties. With the lot of them being under age at the time, rumours started to circulate on who truly was in control. In an attempt to undermine the authority of Boleslaw, probably led by Wladyslaw, it was told that the Queen had stepped in to save her fellow pagans. Scholastyka was a Polish Catholic but coming from a relatively poor family, she would continue to be targetted by these false claims till the end of her days. In 1076 in a feeble attempt to seize power Stanislaw the Archbishop of Kuyavia would demand the king to give up his throne in favor of his brother. The king would not act and neither would his brother. The Archbishop was in no position to force through his desires and all that his words would do, was to start a feud that would last until the end of his life.
The war on the Pagans would continue, as the tribes bordering the Baltic would one after the other attack the Polish lands. After the fall of Pommeralia which was given to the second son of the king, also Boleslaw, the chiefdom of Werle would plea to the Polish for support in their fight against the tribe of Mecklemburg. Unsure whether or not to engage in the war, as the lands had been claimed by the king of Germany, Boleslaw would again consult her wife. As a result the rumours circulating the royal family would again rise. Opting to engage in the war, with hopes of destroying the Western Pagans once and for all, Boleslaw quickly learned that the kings of Denmark and Germany would not look favourably upon the annexation of these lands into Poland. Yet at the time neither Germany or Denmark could act upon their threats. Denmark, having been beaten in a war against the pagans losing Holstein and more importantly Norway gaining Lübeck, and Germany fighting internal revolts. With their armies out of order and treasuries emptied, the kings of Europe turned to other means of curbing the expansion of Poland. In 1078 it was decided that the archbishop of Kuyiva, a fierce rival of the King of Poland, would become the next Pope. The lands of the Archbishop, as a final insult to the king, would be turned over to Wladyslaw. The king, of course, could have overruled this, but seeing his brother with five sons, decided to act upon the advice of his father and trust his kin. Even with the acquisitions of the duchies of Prussia and Pommeralia, the armies of Wladyslaw were now more numerous by far. This further convinced Boleslaw to conquer Mecklemburg.
By the time the Polish armies reached the Oder river, Werle had fallen as had many of the Pagans. Mecklemburg would crumble at the feet of Boleslaw, with parts of it given to his son, ruler of Pommeralia and now Pommerania as well. Boleslaw the younger had grown to be an ambitious character and it was not something to be overlooked. It seemed as if Zbyszko, like his father, would have to share the throne with a brother. The king, now old, had granted Pommerania to his second son to turn his interest into subduing Pagans and serving the country, instead Boleslaw was to turn his ambition against his brother and cousins, and even on Germany. The king, disheartened by the moral character of his nine-year-old, would never suspect his own brother in poisoning the mind of young Boleslaw, so strongly did he remember the words of his father. His wife, on the other hand, would not be fooled. The last act of the young king therefore just hours before turning forty was to form an alliance with Hungary, with the paragraphs clearly stating that the allegiance was to Zbyszko, now 11, after the death of his father.
Such was the story of young Boleslaw, now old, bitter and afraid. Had he only been challenged by the Pope, the most powerful courts of Europe and, to the East, numerous Pagans, the situation would not have been intolerable. But to be challenged by his own kin, not only his brother, but his son aswell, and to rely on the Hungarians for protection, was something that he could never forgive himself, nor would his father. The thoughts that surrounded Boleslaw on that day must have been crushing. The most eloquant speeches and the most wonderous presents were of no comfort to a man who had lost everything. Boleslaw was never to be the same again. The king is dead, long live the king.
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