![Panstwo mieclawa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Panstwo_mieclawa.svg)
The pagan reaction in Poland ( pl, Reakcja pogańska w Polsce) was a series of events in the
Kingdom of Poland
The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to:
Historical political entities
*Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031
*Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exist ...
in the 1030s that culminated in a popular uprising or rebellion, or possibly a series of these, that destabilized the Kingdom of Poland.
Background
Dissatisfaction with the process of
Christianization
Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...
, which had started after the
baptism of Poland
The Christianization of Poland ( pl, chrystianizacja Polski) refers to the introduction and subsequent spread of Christianity in Poland. The impetus to the process was the Baptism of Poland ( pl, chrzest Polski), the personal baptism of Mieszk ...
in 966, was one of the factors that led to the uprising.
The
Roman Catholic Church in Poland sustained substantial losses, with many churches and monasteries destroyed, and priests killed.
The spread of the new Christian religion had been coupled with growth of the territories and central power of the king.
In addition to
anti-Christian
Anti-Christian sentiment or Christophobia constitutes opposition or objections to Christians, the Christian religion, and/or its practices. Anti-Christian sentiment is sometimes referred to as Christophobia or Christianophobia, although these terms ...
sentiments, the rebellion showed elements of a
peasant uprising
A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...
against landowners and
feudalism
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...
.
Also present was a struggle for power between the king and some of the nobility.
Anita Prazmowska notes, "Historians have concluded that in effect two overlapping revolutions had taken place simultaneously: a political and a pagan revolution."
Rebellion
While Frucht states that the uprising overthrew King
Mieszko II
Mieszko II Lambert (; c. 990 – 10/11 May 1034) was King of Poland from 1025 to 1031, and Duke from 1032 until his death.
He was the second son of Bolesław I the Brave, but the eldest born from his third wife Emnilda of Lusatia. He was proba ...
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 ...
,
others say it started after his death in 1034.
Gerard Labuda
Gerard Labuda ( csb, Gerard Labùda; 28 December 1916 – 1 October 2010) was a Polish historian whose main fields of interest were the Middle Ages and the Western Slavs. He was born in Kashubia. He lived and died in Poznań, Poland.
Life
Lab ...
, who provides an overview of Polish historiography of the period, gives 1032 as the date when the pagan reaction started, and he notes that historians give other dates for the start of another uprising or uprisings, referencing 1034, 1037, 1038 and 1039.
In any case, Poland in the early 1030s was torn by a number of conflicts, and in 1031 Mieszko II had to briefly seek refuge in
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 ...
after losing a
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
to his brother
Bezprym
Bezprym ( hu, Veszprém; 986–1032) was the duke of Poland from 1031 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Bolesław the Brave, but was deprived of the succession by his father, who around 1001 sent him to Italy in order to become a mon ...
, before returning to reclaim the Polish lands in 1032.
The pagan reaction and related uprisings and rebellions of the time, coupled with foreign raids and invasions, threw the young Polish realm into chaos.
Among the most devastating of the foreign contributions was
a raid by Duke
Bretislaus I of Bohemia
Bretislav I ( cs, Břetislav I.; 1002/1005 – 10 January 1055), known as the "Bohemian Achilles", of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 1034 until his death.
Youth
Bretislav was the son of Duke Oldřich and his low-born concubine ...
in 1039, which pillaged Poland's first capital,
Gniezno
Gniezno (; german: Gnesen; la, Gnesna) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. One of the Piast dynasty's chief cities, ...
.
The destabilization wrought by these events was so severe that historians doubt that anyone can be considered Poland's ruler in the late 1030s; the name of one of the pretenders,
Bolesław the Forgotten
Bolesław the Forgotten () or the Cruel (; before 1016 – 1038/39) was a semi-legendary King of Poland of the Piast dynasty from 1034 until his death in 1038 or 1039. He was allegedly the first-born son of Mieszko II Lambert.
Sources which me ...
, illustrates ("with a proper irony", writes Vlasto
) the complexity and obscurity of the situation.
Dvorník lists no ruler for Poland in 1034–40, pointing instead to a "dynastic struggle".
Outcome
According to some historians, the 1030s pagan uprising marks the end of the earliest period of Polish history, under the "First Piast Monarchy".
Returning to Poland around 1040, Mieszko II's son reunited most of the Polish lands and became known as
Casimir the Restorer.
In the 1040s, he also fought a civil war against
Miecław
Miecław (10th/11th century – 1047) was a cup-bearer of king Mieszko II Lambert, who in c. 1038 had proclaimed independence of the state that he ruled, from the Duchy of Poland, beginning the rebellion that lasted until his death in 1047.
H ...
(who created his own
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
), which some authors see as a continuation of the 1030s struggles.
See also
*
Slavic mythology
Slavic mythology or Slavic religion is the religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and the 13th century. The South Slavs, who likely settled in the B ...
*
Christian mythology
Christian mythology is the body of myths associated with Christianity. The term encompasses a broad variety of legends and narratives, especially those considered sacred narratives. Mythological themes and elements occur throughout Christian l ...
*
Paganism
Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christianity, early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions ot ...
Notes
a The circumstances of his death are unclear; some historians suggest he may have been assassinated.
References
{{reflist, 2, refs=
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[{{cite book, author=Polska Akademia Nauk. Komitet Słowianoznawstwa, title=Słownik starożytności słowiańskich: encyklopedyczny zarys kultury słowian od czasów najdawniejszych, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KQ_vAAAAMAAJ, accessdate=27 March 2013, year=1967, publisher=Zkład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, page=247, quote="Widziano w M. wodza powstania pogańsko-ludowego"]
[{{cite book, author=Przemysaw Wiszewski, title=Domus Bolezai: Values and Social Identity in Dynastic Traditions of Medieval Poland (C. 966-1138), url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xPDkcOK3Zx8C&pg=PA223, accessdate=27 March 2013, year=2010, publisher=BRILL, isbn=978-90-04-18142-7, pages=223–224]
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[{{cite book, author=Francis Dvorník, title=The Slavs in European History and Civilization, url=https://archive.org/details/slavsineuropeanh0000dvor, url-access=registration, accessdate=27 March 2013, year=1962, publisher=Rutgers University Press, isbn=978-0-8135-0799-6, pag]
558
}
[{{cite book, author=Richard C. Frucht, title=Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lVBB1a0rC70C&pg=PA10, accessdate=27 March 2013, year=2005, publisher=ABC-CLIO, isbn=978-1-57607-800-6, page=10]
[{{cite book, author=Halina Lerski, title=Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966-1945, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=luRry4Y5NIYC&pg=PA35, accessdate=27 March 2013, date=30 January 1996, publisher=ABC-CLIO, isbn=978-0-313-03456-5]
[{{cite book, author=Kenneth Scott Latourette, title=The Unquenchable Light, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Iz0OAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA35, accessdate=27 March 2013, year=1941, publisher=Harper & Bros., pages=35–36]
[{{cite book, author1=Jerzy Lukowski, author2=Hubert Zawadzki, title=A Concise History of Poland, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HMylRh-wHWEC&pg=PA7, accessdate=27 March 2013, date=6 July 2006, publisher=Cambridge University Press, isbn=978-0-521-85332-3, page=7]
[{{cite book, author1=Oskar Halecki , author2=W: F. Reddaway , author3=J. H. Penson , title=The Cambridge History of Poland, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N883AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA34, accessdate=27 March 2013, publisher=CUP Archive, isbn=978-1-00-128802-4, page=34]
[{{cite book, author1=Oskar Halecki , author2=W: F. Reddaway , author3=J. H. Penson , title=The Cambridge History of Poland, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N883AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA68, accessdate=27 March 2013, publisher=CUP Archive, isbn=978-1-00-128802-4, page=68]
[{{cite book, author=Andrzej Pleszczynski, title=The Birth of a Stereotype: Polish Rulers and Their Country in German Writings C. 1000 A.D., url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mw7cX8Ylc_wC&pg=PA6, accessdate=27 March 2013, date=23 May 2011, publisher=BRILL, isbn=978-90-04-18554-8, pages=6–7]
[{{cite book, author=Anita J. Prazmowska, title=A History of Poland, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r_0-BjHIkh4C&pg=PT34, accessdate=27 March 2013, date=13 July 2011, publisher=Palgrave Macmillan, isbn=978-0-230-34537-9, pages=34–35]
[{{cite book, author=A. P. Vlasto, title=The Entry of Slavs Into Christendom: An Introduction to the Medieval History of the Slavs.., url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fpVOAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA131, accessdate=27 March 2013, year=1970, publisher=CUP Archive, isbn=978-0-521-07459-9, page=131]
1030s conflicts
1030s in Europe
11th century in Poland
Anti-Christian sentiment in Europe
Pagan restorations
History of Christianity in Poland
Peasant revolts
Medieval rebellions in Europe
Rebellions in Poland
Religion-based wars
Paganism in Europe
Persecution of Pagans