Odon of Poznań, also known as Odon of Greater Poland and Mieszkowic, (; 1149 – 20 April 1194) was
Duke of Greater Poland in 1179–1181, and Duke of
Kalisz
Kalisz () is a city in central Poland, and the second-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, with 97,905 residents (December 2021). It is the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of Gr ...
from 1193 to 1194.
He was the oldest son of
Mieszko III the Old
Mieszko III ( 1122/25 – 13 March 1202), sometimes called the Old, 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 Bolesław III W ...
,
Duke of Greater Poland (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 Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...
) by his first wife,
Elisabeth, who was the daughter of King
Béla II of Hungary.
Life
Odon's name appeared for the first time as a
signatory in a document issued on 21 May 1161 at
Łęczyca
Łęczyca (; in full the Royal Town of Łęczyca, ; ; ) is a town of inhabitants in central Poland. Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship, it is the county seat of the Łęczyca County. Łęczyca is a capital of the historical Łęczyca Land.
Or ...
, the location of the first Polish
Sejm
The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...
.
In 1177, Odon joined the revolt of the
Lesser Polish nobility against his own father,
Mieszko III the Old
Mieszko III ( 1122/25 – 13 March 1202), sometimes called the Old, 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 Bolesław III W ...
, 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
Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
in 1179.
By 1181, Mieszko III had returned to Poland. Enlisting the aid of the
Pomerania
Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...
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 or The Mint may refer to:
Plants
* Lamiaceae, the mint family
** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint"
Coins and collectibles
* Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins
* Mint condition, a state of like-new ...
, 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 Wyszesława (d. aft. 1200), daughter of
Yaroslav Vladimirovich "Osmomysl", Prince of
Halych
Halych (, ; ; ; ; , ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; ) is a historic List of cities in Ukraine, city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the Principality of Halych, the historic province of Galicia (Eastern Europe), ...
. 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.
[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.
See also
*
Dukes of Greater Poland
The Duchy of Greater Poland was a District duchy, district principality in Greater Poland that was a fiefdom of the Kingdom of Poland (1025–1385), Kingdom of Poland. It was formed in 1138 from the territories of the Kingdom of Poland, following ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odon Of Poznan
Dukes of Greater Poland
1140s births
1194 deaths
Burials at Poznań Cathedral
Year of birth uncertain