The Popielids ( pl, Popielidzi) were a legendary ruling dynasty of either the Polans, Goplans or both tribes, founded by Leszko II. They supposedly ruled the lands of Poland prior to the start of the Piast dynasty. 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 Gall ...

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 cen ...

, 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, ...

. 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 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 histo ...

. 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 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. Branche ...

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 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 (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, Leszko II File:LestekTri1581.JPG, Leszko III File:Pompil1.jpg, Popiel I File:PopielBis1581.jpg,

Legendary descendants

* Leszko II – alleged progenitor of the dynasty * Leszko III * Popiel I *

– 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 (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: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

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

* Spicygniew – inherited Bremen * Spicymir – inherited Glain (Lüneburg) * Zbigniew – inherited Szczecin * – inherited the Castle of Dalen (Dahlenburg) * Wizymir – inherited Wyszomierz (Wismar) * Czestmir – inherited Dytywonia (Holstein) * Wisław – inherited Międzyborze (Magdeburg)

Notes

# #

References

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