Mieszko Bolesławowic ( – 1089) was the only son of Bolesław II the Generous,

King 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 Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

. Mieszko was Prince of Kraków from 1086 until his death in 1089.

Biography

Mieszko was, in all likelihood, born in Kraków sometime around or during A.D. 1069. He was the eldest son of the king of Poland Bolesław II the Bold and his wife Wyszeslawa. According to the Chronicler Gallus Anonymus, Mieszko was being groomed for the responsibilities of a monarch from an early age. At the age of ten, his father, Bolesław, was deposed by a rebellion led by his brother, Władysław I Herman. Mieszko was forced to leave his country and his education behind and seek refuge at the friendly court of

Ladislaus I of Hungary Ladislaus I (, , , ; 1040 – 29 July 1095), also known as Saint Ladislas, was King of Hungary from 1077 and King of Croatia from 1091. He was the second son of King Béla I of Hungary and Richeza of Poland, Queen of Hungary, Richeza (or Adela ...

. The king of Hungary was apparently very fond of young Mieszko and treated him like a son.

Return to Poland

Following the death of his father in 1081, Mieszko remained in Hungary until 1086 when he is known to have returned to his homeland. There are two conflicting versions explaining the circumstances of this return. Chronicler Gallus Anonymus simply states that Mieszko was peacefully summoned to Poland by his uncle Władysław I Herman. It is likely that this was facilitated by a deal between Ladislaus I of Hungary and Władysław I Herman. Another version, publicized by a Hungarian chronicler, claims that in 1086 Ladislaus I of Hungary invaded the Kingdom of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, took control of

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 ...

, and installed Mieszko as its ruler.

Prince of Kraków

Though there is no direct primary source evidence for this, notes in Kraków almanacs strongly suggest that during the years 1086–1089 Mieszko was prince of Kraków. However, sometime during this time he accepted over-lordship of his uncle Wladyslaw I Herman, and gave up his hereditary claim to the crown of Poland in exchange for becoming first in line to succeed him. It is also during this time (1088) that he married a Turov princess (from

Ruthenia ''Ruthenia'' is an exonym, originally used in Medieval Latin, as one of several terms for Rus'. Originally, the term ''Rus' land'' referred to a triangular area, which mainly corresponds to the tribe of Polans in Dnieper Ukraine. ''Ruthenia' ...

) Euphraxia of Turov, a daughter of Izyaslav I and

Gertrude of Poland Gertrude-Olisava (c. 1025 – 4 January 1108), was a Polish princess and the grand princess consort of Kiev by marriage to Iziaslav I. She was the daughter of Mieszko II Lambert and Richeza of Lotharingia, and the great-granddaughter of Otto II ...

Death

According to Gallus Anonymus the young prince was poisoned during a feast on orders of palatine Sieciech (who as Gallus Anonymus wrote wanted to "kill off the entire Piast dynasty") in Kraków in 1089.Lech Bielski, Mariusz Traba – ''“Poczet Krolow i Ksiazat Polskich”'' Park, Bielsko-Biala (2005) The death of Mieszko, the rightful pretender to the throne, allowed Władysław to strengthen his rule over Poland; Sieciech, after failed attempts to kill all of Władysław's sons, would be exiled.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boleslawowic, Mieszko 1060s births 1089 deaths Piast dynasty Deaths by poisoning 11th-century Polish people People of Byzantine descent Sons of kings Sons of dukes