Mieszko of Lubusz ( pl, Mieszko lubuski; – 1242), a member of the
Silesian Piasts
The Silesian Piasts were the elder of four lines of the Polish Piast dynasty beginning with Władysław II the Exile (1105–1159), eldest son of Duke Bolesław III of Poland. By Bolesław's testament, Władysław was granted Silesia as his h ...
, was Duke of
Lubusz from 1241 until his death.
Life
Mieszko was the second son of the
Silesian duke
Henry II the Pious
Henry II the Pious ( pl, Henryk II Pobożny; 1196 – 9 April 1241) was Duke of Silesia and High Duke of Poland as well as Duke of South-Greater Poland from 1238 until his death. Between 1238 and 1239 he also served as regent of Sandomierz and ...
(1196–1241), by his consort
Anne
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.
Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
(d. 1265), a daughter of the
Přemyslid king
Ottokar I of Bohemia
Ottokar I ( cs, Přemysl Otakar I.; c. 1155 – 1230) was Duke of Bohemia periodically beginning in 1192, then acquired the title of King of Bohemia, first in 1198 from Philip of Swabia, later in 1203 from Otto IV of Brunswick and in 1212 ( ...
. His father succeeded as
Polish high duke in 1238, ruling over Silesia and the
Seniorate Province
Seniorate Province, also known as the Senioral Province, , was a district principality in the Duchy of Poland that was formed in 1138, following the fragmentation of the state. Its ruler held the title of the High Duke, ruling all duchies wit ...
, as well as over large parts of
Greater Poland. He had to ward off several attacks by the
Ascanian
The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt.
The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss ...
margraves of
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...
and the
Magdeburg archbishops on the westernmost Greater Polish lands, stretching around the former
Veleti
The Veleti, also known as Wilzi, Wielzians, and Wiltzes, were a group of medieval Lechitic tribes within the territory of Hither Pomerania, related to Polabian Slavs. They had formed together the Confederation of the Veleti, a loose monarchic c ...
castle of
Lubusz on the banks of the
Oder river.
When on 9 April 1241 High Duke Henry II was defeated and killed in the
Mongol invasion of Poland at the
Battle of Legnica, Mieszko and his older brother
Bolesław II the Bald Boleslav or Bolesław may refer to:
In people:
* Boleslaw (given name)
In geography:
* Bolesław, Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland
* Bolesław, Olkusz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland
* Bolesław, Silesian Voivodeship, ...
were old enough to be considered adults according to the Piast family customs. As contemporary chroniclers called Mieszko with the surname "of Lubusz" (''lubuski''), it seems possible that his older brother Bolesław, while assuming the rule over Silesia, had to cede him the Greater Polish territories of Lubusz as a separate district, probably by the will of their late father.
This agreement was only effected on a preliminary basis until the younger brothers
Henry III the White and
Konrad I attained the age of majority. Mieszko, however, was already dead by the beginning of 1242 and was buried in St. Peter's Church below Lubusz Castle. He never married or had children. Shortly afterwards, in 1248/49, Lubusz Land was pledged to the Archbishops of Magdeburg and the Brandenburg margraves by his brother Bolesław II.
References
*''This article was translated from his original in Polish and German Wikipedia''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mieszko, Duke Of Lubusz
1220s births
1242 deaths
Dukes of Silesia