The Battle of Hundsfeld or Battle of Psie Pole was said to be fought on 24 August 1109 near the

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

n capital

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

between the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

in aid of the claims of the exiled

Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule i ...

duke

Zbigniew Zbigniew () is a Polish masculine given name, originally Zbygniew . This West Slavic name is derived from the Polish elements ''Zby-'' (from ''zbyć, zbyć się, or pozbyć się'', meaning "to dispel", "to get rid of") and ''gniew'', meaning "ange ...

against his ruling half-brother,

Bolesław III Wrymouth Bolesław III Wrymouth ( pl, Bolesław III Krzywousty; 20 August 1086 – 28 October 1138), also known as Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed, was the duke of Lesser Poland, Silesia and Sandomierz between 1102 and 1107 and over the whole of Poland between ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. It was recorded by the medieval Polish chronicler Bishop

Wincenty Kadłubek Wincenty Kadłubek ( 1150 – 8 March 1223) was a Polish Catholic prelate and professed Cistercian who served as the Bishop of Kraków from 1208 until his resignation in 1218. His episcopal mission was to reform the diocesan priests to ensure ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

in his ''

Chronica seu originale regum et principum Poloniae 200px, ''Historia Polonica'', Vincenti Kadłubkonis Episcopi Cracoviensis, 1612 ''Chronica seu originale regum et principum Poloniae'', short name ''Chronica Polonorum'', is a Latin history of Poland written by Wincenty Kadłubek between 1190 an ...

'' several decades later.

History

The contemporary author

Gallus Anonymus ''Gallus Anonymus'' ( Polonized variant: ''Gall '') is the name traditionally given to the anonymous author of ''Gesta principum Polonorum'' (Deeds of the Princes of the Poles), composed in Latin between 1112 and 1118. ''Gallus'' is generally rega ...

in his ''

Gesta principum Polonorum The ''Gesta principum Polonorum'' (; "''Deeds of the Princes of the Poles''") is the oldest known medieval chronicle documenting the history of Poland from the legendary times until 1113. Written in Latin by an anonymous author, it was most lik ...

'', written between 1112 and 1118, mentioned several armed encounters with the Imperial forces led by King

Henry V of Germany Henry V (german: Heinrich V.; probably 11 August 1081 or 1086 – 23 May 1125, in Utrecht) was King of Germany (from 1099 to 1125) and Holy Roman Emperor (from 1111 to 1125), as the fourth and last ruler of the Salian dynasty. He was made co-r ...

. After Bolesław III had invaded the

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

territory of Duke Svatopluk, the German king in turn started a campaign in Poland and laid siege to the towns of

Bytom Odrzański Bytom Odrzański (german: Beuthen an der Oder) is a town on the Oder river in western Poland, in Nowa Sól County of Lubusz Voivodeship. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 4,191. History Archaeological findings from the Stone Age ...

and

Głogów Głogów (; german: Glogau, links=no, rarely , cs, Hlohov, szl, Głogōw) is a city in western Poland. It is the county seat of Głogów County, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (since 1999), and was previously in Legnica Voivodeship (1975–1998) ...

, before he moved further down the

Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...

River and marched against

, though to no avail, after being defeated at the Battle of Hundsfeld by Bolesław's forces.

Debate

According to

, the Germans were ambushed by the Polish forces and the result was a complete victory of Bolesław III Wrymouth, whereafter King Henry withdrew from Poland. After the encounter, due to the many dead and dying left on the battlefield; Kadłubek remarked, that the "...dogs which, devouring so many corpses, fell into a mad ferocity, so that no one dared venture there." Hence, the site became known as "dogs' field" ( pl, Psie Pole, german: Hundsfeld). Kadłubek's relation was questioned in the late 19th century ''Encyklopedia Powszechna'' by

Samuel Orgelbrand Samuel Orgelbrand (1810 – 16 November 1868) was one of the most prominent Polish-Jewish printers, booksellers, and publishers of the 19th century. He is best known as the initiator, organizer, and publisher of the ''Encyklopedia Powszechna'' ...

. Present-day historians are split on the issue, with some arguing that the battle was rather an unimportant skirmish, and the ''Chronica'', written at the court of Bolesław's son

Casimir II the Just Casimir II the Just ( pl, Kazimierz II Sprawiedliwy; 28 October 1138 – 5 May 1194) was a Lesser Polish Duke of Wiślica from 1166–1173, and of Sandomierz after 1173. He became ruler over the Polish Seniorate Province at Kraków and thereby Hig ...

almost hundred years after the event, is not fully reliable. Though, regardless of the magnitude, the clash contributed to Henry V's retreat.M. Kaczmarek, ''"Bitwa na Psim Polu"'', in: Encyklopedia Wrocławia, Wrocław 2000

Tradition

The site is now part of the

Psie Pole Psie Pole () (polish: ''Dog Field'') is one of the five administrative districts of Wrocław, Poland. Before 1928, it was an independent city. Its functions were largely taken over on 8 March 1990 by the Municipal Office of the newly established ...

district of modern Wrocław. The name was also given by General

Stanislaw Maczek Stanislav and variants may refer to: People * Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine * Stanislaus County, C ...

during

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to an area where a mile-long column of German panzers was destroyed at

Hill 262 Battle of Hill 262, or the Mont Ormel ridge (elevation ), is an area of high ground above the village of Coudehard in Normandy that was the location of a bloody engagement in the final stages of the Battle of Falaise in the Normandy Campaign dur ...

, during the Battle of Falaise in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Hundsfeld 1109 in Europe

Hundsfeld Psie Pole () ( polish: ''Dog Field'') is one of the five administrative districts of Wrocław, Poland. Before 1928, it was an independent city. Its functions were largely taken over on 8 March 1990 by the Municipal Office of the newly establishe ...

History of Wrocław History of Silesia

Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor

History

Debate

Tradition

See also

References