Odon of Poznań, also known as Odon of Greater Poland and Mieszkowic, ( pl, Odon poznański (wielkopolski, Mieszkowic); 1149 – 20 April 1194) was

Duke of Greater Poland The Duchy of Greater Poland was a district principality in Greater Poland that was a fiefdom of the Kingdom of Poland. It was formed in 1138 from the territories of the Kingdom of Poland, following its fragmentation started by the testament of ...

in 1179–1181, and Duke of

Kalisz (The oldest city of Poland) , image_skyline = , image_caption = ''Top:'' Town Hall, Former "Calisia" Piano Factory''Middle:'' Courthouse, "Gołębnik" tenement''Bottom:'' Aerial view of the Kalisz Old Town , image_flag = POL Kalisz flag.svg ...

from 1193 to 1194. He was the oldest son of

Mieszko III the Old Mieszko III the Old (c. 1126/27 – 13 March 1202), of the Piast dynasty, was Duke of Greater Poland from 1138 and High Duke of Poland, with interruptions, from 1173 until his death. He was the fourth and second surviving son of Duke Bolesła ...

(and since 1173,

High Duke of Poland 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 ...

) by his first wife, Elisabeth, who was the daughter of King

Béla II of Hungary Béla the Blind ( hu, Vak Béla; hr, Bela Slijepi; sk, Belo Slepý; 1109 – 13 February 1141) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1131 to 1141. He was blinded along with his rebellious father Álmos on the order of Álmos's brother, ...

Life

Odon's name appeared for the first time as a

signatory A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a ...

in a document issued on 21 May 1161 at Łęczyca, the location of the first Polish

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...

. In 1177, Odon joined the revolt of the Lesser Polish nobility against his own father,

, because of the favoritism Mieszko III had shown to the offspring of his second marriage. Additionally, the High Duke had attempted to force Odon to become a priest in order to eliminate him from the succession. As well, Odon wanted to have some land and found an opportunity to conquer the Duchy of Greater Poland. His uncle Casimir II the Just also supported him. The war lasted for 2 years until Mieszko III was deposed and exiled to Bohemia in 1179. By 1181, Mieszko III had returned to Poland. Enlisting the aid of the

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 ...

ns, he not only recovered Greater Poland but also expanded it to include Gniezno and Kalisz. In 1191, Mieszko III divided his duchy: Odon received Poznan, his younger half-brother Mieszko IV the Younger received Kalisz and Mieszko III kept Gniezno. Some historians once believed that he remained in the Greater Poland capital until his death. When Odon’s younger half-brother Mieszko IV died on 2 August 1193, Odon obtained the Duchy of Kalisz with his father's blessing. Little is known about Odon's reign over Kalisz beyond the fact that he founded a

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...

, where coins have been recovered bearing the inscription "''Odon Dux''" ("Duke Odon")—suggesting a high degree of autonomy. Odon died on 20 April 1194. He was buried in the Cathedral of Poznań.

Marriage and issue

In about 1184, Odon married Viacheslava (d. aft. 1200), daughter of Yaroslav Vladimirovich "Osmomysl", Prince of

Halych Halych ( uk, Га́лич ; ro, Halici; pl, Halicz; russian: Га́лич, Galich; german: Halytsch, ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; yi, העליטש) is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the P ...

. They had 3 children: # Władysław Odonic (c. 1190 – 5 June 1239) # Ryksa (c. 1191 – 18 November aft. 1238) # Euphrosyne (c. 1192/94 – 23 August 1235); married c. 1225 to

Swantopolk II, Duke of Pomerania Swietopelk II, also Zwantepolc II or Swantopolk II, (1190/1200 – 11 January 1266), sometimes known as the Great ( pl, Świętopełk II Wielki; Kashubian language, Kashubian: ''Swiãtopôłk II Wiôldżi''), was the ruling List of Pomeranian d ...

.Parentage is disputed among sources and historians. Since Odon's son Władysław was too young to reign, Odon bestowed the regency of his duchy in the south of Greater Poland upon his half-brother, Władysław III Spindleshanks, while Mieszko III reclaimed the Duchy of Kalisz.

Life

Marriage and issue

References

See also