Otto Bolesławowic (1000–1033) was member of the House of Piast. He was the third son of King Bolesław the Brave of Poland. Having inherited no land from his father, he fled to Germany. After the defeat of his brother Mieszko II Lambert in 1032, Otto received a part of Poland to rule but died shortly after.

Family history

Otto was the youngest child of Bolesław the Brave and

Emnilda of Lusatia Emnilda ( pl, Emnilda słowiańska; – 1017), was a Slavic noblewoman and Duchess of Poland from 992 by her marriage with the Piast ruler Bolesław I the Brave. Ancestry She was a daughter of Dobromir, a Slavic ruler who in a 1013 entry wa ...

. He was named after Emperor Otto III, who probably stood as his godfather. In 1018 he was present at his father's fourth and last marriage, to

Oda of Meissen Oda of Meissen, also named Ode, Old High German form for ''Uta'' or ''Ute'' ( pl, Oda Miśnieńska, german: Oda von Meißen; born c. 996 – died 31 October or 13 November after 1025), was a Saxon countess member of the Ekkehardiner dynasty. She ...

on Cziczani. After the death of his father in 1025, Otto expected to obtain a part of Bolesław's heritage, according to Slavic custom, under which a father should divide his legacy among all his sons. However, because Poland became a kingdom, the country could not be divided, and in consequence Otto received nothing from his father's legacy. The sole heir of Bolesław was Mieszko II Lambert, his eldest son from his marriage to Emnilda. Along with Otto, his older half-brother Bezprym was also disinherited. Bezprym was the older son of Bolesław I by his second wife,

Judith of Hungary Judith of Hungary ( pl, Judyta węgierska; b. Esztergom, ca. 969 - d. Kraków?, ca. 988) was a Hungarian princess and member of the House of Arpad. She was briefly married to the Piast duke of Poland, Bolesław the Brave. According to some sourc ...

, who was repudiated shortly after Bezprym was born. Possibly as a result of this he was allegedly disliked by his father, who determined that Mieszko II was to be his sole heir.

Conflict

Soon after Mieszko took over the governing of Poland, he either expelled his brothers or forced them to flee from the country. Otto went to Germany, probably to

Meissen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...

to the court of his sister

Regelinda Regelinda (german: Reg(e)lindis; - 21 March aft. 1014), a member of the Polish Piast dynasty, was Margravine of Meissen from 1009 until her death by her marriage with Margrave Herman I. Life She was the daughter of the Polish King Bolesław ...

. In 1031 a combined attack of Kievan and German forces led to the downfall of Mieszko II, who had to flee to

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

. The government was taken by Bezprym alone; this allegedly caused Otto's resentment and his approach to Mieszko II. As a result, in the first half of 1032 Bezprym was murdered probably as a result of a conspiracy organized by his half-brothers. In Merseburg on 7 July 1032, Emperor Conrad II divided Poland between Mieszko, Otto, and their cousin Dytryk, grandson of

Mieszko I 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 ...

. It is unknown exactly how the country was divided between them. Otto died in 1033 either of natural causes or killed by his own vassals.G. Labuda, ''Pierwsze państwo polskie'', Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, Kraków 1989, p. 54.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boleslawowic, Otto 1000 births 1033 deaths Piast dynasty 11th-century Polish monarchs Sons of kings