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Skarbimir of the Clan Awdaniec (died before 1132) was a Medieval Polish magnate, tutor, advisor and count palatine of Polish monarch
Bolesław III Wrymouth Bolesław III Wrymouth ( pl, Bolesław III Krzywousty; 20 August 1086 – 28 October 1138), also known as Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed, was the duke of Lesser Poland, Silesia and Sandomierz between 1102 and 1107 and over the whole of Poland between ...
.


Biography


Early life

Skarbimir was a son of Michal the Old of the Clan Abdank, one time
comes ''Comes'' ( ), plural ''comites'' ( ), was a Roman title or office, and the origin Latin form of the medieval and modern title "count". Before becoming a word for various types of title or office, the word originally meant "companion", either i ...
, founder of a Benedictine monastery at
Lubin Lubin (; german: Lüben, szl, Lubin) is a city in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in south-western Poland. It is the administrative seat of Lubin County, and also of the rural district called Gmina Lubin, although it is not part of the territory of ...
.Bieniak J., Skarbimir, Polski Słownik Biograficzny, vol. 38, 1997, pp. 28 Very little is known of Skarbimir's childhood and early life. It is believed that in 1079 he along with his father traveled to
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
accompanying the banished king Boleslaw II the Bold. He and his father are believed to have returned to Poland circa 1086 along with Mieszko Bolesławowic, the son of the banished monarch. Following the poisoning of Boleslawowic in 1089, the clan Abdank declared itself in the opposition of count palatine
Sieciech Sieciech (mid 11th century AD – early 12th century AD) was a medieval Polish magnate and statesman. Biography All information about Sieciech has come down from the chronicler Gallus Anonymus. He was a count palatine at the court of duke Wła ...
who was believed to have ordered Mieszko Bolesławowic poisoned.


Political involvement

Skarbimir was politically active already during the reign of
Władysław I Herman Władysław I Herman ( 1044 – 4 June 1102) was the duke of Poland from 1079 until his death. Accession Władysław was the second son of the Polish duke Casimir the Restorer and Maria Dobroniega of Kiev. As the second son, Władysław was not ...
. It was through his initiative that a
popular assembly A popular assembly (or people's assembly) is a gathering called to address issues of importance to participants. Assemblies tend to be freely open to participation and operate by direct democracy. Some assemblies are of people from a location ...
was organized in Wroclaw where an agreement was reached between Bolesław III Wrymouth and his brother Zbigniew in their fight against count palatine
Sieciech Sieciech (mid 11th century AD – early 12th century AD) was a medieval Polish magnate and statesman. Biography All information about Sieciech has come down from the chronicler Gallus Anonymus. He was a count palatine at the court of duke Wła ...
. It was there that he swore an oath of allegiance to both the sons of Władysław I Herman, and there he ratified the removal from office of the current guardian of Boleslaw, a noble named Wojsław Powała, who was a relative of Sieciech. The campaign against Palatine Sieciech, the ''de facto'' ruler of Poland, was also decided upon by Skarbimir at the Wroclaw meeting. As a consequence Skarbimir became the main advisor to Boleslaw III, which led to him taking over the office of palatine of the Lesser Poland-Silesian Duchy following the death of Wladyslaw I Herman. In 1103 as en envoy of
Bolesław III Wrymouth Bolesław III Wrymouth ( pl, Bolesław III Krzywousty; 20 August 1086 – 28 October 1138), also known as Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed, was the duke of Lesser Poland, Silesia and Sandomierz between 1102 and 1107 and over the whole of Poland between ...
, he negotiated with Borivoj II of Bohemia, who allied himself with Zbigniew and invaded Silesia. Skarbimir was a proponent of anti-Bohemian foreign policy. It was likely with his help and influence that a successful invasion of Bohemia took place in 1105. He was very influential, to the point that he even minted his own coin. According to Jan Długosz in 1106 the Duke appointed him the prestigious office of Voivode of Cracow. He remained Bolesław III Wrymouth’s faithful servant until 1117 when under unclear circumstances he rebelled against the Duke. The rebellion was suppressed, Skarbimir was captured and punished by being blinded.


Rebellion against the duke

The reason for the count palatine's rebellion of 1117–1118, though not clearly explained, is sometimes connected by historians to
Bolesław III Wrymouth Bolesław III Wrymouth ( pl, Bolesław III Krzywousty; 20 August 1086 – 28 October 1138), also known as Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed, was the duke of Lesser Poland, Silesia and Sandomierz between 1102 and 1107 and over the whole of Poland between ...
’s statute of succession. The problem with the principle of succession developed in 1115 when Leszek, Boleslaw's first son from his second marriage, was born. It is believed that Skarbimir was opposed to statutory regulation of royal inheritance. He believed that the choice of an heir should be decided by a council of magnates. Presumably he refused to pledge to abide by the decisions outlined in the statute of succession, for this he was removed from office and replaced as Count Palatine by
Piotr Włostowic Herb ŁabędźPiotr Włostowic ( 1080 – 1153), also known as Peter Wlast or ''Włost'') was a Polish noble, castellan of Wrocław, and a ruler (''możnowładca'') of part of Silesia. From 1117 he was voivode (''palatyn'') of the Duke of Polan ...
. At this point, it is supposed, Skarbimir began his mutiny against the monarch. He did not gain many supporters, however, and the uprising was defeated. The above explanation, however, is only a hypothesis due to a lack of primary sources on the matter.


Return to power and death

Towards the end of 1121
Piotr Włostowic Herb ŁabędźPiotr Włostowic ( 1080 – 1153), also known as Peter Wlast or ''Włost'') was a Polish noble, castellan of Wrocław, and a ruler (''możnowładca'') of part of Silesia. From 1117 he was voivode (''palatyn'') of the Duke of Polan ...
was stripped of his title of count palatine, which was once again granted to Skarbimir. Skarbimir's return to the lead of Polish elites is testified by his name being the first secular dignitary mentioned on the document of
Papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...
Giles of
Tusculum Tusculum is a ruined Classical Rome, Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable dist ...
issued between 1123 and 1125 as well as his mention in the Liber Fraternitatis of Lubin. Skarbimir died on April 16; the day of his death was noted in the Lubin Obituary Book entitled ''Liber Mortuorum Abbatiae Sanctae Mariae Lubinensis''. The year of his death is not known. It is known that he died during the reign of Bolesław III Wrymouth, since at the time of Boleslaw’s death the office of count palatine was held once again by Piotr Włostowic. It is supposed therefore, that since Wlostowic is believed to have regained the office in 1132, then Skarbimir's death must have taken place beforehand, sometime in 1131.Bieniak J., Skarbimir, Polski Słownik Biograficzny, vol. 38, 1997, pp. 30 Skarbimir is believed to have had seven sons: Jaszczolt, Skarbimir, Przedwoj, Henryk, Szczedrzyk, Michal and Pakoslaw, as well as two daughters of unknown names.


References

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Bibliography

# Bieniak Janusz, Polska elita polityczna XII wieku, part II, Społeczeństwo Polski średniowiecznej, vol. 3, Warszawa 1985, pp. 13–74. # Bieniak J., Skarbimir, Polski Słownik Biograficzny, vol. 38, 1997, pp. 27–31 # Gawlas Sławomir, O kształt zjednoczonego Królestwa, Warszawa 1996, pp. 77–78. # Gąsiorowski Antoni, Skarbimir, Słownik Starożytności Słowiańskich, vol. 5, 1975, pp. 198. # Szczur Stanisław, Historia Polski, średniowiecze, chapter 3, Drugie państwo piastowskie (pp. 103–204), Wydawnictwo Literackie 2002 Year of birth unknown 12th-century deaths Clan Abdank Polish politicians