Siemowit (Polish pronunciation: �ɛˈmɔvit also Ziemowit �ɛˈmɔvit was, according to the chronicles 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 ...

, the son of

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 ...

and

Rzepicha Rzepicha (pronounced ) (also Rzepka) was the wife of the semi-legendary Piast the Wheelwright (founder of the Piast dynasty) and the mother of Siemowit. She is mentioned in Gallus Anonymus' Polish Chronicle (''Cronicae et gesta ducum sive princip ...

. He is considered to be the first ruler of 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 ...

dynasty.K. Jasiński, Rodowód pierwszych Piastów, p. 47. He became the

Duke of the Polans Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16th ...

in the 9th century after his father,

, son of Chościsko, refused to take the place of legendary Duke

Popiel 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 ...

. Siemowit was elected as new duke by the ''

wiec Veche ( rus, вече, véče, ˈvʲet͡ɕe; pl, wiec; uk, ві́че, víče, ; be, ве́ча, viéča, ; cu, вѣще, věšte) was a popular assembly in medieval Slavic countries. In Novgorod and in Pskov, where the veche acquired gre ...

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

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 only mention of Siemowit, along with his son,

Lestek Lestek (also Leszek, Lestko) was the second duke of Polans, and son of Siemowit, born c. 870–880, mentioned in the oldest Polish chronicle, ''Gesta principum Polonorum'' by Gallus Anonimus. The dukes of Polans were the foundation of the Piast ...

, and grandson,

Siemomysł Siemomysł or Ziemomysł (died ) was the third duke of Polans of the Piast dynasty, and the father of Poland's first Christian ruler, Mieszko I. He was listed by Gallus Anonymous in his ''Gesta principum Polonorum'' and was the son of Lestek, ...

, comes in the medieval chronicle of Gallus Anonymus. Siemowit's great-grandson,

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 ...

, was the first Christian ruler of Poland.

References

See also