Bolesław II the Bold
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Bolesław II the Bold | |
---|---|
Piast | |
Father | Casimir I the Restorer |
Mother | Maria Dobroniega of Kiev |
Bolesław II the Bold (
Bolesław II is considered to have been one of the most capable of the
According to the chronicler Gallus Anonymus, during his reign he was called largus ("the Generous" in English, "Szczodry" in Polish) as he founded many churches and monasteries throughout Poland. The nickname "the Bold" (Śmiały) was only given to Bolesław II for the first time in the later Chronicle of the Polish kings, although it was considered by historiography of the 19th and 20th centuries as a contemporary nickname.
Duke of Poland
Following the death of his father Casimir in 1058, Bolesław II, as the eldest son, inherited Greater and Lesser Poland as well as the Mazovian, Pomerelian, and Silesian lands. His younger brothers Władysław Herman and Mieszko became Governors of the remaining provinces. However Mieszko died relatively early, in 1065, at which point his lands came under the authority of Bolesław II.
His father had left him a stabilised country; Bolesław II continued his foreign policy on surrounding his realm with allied kingdoms in order to prevail against the extensive
In Hungary, Bolesław II pursued the policy of cooperation with the anti-Imperial faction, which allowed him to gain political independence from the Empire but put him in conflict with the
Meanwhile, in 1063, King Béla I of Hungary died. Bolesław II could not defend the cause of his son Géza I against the German troops of Henry IV, who finally installed Solomon on the Hungarian throne. In 1069 Grand Prince Iziaslav I of Kiev and his wife Gertruda, Bolesław's aunt, were overthrown. A Polish military campaign re-established them in power in Kiev.
In 1071 Bolesław II attacked Bohemia again. As he refused any attempt at arbitration by King Henry IV, the question was settled by an armistice between the two belligerents; however, Bolesław II, ignoring the treaty, renewed his attack in 1072 and refused to pay the tributes for Silesia to the Holy Roman Empire. Henry IV prepared for a campaign against Poland, but was hit by the outbreak of the Saxon rebellion in 1073.
Due to his involvement in Hungarian, Bohemian and Kievan affairs, Bolesław II neglected Poland's interests on the Baltic coast. Therefore, in either 1060 or 1066, Gdańsk Pomerania (Pomerelia) severed its ties to the Polish Kingdom.[3]
King of Poland
When Hildebrand of Sovana, an enemy of the German king, became
Thanks to his support of the papal cause during the
Deposition and death
In 1077 Bolesław II's troops helped two pretenders to assume the throne:
From historical records
Bolesław found refuge at the court of King Ladislaus, who also owed his crown to the deposed king.[3] However, according to Gallus Anonymus, Bolesław II's atrocious conduct towards his Hungarian hosts caused his premature death in 1081 or 1082 at the hands of an assassin, probably by poisoning. He was about 40 years old.
Ossiach legend
A popular legend holds that Bolesław proceeded to
At the walls of Ossiach, there exists a tomb bearing the depiction of a horse and the inscription Rex Boleslaus Polonie occisor sancti Stanislai Epi Cracoviensis ("Bolesław, King of Poland, murderer of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop of Kraków"). In 1960, at the direction of
The legend, however, dates from centuries after the king's death (it was first mentioned by the chronicler Maciej Miechowita in 1499). His burial place actually remains unknown. Another popular hypothesis about the fate of his remains claims that in 1086 they were transferred to the Benedictine abbey of Tyniec near Kraków.
Marriage, issue and sexuality
Before 1069 Bolesław II married Wyszesława (d. aft. 1089), who, according to the Chronicle of Jan Długosz (and supported by some sources), was a daughter of Grand Prince Sviatoslav II of Kiev by his first wife Kilikia, possibly a member of the House of Dithmarschen. They had one son, Mieszko (1069 – 1089), who was brought up in the Hungarian court by Ladislaus.[4]
Modern historians, led by Oswald Balzer (in 1895), refuted the Kievan origin and name of Bolesław II's wife and expounded the theory that his wife was the queen named Agnes whose obituary is recorded in Zwiefalten. She may have belonged to the Přemyslid dynasty.[7]
Bolesław's reluctance to marry, being still single at 25, has led his critics to accuse him of homosexuality, most notably by Jan Długosz for the "sin of sodomy"; this was motivated more likely by politics as a smear campaign but it cannot be ruled out that Bolesław might have been bisexual.[8][9]
References
- ISBN 978-1-57958-282-1. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 159.
- ^ a b Poczet Krolow i Książat Polskich, Park, Bielsko-Biała, 2005
- ^ a b c Gallus Anonymus Cronicae et gesta ducum sive principum Polonorum
- ^ a b Chronica seu originale regum et principum Poloniae by Wincenty Kadlubek (between 1190 and 1208 CE)
- ^ "The Bishop Hacked to Death by His own King" http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2011/04/07/the-bishop-hacked-to-death-by-his-own-king/
- ^ T. Jurek, Agnes regina. W poszukiwaniu żony Bolesława Szczodrego, "Roczniki Historyczne" LXXII, 2006, s. 95–104.
- ^ B. Bielaszka−Podgórny (2018). Grzech sodomski Bolesława Szczodrego w świetle "Roczników" Jana Długosza. Vol. 61. Studia Historyczne. pp. 21–36.
- ^ Olga Steliga-Dykas (26 June 2022), Tych królów podejrzewano, że wolą mężczyzn. Mogli się oddawać rozkoszom pod jednym warunkiem, onet.pl