Świętopełk Mieszkowic (b. ca. 980 – d. bef. 991?), was a Polish prince member of the

House of Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branc ...

. He was the third son of

Mieszko I of Poland Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was the first ruler of Poland and the founder of the first independent Polish state, the Duchy of Poland. His reign stretched from 960 to his death and he was a member of the Piast dynasty, a son of Siemomysł and a ...

but the second born from his second marriage with Oda, daughter of

Dietrich of Haldensleben , father = Wichmann the Elder , mother = Frederuna of Ringelheim Dietrich (Theoderich, Theodoric) of Haldensleben (died 25 August 985) was a count in the Schwabengau, later also in the Nordthüringgau and the Derlingau, who was the first Margr ...

, Margrave of the

North March The Northern March or North March (german: Nordmark) was created out of the division of the vast ''Marca Geronis'' in 965. It initially comprised the northern third of the ''Marca'' (roughly corresponding to the modern state of Brandenburg) and ...

Life

Nothing is known about his first years of life. Świętopełk is only named in the chronicles of

Thietmar of Merseburg Thietmar (also Dietmar or Dithmar; 25 July 9751 December 1018), Prince-Bishop of Merseburg from 1009 until his death, was an important chronicler recording the reigns of German kings and Holy Roman Emperors of the Ottonian (Saxon) dynasty. Two ...

; he was omitted in the document "'' Dagome iudex''" (ca. 991/92), which names his parents and full-brothers

Mieszko Mieszko is a Slavic given name of uncertain origin. Onomastics There are three major theories concerning the origin and meaning of the name of Duke Mieszko I of Poland. The most popular theory, proposed by Jan Długosz, explains that Mieszko is ...

and Lambert, a fact which indicates that he may have been dead by that time, in or before 991. Another hypothesis stated that the absence of Świętopełk from the "''Dagome iudex''" was because he was already in

Western Pomerania Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (german: Vorpommern), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania forming the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, Weste ...

, which was granted to him as a fief and in consequence he was the ancestor of the earlier Dukes of Pomerania; however, this theory is now discarded by the majority of modern historians, who linked the first Pomeranian Dukes with the Piast Dynasty through a daughter of either Mieszko I or Baltic Žemužil .

References

* ''Thietmari chronicon'' (edited by Marian Zygmunt Jedlicki), Poznań 1953, p. 224. * Balzer O., ''Genealogia Piastów'', Kraków 1895. * Gieysztor A., ''Świętopełk'', n:''Słownik starożytności słowiańskich'', 1975, vol. V, p. 585. * K. Jasiński, ''Rodowód pierwszych Piastów'', Wrocław-Warsaw 1992. * Labuda G., ''Czy książęta zachodniopomorscy wywodzili się z Piastów?'', (in:) ''Studia i materiały do Dziejów Wielkopolski i Pomorza'', 1958, vol. IV, No 1, pp. 33–47. * G. Labuda, ''Mieszko I'', Wrocław 2002, p. 154, 199. * Rymar E., ''Dagome iudex jako organiczna część decyzji Mieszka I w sprawie podziału Polski na dzielnice. Reanimacja hipotezy o piastowskim rodowodzie dynastii pomorskiej'', 1986, pp. 293–348. * J. Widajewicz, ''Początki Polski'', Wrocław 1948. * Z. Wojciechowski, ''Polska nad Wisłą i Odrą w X wieku'', Katowice 1939, p. 111. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mieszkowic, Swietopelk 980s births Piast dynasty 10th-century deaths