Bolesław I of Masovia (; 1208 – ca. 25 February 1248), was Polish prince member of the Polish

House of 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 (–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule in Pol ...

, Duke of

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; , ) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (), situated on the Vistula River near its confluence with the San, in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy ...

(only a part) during 1229–1232, Duke of Dobrzyń during 1233-1247 and Duke over whole

Masovia Mazovia or Masovia ( ) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the largest city and Płock being the capital of the region . Throughout the ...

during 1247–1248. He was the second son of

Konrad I of Masovia Konrad I of Masovia (ca. 1187/88 – 31 August 1247), from the Polish Piast dynasty, was the sixth Duke of Masovia and Kuyavia from 1194 until his death as well as High Duke of Poland from 1229 to 1232 and again from 1241 to 1243. Life Konrad w ...

and Agafia of Rus. He was probably named after his great-grandfather,

Bolesław III Wrymouth Bolesław III Wrymouth (; 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 1107 and 1138. He was the onl ...

. The death of his older brother Przemysł in 1228 left him as the eldest surviving child of his family.

Life

From a young age, Bolesław I became part of the ambitious political projects of his father. In 1227, after the assassination of the High Duke of Poland Leszek I the White, he accompanied his father to

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...

to participate in negotiations on the succession with his widow Grzymisława. In view of the failure of the talks, Bolesław I received from his father the stronghold of Dobrzyń nad Wisłą until 1229, when Konrad I finally forced Grzymisława to surrender to Bolesław I a part of the Duchy of Sandomierz, the district of

Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship. Radom is the fifteenth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in its province w ...

. Immediately, Bolesław gave Dobrzyń nad Wisłą to his youngest brother, Siemowit I. In 1231, Bolesław I became involved with his father and brothers in the installation of the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

in the region of Chełmno Land. At the same time, he supported his father in the war to conquer

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, after the death of Władysław III Spindleshanks in 1231. However, the quick intervention of Henry I the Bearded (High Duke of Poland from 1232 to 1238) and the invasion of Masovia by Prussians forced to Konrad I to abandon his plans; in addition, Henry I was able to take control of the entire Duchy of

. To compensate for the loss of the Duchy of Sandomierz, Konrad I offered his son parts of Masovia, with the district of Sieradz as the capital. Nevertheless, Konrad I retained control of foreign policy and of the army. In 1234, Boleslaw received the north of Masovia of the

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

and

Bug River The Bug or Western Bug is a major river in Central Europe that flows through Belarus (border), Poland, and Ukraine, with a total length of .Sieradz (who was strategically most closer to

and thus being more important for his father in his fights for the throne of Kraków), while his other brother Casimir I received Kujawy. This distribution of lands must be only temporary, because it was implicit that after the death of their father, the three surviving brothers (Bolesław I, Casimir I and Siemowit I) had to make a new equitable re-distribution of the lands. In subsequent years, Bolesław I attacked his Prussian and Russian neighbors. He supported the Order of Dobrzyń and in 1238 he took part in the war against Daniel of Halych and Mindaugas of Lithuania. In 1241, after the death of his father-in-law Henry II the Pious at the

Battle of Legnica The Battle of Legnica (), also known as the Battle of Liegnitz () or Battle of Wahlstatt (), was fought between the Mongol Empire and combined European forces at the village of Legnickie Pole (''Wahlstatt''), approximately southeast of the ci ...

, Bolesław I supported his father's military seizure of

, who this time was able to conquer the Seniorate. His rule lasted only two years, until the Battle of Suchodoły on 25 May 1243, when Konrad I was defeated and forced to retire to Sieradz. With the death of Konrad I on 31 August 1247, new horizons opened for Bolesław I. In his father's will, he received most of Masovia; shortly after, he had to face an attack of his brother Casimir I, because he was dissatisfied with his portion of their paternal inheritance. However, before the open war began, Bolesław I died unexpectedly during the spring of 1248 (probably around 25 February). By 1232 Bolesław I married firstly with Gertrude (1218/20 – 23/30 April 1244/47), daughter of Henry II the Pious. They had no children. Between 1245 and July 1247, Bolesław I married secondly with his first cousin once removed Anastasia, daughter of Alexander Vsevolodich, Prince of Bielsk (in turn a son of Vsevolod Mstislavich, Prince of Volhynia and Bielsk). They had no children. After her husband's death, she remarried with a Hungarian magnate called Demetri, probably member of the Aba family. With no offspring from any of his marriages, in his will Bolesław I bequeathed all his possessions to his younger brother Siemowit I. This however annoyed Casimir I, and soon the war continued between the surviving brothers.Documentary archive about the reign of Bolesław I of Masovia
.

Notes

References

etrieved 15 February 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Boleslaus 01 Of Masovia Dukes of Masovia 1208 births 1248 deaths 13th-century Polish nobility Monastery prisoners