The Popielids () were a legendary ruling dynasty of either the Polans, Goplans or both tribes, founded by Leszko II. They supposedly ruled the lands of Poland prior to the start of the

Piast dynasty 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 ...

. Two Polish families claim descent from the Popielids: the Pobog-Pobodze clan is a junior branch of the Popielid dynasty, rulers of Poland from the 7th through 9th centuries, before the era of Bolescic-Piast dynasty (9th to 14th centuries) another junioral branch of the Popielid dynasty. The first document mentioning the dynasty, as well as the last of its members, is the medieval chronicle of

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 it,

Popiel II Prince Popiel ІІ (or Duke Popiel) was a legendary 9th-century ruler of two proto-Poland, Polish tribes, the Goplanie, Goplans and Polans (western), West Polans. He was the last member of the Popielids, a mythical dynasty before the Piast dyna ...

was ousted by a certain

Piast the Wheelwright Piast the Wheelwright ( 740/741? – 861? AD; Polish language, Polish: ''Piast Kołodziej'' , ''Piast Oracz'', i.e. Piast the Plower, or ''Piast''; ''Piast Chościskowic'', Latin language, Latin: ''Past Ckosisconis'', ''Pazt filius Chosisconisu'' ...

, who in turn gave power to his son,

Siemowit Siemowit (Polish pronunciation: �ɛˈmɔvit also Ziemowit �ɛˈmɔvit was, according to the chronicles of Gallus Anonymus, the son of Piast the Wheelwright and Rzepicha. He is considered to be the first ruler of the Piast dynasty.K. Jasiński, R ...

. According to a popular legend, Popiel II was then eaten by mice in his tower on the Gopło lake. The predecessors of Popiel II are mentioned by

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 ...

and

Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...

. Because of a lack of tangible archaeological evidence of the dynasty's existence, little is known of it. Some scholars speculate, basing mostly on the linguistic analysis of personal names, that the

Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of King Casimir III the Great. Branches of ...

s (whose name in Slavic means ''the one to care for'' or ''the one to educate'') were initially Popielid mayors of the house responsible for education of the princes, in a similar relation as the

Carolingians The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid ...

and

Merovingians The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...

. Some also speculate that the legend of carnivorous mice (''myszy'' in modern Polish) might contain a grain of truth as the word bears semblance to the name of the first historical ruler of the Piasts,

Mieszko Mieszko is a Slavic given name of uncertain origin. Onomastics There are three major theories concerning the origin and meaning of the name of Duke Mieszko I of Poland. The most popular theory, proposed by Jan Długosz, explains that Mieszko is a ...

(whose name meant ''bear'' in old Polish, but see the name section of the article on Mieszko I for controversy on the subject). File:Leszko II (118501866).jpg, Leszko II File:Leszko III (118501884).jpg, Leszko III File:Popiel I of Poland (105112923) (greyscale).jpg, Popiel I File:Popiel II (118501903).jpg,

Legendary descendants

* Leszko II – alleged progenitor of the dynasty * Leszko III * Popiel I *

– last member of the pre-Piast dynasty * Bolesław – inherited lower

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 ...

* Kazimierz – inherited

Kashubia Kashubia or Cassubia ( or ; ; or ) is an ethnocultural region in the historic Eastern Pomerania (Pomerelia) region of northern Poland. It is inhabited by the Kashubian people, and many in the region have historically spoken the Kashubian langua ...

* Władysław – inherited

* Wratysław – inherited Rania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) * Oddon – inherited Dytywonia (Holstein) * Barwin – inherited lower

* Przybysław – inherited Dytywonia (Holstein) * Przemysław – inherited Zgorzelica (Brandenburg) * Jaksa – inherited

White Serbia White Serbia ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Бела Србија, Bela Srbija; ), also called Boiki (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, link=no, Бојка, Bojka), is the name applied to the assumed homeland of the Sorbs (tribe), White Serbs ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, link=no, Бели С ...

* Semian – inherited

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

* Siemowit – inherited Zgorzelica (Brandenburg) * Siemomysł – inherited Zgorzelica (Brandenburg) * Bogdal – inherited lower

* Spicygniew – inherited

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

* Spicymir – inherited Glain (Lüneburg) * Zbigniew – inherited

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

* – inherited the Castle of

Dalen Dalen (Dutch Low Saxon: ''Daoln'') is a village and a former municipality in the northeastern Netherlands, in the province of Drenthe. Since 1998, Dalen has been part of the municipality of Coevorden. The village was first mentioned in the 12th ...

(Dahlenburg) * Wizymir – inherited Wyszomierz (Wismar) * Czestmir – inherited Dytywonia (Holstein) * Wisław – inherited Międzyborze (Magdeburg)

Notes

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References

Poland in the Early Middle Ages Mythological dynasties and royal families {{poland-hist-stub