The Popielids ( pl, Popielidzi) were a legendary ruling dynasty of either the

Polans Polans may refer to two Slavic tribes: * Polans (eastern) The Polans (, ''Poliany'', ''Polyane'', pl, Polanie), also Polianians, were an East Slavic tribe between the 6th and the 9th century, which inhabited both sides of the Dnieper river ...

Goplans The Goplans or Goplanes ( la, Glopeani, pl, Goplanie) was an early West Slavic tribe that inhabited the central parts of the Kujawy region, with their probable seat at Kruszwica. They might have been named after the Lake Gopło; Kmietowicz belie ...

or both tribes, founded by

Leszko II Leszko II (''Leszek, Lestek, Lestko'') was a legendary ruler of Poland, firstly mentioned by Wincenty Kadłubek Wincenty Kadłubek ( 1150 – 8 March 1223) was a Polish Catholic prelate and professed Cistercian who served as the Bishop of K ...

. They supposedly ruled the lands of Poland prior to the start 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 ...

. Two Polish families claim descent from the Popielids: the Pobog-Pobodze clan is a junior branch of the Popielid dynasty, rulers of Poland from the 7th through 9th centuries, before the era of Bolescic-Piast dynasty (9th to 14th centuries) another junioral branch of the Popielid dynasty. The first document mentioning the dynasty, as well as the last of its members, is the medieval chronicle of

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 ...

. According to it,

Popiel II Prince Popiel ІІ (or Duke Popiel) was a legendary 9th-century ruler of two proto-Polish tribes, the Goplans and West Polans. He was the last member of the Popielids, a mythical dynasty before the Piasts. According to the chroniclers Gallus A ...

was ousted by a certain

Piast the Wheelwright Piast the Wheelwright ( 740/741? – 861 AD; Latin: ''Past Ckosisconis'', ''Pazt filius Chosisconisu''; Polish: ''Piast Chościskowic'', ''Piast Kołodziej'' , ''Piast Oracz'' or ''Piast'') was a semi-legendary figure in medieval Poland (9th cent ...

, who in turn gave power to his son,

Siemowit Siemowit (Polish pronunciation: �ɛˈmɔvit also Ziemowit �ɛˈmɔvit was, according to the chronicles of Gallus Anonymus, the son of Piast the Wheelwright and Rzepicha. He is considered to be the first ruler of the Piast dynasty.K. Jasiński, Ro ...

. According to a popular legend, Popiel II was then eaten by mice in his tower on the

Gopło Gopło is a lake in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland, near the city of Gniezno. It gives its name to the protected area called Gopło Landscape Park. In early Middle Ages, the shores of Lake Gopło were home to a West Slavic ...

lake. The predecessors of Popiel II are mentioned by

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 ...

and

Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histor ...

. Because of a lack of tangible archaeological evidence of the dynasty's existence, little is known of it. Some scholars speculate, basing mostly on the linguistic analysis of personal names, that the

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 ...

s (whose name in Slavic means ''the one to care for'' or ''the one to educate'') were initially Popielid mayors of the house responsible for education of the princes, in a similar relation as the

Carolingians The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

and

Merovingians The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

. Some also speculate that the legend of carnivorous mice (''myszy'' in modern Polish) might contain a grain of truth as the word bears semblance to the name of the first historical ruler of the Piasts,

Mieszko Mieszko is a Slavic given name of uncertain origin. Onomastics There are three major theories concerning the origin and meaning of the name of Duke Mieszko I of Poland. The most popular theory, proposed by Jan Długosz, explains that Mieszko is a ...

(whose name meant ''bear'' in old Polish, but see the name section of the article on Mieszko I for controversy on the subject). File:LestekBis1581.JPG,

File:LestekTri1581.JPG,

Leszko III Leszko III (or Leszek, Lestek, Lesco) was a legendary ruler of Poland, firstly mentioned by Wincenty Kadłubek. Alleged son of Leszko II, father of Popiel I and grandfather of Popiel II. Hypothesis If we would like today to again review the ...

File:Pompil1.jpg,

Popiel I Popiel I was a legendary ruler of Poland, member of the Popielids dynasty. According to the legends reported by Wincenty Kadłubek in his ''Chronica seu originale regum et principum Poloniae'', he was the son of Leszko III. Father of Popiel II ...

File:PopielBis1581.jpg,

Legendary descendants

– alleged progenitor of the dynasty *

– last member of the pre-Piast dynasty * Bolesław – inherited lower

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 ...

* Kazimierz – inherited

Kashubia pl, Kaszuby , native_name_lang = csb, de, csb , settlement_type = Historical region , anthem = Zemia Rodnô , image_map = Kashubians in Poland.png , image_flag ...

* Władysław – inherited

Kashubia pl, Kaszuby , native_name_lang = csb, de, csb , settlement_type = Historical region , anthem = Zemia Rodnô , image_map = Kashubians in Poland.png , image_flag ...

* Wratysław – inherited

Rania Rania may refer to: Places * Rania, Haryana, a City in Sirsa District, Haryana state of India. * Ranya, a district in Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan * Rania block, a community development block, in Jharkhand, India ** Rania, Khunti, a v ...

(Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) * Oddon – inherited Dytywonia (Holstein) * Barwin – inherited lower

* Przybysław – inherited Dytywonia (Holstein) * Przemysław – inherited Zgorzelica (Brandenburg) * Jaksa – inherited

White Serbia White Serbia ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Бела Србија, Bela Srbija; wen, Biеło Srbsko), called also Boiki ( grc, Βοΐκι, Boḯki; sr-Cyrl-Latn, link=no, Бојка, Bojka; wen, links=no, Boika), is the name applied to the assumed homeland of ...

* Semian – inherited

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

* Siemowit – inherited Zgorzelica (Brandenburg) * Siemomysł – inherited Zgorzelica (Brandenburg) * Bogdal – inherited lower

* Spicygniew – inherited

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

* Spicymir – inherited Glain (Lüneburg) * Zbigniew – inherited

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 ...

* – inherited the Castle of

Dalen Dalen (Dutch Low Saxon: ''Daoln'') is a village and a former municipality in the northeastern Netherlands, in the province of Drenthe. Since 1998, Dalen has been part of the municipality of Coevorden. The village was first mentioned in the 12th ...

(Dahlenburg) * Wizymir – inherited Wyszomierz (Wismar) * Czestmir – inherited Dytywonia (Holstein) * Wisław – inherited Międzyborze (Magdeburg)

Notes

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References

Early medieval Poland Legendary royal families {{poland-hist-stub