Czcibor ( la, Cidebur; died after 972), a member of the

Piast dynasty 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. Branch ...

, was a Polan prince, son of Duke

Siemomysł Siemomysł or Ziemomysł (died ) was the third duke of Polans of the Piast dynasty, and the father of Poland's first Christian ruler, Mieszko I. He was listed by Gallus Anonymous in his ''Gesta principum Polonorum'' and was the son of Lestek, ...

and younger brother of the first Christian ruler,

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 ...

Life

According to E. Rymar (2005), Czcibor may have been a governor of the

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

n lands after Mieszko I's conquest of that West Slavic tribes territory from around 967 AD. In medieval sources, he is mentioned but once in the chronicles by

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 ...

, in relationship with Poland's victorious

Battle of Cedynia In the Battle of Cedynia or Zehden, an army of Mieszko I of Poland defeated forces of Hodo or Odo I of Lusatia on 24 June 972, near the Oder river. Whether or not the battle actually took place near the modern-day town of Cedynia is disputed in ...

against the forces of the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

margrave Odo I (''Hodo'') in 972 AD. He is thought to have been either the commander or one of the principal Polish leaders, along with his brother Mieszko, and Thietmar is the source of his presence at the battle. Czibor's presence at Cedynia might have been based not only on his status as war leader and brother of the Polish ruler, but also by his position as 'governor' of conquered/annexed Pomerania. His date of birth and death are unknown, his family: mother, wife or wives (he was most likely a

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

until 966 AD), and children are also unknown. In view of his name, his mother may have been of Sorbian (

Lusatia Lusatia (german: Lausitz, pl, Łużyce, hsb, Łužica, dsb, Łužyca, cs, Lužice, la, Lusatia, rarely also referred to as Sorbia) is a historical region in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr ...

n) origin.

Popular culture

Czcibor is known in the Polish popular culture, through books of

Józef Ignacy Kraszewski Józef Ignacy Kraszewski (28 July 1812 – 19 March 1887) was a Polish writer, publisher, historian, journalist, scholar, painter, and author who produced more than 200 novels and 150 novellas, short stories, and art reviews, which makes him the ...

Zbigniew Nienacki Zbigniew Nienacki (January 1, 1929 in Łódź – September 23, 1994 in Morąg) was a pen name of Poland, Polish writer, Zbigniew Tomasz Nowicki. He was most known for his Pan Samochodzik (Mister Automobile) series. Biography His works consist ...

and

Paweł Jasienica Paweł Jasienica was the pen name of Leon Lech Beynar (10 November 1909 – 19 August 1970), a Poles, Polish historian, journalist, essayist and soldier. During World War II, Jasienica (then, Leon Beynar) fought in the Polish Army, and later, ...

, and was one of the principal characters in a 1974 Polish feature film ''

Gniazdo ''Gniazdo'' (English: ''The Nest'') is a 1974 Polish historical film about Mieszko I, the founder of the first independent Polish state, circa 960 AD. The film was written by Aleksander Ścibor-Rylski and directed by Jan Rybkowski. Cast and ...

'' directed by

Jan Rybkowski Jan Izydor Rybkowski (4 April 1912 – 29 December 1987) was a Polish film director. He directed 30 films between 1949 and 1984. His 1961 film ''Tonight a City Will Die'' was entered into the 2nd Moscow International Film Festival. Two yea ...

. In 1977 Polish

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

book artist

Grzegorz Rosiński Grzegorz Rosiński (born 3 August 1941) is a Polish comic book artist. He is best known for providing the artwork for the series ''Thorgal''. Early life Grzegorz Rosiński was born in Stalowa Wola in 1941.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "Rosinski". In Be ...

drew a story, based on Moczulski's storyline, where Czcibor appeared along with his brother Mieszko, this 8 full-panel long story appeared in a Polish comics monthly magazine ''Relax'', volume 4. There are streets named after him in some Polish cities and towns, e.g.

Łobez Łobez (german: Labes) is a town on the river Rega in northwestern Poland, within the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is the capital of Łobez County, and has a population of 10,066 (2019). The name The name Łobez comes from the Old Polish ...

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

. At the site where, according to the research of archaeologist

Władysław Filipowiak Władysław Filipowiak (29 April 1926 – 31 March 2014) was a Polish professor, writer, and archaeologist. He was a director of the National Museum in Szczecin. He was the author of over 200 publications in the field of early medieval arch ...

, the Battle of Cedynia most likely was fought, a hill is named ''Góra Czcibora'' ("Czcibor's Mountain"). A monument commemorating the victory was erected there in 1972, with a dedication in Polish and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

, both mentioning Prince Czcibor.

Sources

* ''Kronika Thietmara'' (translation by Marian Z. Jedlicki), Towarzystwo Autorów i Wydawców Prac Naukowych UNIVERSITAS, Kraków, Poland, 2005; , pp. 32–33 * Jasiński, Kazimierz, ''Rodowód pierwszych Piastów'', Wydawnictwo Poznańskiego Towarzystwa Przyjaciół Nauk, Poznań, Poland, 2004; , p.71 *

, ''Polska Piastów'', Panstwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, Warsaw, Poland, 1985; , p. 44 *

References

{{reflist Piast dynasty Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain 10th-century Polish people History of Pomerania