Miecław's Rebellion (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

: ''bunt Miecława'') was a military conflict fought from between the

Duchy of Poland Civitas Schinesghe (; ), also known as the Duchy of Poland or the Principality of Poland, is the historiographical name given to a polity in Central Europe, which existed during the medieval period and was the predecessor state of the Kingdom of ...

under

Casimir I the Restorer Casimir I the Restorer (; 25 July 1016 – 19 March 1058), a member of the Piast dynasty, was the duke of Poland from 1040 until his death. Casimir was the son of Mieszko II Lambert and Richeza of Lotharingia. He is known as the Restorer because ...

and its ally,

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...

, led by

Yaroslav the Wise Yaroslav I Vladimirovich ( 978 – 20 February 1054), better known as Yaroslav the Wise, was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 until his death in 1054. He was also earlier Prince of Novgorod from 1010 to 1034 and Prince of Rostov from 987 to 1010, ...

, against the forces of

Miecław Miecław (10th/11th century – 1047) was a cup-bearer of king Mieszko II Lambert, who in c. 1038 had proclaimed independence of the state that he ruled, from the Duchy of Poland, beginning the rebellion that lasted until his death in 1047. ...

, the self-proclaimed leader of a

breakaway state Breakaway or Break Away may refer to: Film, television and radio * ''Breakaway'' (1955 film), a British film * ''Breakaway'' (1966 film), an American short film by Bruce Conner * ''Breakaway'' (1990 film), an Australian film featuring Deborah ...

, who was allied with the

Duchy of Pomerelia The Duchy of Eastern Pomerania ( Polish: ''Księstwo wschodniopomorskie''; Latin: ''Ducatus Pomeraniae Orientalis'') was a duchy centred on Pomerelia, with Gdańsk as its capital. The duchy was formed after gaining independence from the Kingdom ...

and the

Yotvingians Yotvingians, also called Sudovians, Jatvians, or Jatvingians, were a Western Baltic people who were closely tied to the Old Prussians. The linguist Petras Būtėnas asserts that they were closest to the Lithuanians. The Yotvingians contributed ...

. The war began with the declaration of independence of

Miecław's State The Miecław's State was a state located in Masovia, in Central Europe, with the capital in Płock. It was formed around 1037 by Miecław by breaking away from Duchy of Poland during the crisis inside the country. It existed until 1047, when Casim ...

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 ...

from the Duchy of Poland in . It ended in 1047 with Miecław's death and the state being reconquered by Poland.Ł. Piernikarczyk, ''Masław i jego państwo (1037–1047)''

Background

Following the death of

Mieszko II Lambert Mieszko II Lambert (; c. 990 – 10/11 May 1034) was List of Polish monarchs, King of Kingdom of Poland (1025–1031), Poland from 1025 to 1031 and Duchy of Poland (c. 960–1025), Duke from 1032 until his death. He was the second son of Boles� ...

, King of Poland, in 1034, and the exile of his son,

, to the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

, the

fell into a period of destabilization that led to the start of a

peasant uprising This is a chronological list of revolts organized by peasants. Background The history of peasant wars spans over two thousand years. A variety of factors fueled the emergence of the peasant revolt phenomenon, including: * Tax resistance * So ...

in 1038. Seizing the opportunity, around 1038,

, the king's

cup-bearer A cup-bearer was historically an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty was to pour and serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues (such as poisoning), a person had to be regarded as thor ...

, declared the independence of his own

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

from the rest of Poland, and started his own royal dynasty.

1041 campaign

Casimir I the Restorer, Duke of Poland, returned to the country from exile in 1039. He had formed an alliance with

, Grand Prince of Kiev and the leader of

, by marrying Maria Dobroniega. Expecting the attack from Rus', Miecław formed alliances with the

and the

. In the spring of 1041, he began the campaign against Polish forces.''Kazimierz Odnowiciel''. p. 112-118. Miecław's forces met the army led by Casimir and Yaroslav in the

Battle of Pobiedziska Battle of Pobiedziska was fought in 1041, during the Miecław's Rebellion, between the Duchy of Poland led by Casimir I the Restorer and its ally, Kievan Rus' led by Yaroslav the Wise, against the forces of Miecław, the self-proclaimed leader of ...

. The battle ended with a decisive Polish victory and the destruction of Miecław's army and led to the signing of a

truce A ceasefire (also known as a truce), also spelled cease-fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions often due to mediation by a third party. Ceasefires may b ...

between both sides.A. Bielowski, ''Kronika śląsko-polska'', in ''Monumenta Poloniae Historica'', vol. 3. p. 622.

1047 campaign

The fighting renewed in 1047, as Casimir I, together with Yaroslav, organized an attack on Masovia which led to the

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

of their forces against the forces of Miecław and Pomerelia.

Gallus Anonymu Gallus may refer to: People *Saint Gall or ''Gallus'' (c. 550 – c. 646), Irish monk * Gallus Anonymus, 12th-century Polish historian * Agnes Gallus, (1930–2010), Hungarian Canadian artist * Gallus, Bishop of Transylvania, 13th-century Hungari ...

, ''

Gesta principum Polonorum The (; "''Deeds of the Princes of the Poles''") is the oldest known medieval chronicle documenting the history of Poland from the legendary times until 1113. Written in Latin by an anonymous author, it was most likely completed between 1112 an ...

Nestor the Chronicler Nestor the Chronicler or Nestor the Hagiographer (; 1056 – 1114) was a monk from the Kievan Rus who is known to have written two saints' lives: the ''Life of the Venerable Theodosius of the Kiev Caves'' and the ''Account about the Life an ...

, ''

Primary Chronicle The ''Primary Chronicle'', shortened from the common ''Russian Primary Chronicle'' (, commonly transcribed ''Povest' vremennykh let'' (PVL), ), is a Rus' chronicle, chronicle of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110. It is believed to have been or ...

'' The location of this battle remains unknown in modern times, though it was known to the 11th-century historian

Gallus Anonymus ''Gallus Anonymus'', also known by his Polonized variant ''Gall '', is the name traditionally given to the anonymous author of (Deeds of the Princes of the Poles), composed in Latin between 1112 and 1118. ''Gallus'' is generally regarded as the ...

, according to whom it took place near the river with the bluff edge. According to Gallus, Miecław's forces had 30 divisions of

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

, while Casimir had three divisions. It is probable that he did not account for the forces of Yaroslav the Wise, and that both sides, in fact, had similar strength. The battle was probably initiated by Casimir I, who hoped to win before the arrival of the Pomerelian army. The battle itself was fierce, with numerous casualties on Miecław's side. It ended with a Polish victory, following which Miecław's state was reincorporated into the Duchy of Poland. Casimir almost died in the battle but was saved by a soldier who was later rewarded for his actions. According to Gallus Anonymus, Miecław was killed in the battle. However, according to

Wincenty Kadłubek Wincenty Kadłubek (; 1150 – 8 March 1223) was a Polish Catholic prelate and professed Cistercian who served as the Bishop of Kraków from 1208 until his resignation in 1218. His episcopal mission was to reform the diocesan priests to ens ...

in his ''

Chronica seu originale regum et principum Poloniae 200px, ''Historia Polonica'', Vincenti Kadłubkonis Episcopi Cracoviensis, 1612 ''Chronica seu originale regum et principum Poloniae'', short name ''Chronica Polonorum'', is a Latin history of Poland written by Wincenty Kadłubek between 1190 a ...

'', he actually escaped to

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

, where he was later murdered.

Notable battles

Battle of Carimir I with Miecław A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

Citations

References

Bibliography

* Ł. Piernikarczyk, ''Masław i jego państwo (1037–1047)''. * Tadeusz Łepkowski, ''Słownik historii Polski''. Warsaw. 1973, p. 363. * ''Kazimierz Odnowiciel, ''Śląsk'', 1979. * A. Bielowski, ''Kronika śląsko-polska'', in ''Monumenta Poloniae Historica'', vol. 3, Warsaw, 1961. *

, ''

'', Ossolineum, 2003, ISBN 83-04-04610-5. *

, ''

'', Ossolineum, 2005, ISBN 83-04-04750-0. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mieclaw's Rebellion * 11th-century rebellions Medieval rebellions in Europe Separatist rebellion-based civil wars History of Mazovia History of Poland during the Piast dynasty 1030s conflicts 1040s conflicts 11th century in Europe 11th century in Poland Military history of Kievan Rus'