Duke of Krakow
Mieszko IV Tanglefoot
(
Polish
:
Mieszko IV Pl?tonogi
) (c. 1130 ? 16 May 1211) was Duke of
Krakow
and
High Duke of Poland
from 9 June 1210 until his death one year later. He was also Duke of
Silesia
from 1163 to 1173 (with his brother as co-ruler), Duke of
Raciborz
from 1173, and Duke of
Opole
from 1202.
His nickname "Tanglefoot" (Pl?tonogi) appeared in the chronicles from the 14th and 15th centuries. From
Rocznik S?dziwoja
, annals written in the mid-fifteenth century, the entry for the year 1192: "
Cracovia civitas devastata est a Mescone loripede dicto Platonogy nepote ducis Kazimiriensis filio Wladislai exulis
" (en: "The city of Krakow was devastated by Mieszko the bandy-legged, called Platonogy, nephew of Duke Casimir, son of Władysław the Exile").
[1]
[note 1]
[note 2]
Early life
[
edit
]
Mieszko was the second son of
Władysław II the Exile
and
Agnes of Babenberg
. From 1146, after the deposition of his father, Mieszko and his family mainly lived in the town of
Altenburg
in
Saxony
, which was granted as a temporary possession to Władysław II by Agnes's half-brother King
Conrad III of Germany
. During his time in exile, Mieszko studied in
Michaelsberg
and
Bamberg
.
The exile for the deposed high duke turned out to be permanent; he died in Altenburg in 1159. His sons continued the fight to recover their inheritance, and finally three years later, in 1163, and thanks to the intervention of the Emperor
Frederick Barbarossa
, Mieszko and his older brother
Bolesław I the Tall
returned to
Silesia
.
Duke of Raciborz
[
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]
Mieszko and Bolesław I the Tall co-ruled the Duchy of
Wrocław
during the period 1163?1173. At first, their rule did not extend over the major Silesian cities, which remained under the control of
Bolesław IV the Curly
, then the
high duke of Poland
. The brothers retook them in the year 1165, taking advantage of Bolesław IV's involvement in a crusade against the Prussians.
Eventually, Mieszko began efforts to obtain his own Duchy, in part because his older brother Bolesław took all the government into his hands and left little participation for Mieszko there. In 1172, Mieszko began an open rebellion against his brother. He also supported Bolesław's eldest son,
Jarosław
, who was forced to become a priest thanks to the intrigues of his stepmother Christina, who wished for her sons to be the only heirs. The rebellion was a complete surprise to Bolesław, who was forced to escape to
Erfurt
, Germany. However, the intervention of the Emperor favored the return of Bolesław soon afterwards, but he was forced to give separate lands to both Mieszko (who received the towns of
Raciborz
and
Cieszyn
) and Jarosław (who received
Opole
).
Bytom and O?wi?cim
[
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]
In 1177 Mieszko supported his uncle and namesake
Mieszko III the Old
when he had to fight to maintain his rule over the Duchy of
Krakow
. This renewed the disputes between him and Bolesław I the Tall, who wished to obtain the Duchy and with this the Seniorate. However, Bolesław suffered an unexpected defeat by Mieszko and his own son Jarosław, who distracted him from his advance over Krakow. In his place was his younger uncle and ally,
Casimir II the Just
, who captured the city and was proclaimed the new High Duke of Poland. Mieszko III the Old found himself in exile in Raciborz and it seemed that a war between Mieszko Tanglefoot and Casimir II the Just was now just a matter of time. Casimir II, however, went a different route, and in order to gain the favor of the Duke of Raciborz, gave him the towns of
O?wi?cim
and
Bytom
(with the fortress of O?wi?cim, Bytom,
Mikołow
,
Siewierz
and
Pszczyna
, although some historians estimate that these fortress had belonged to Mieszko only since 1179). On the other hand, Bolesław the Tall suffered a further diminution of his authority when he was compelled to give
Głogow
to his youngest brother
Konrad
, who had recently returned from Germany and claimed his part over the Silesian inheritance.
In 1195 Mieszko and his nephew Jarosław supported Mieszko III the Old in his new attempt to recover Krakow and the Seniorate. The death of Casimir II the Just and the minority of his sons gave them the opportunity to attack and regain control over
Lesser Poland
. However, Krakow and the nobility of Sandomierz, led by the voivode Nicholas, had other plans and decided to support Casimir II's eldest son,
Leszek the White
. Both sides clashed in the bloody Battle of Mozgawa (Mozgaw?) near
J?drzejow
(13 September 1195), where Mieszko III was seriously injured and his son
Bolesław of Kuyavia
died. The Silesian troops, led by Mieszko and Jarosław, arrived to the battlefield too late, soon after Mieszko III withdrew to
Kalisz
. Over the forces of the
Count palatine
Goworek
[
pl
]
, who also arrived to help Leszek's troops, the Silesians obtained a great victory; however, because Mieszko III was not present, this victory only brought them benefits in terms of prestige and the ransoms obtained from captured Sandomierz nobles.
Duke of Opole
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]
On 22 March 1201 Jarosław of Opole died. The Duchy of Opole was then inherited by his father Bolesław the Tall, with whom the late duke had recently reconciled. However, Bolesław died only nine months later, on 7/8 December 1201, leaving all his lands to only surviving son,
Henry the Bearded
.
Mieszko was determined to obtain Opole and made a surprise attack at the beginning of 1202. The Duke managed to obtain
Opole
, which was from then on definitively joined to his lands. Despite this victory, Mieszko wanted additional territories, but this was against the wishes of the Church, which strongly supported Henry I the Bearded. Thanks to the intervention of
Henryk Kietlicz
,
Archbishop of Gniezno
, and Cyprian,
Bishop of Wroclaw
, Henry I maintained his frontiers, but he had to pay 1000 pieces of silver to his supporters.
High Duke of Poland
[
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]
On 9 June 1210, a papal bull was decreed by
Pope Innocent III
, under which all of the seniorate rulers (included High Duke Leszek the White) were deposed and
excommunicated
. The bull demanded that the Piast princes adhere to the
testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth
, which proposed that the most senior of the Piast dukes is the ruler in the seniorate. Strangely, in the bull an unnamed duke of Silesia (who was assumed to be Henry the Bearded, because he actually used that title) was exempted from the ban. The country was full of consternation, because nobody knew who had real power.
Archbishop Henryk Ketlicz decided to call the
Synod of Borzykowa
[
pl
]
, where he tried to find a solution to this delicate issue. At the convention, in addition to the hierarchy of the Church, Henry I the Bearded and the other junior dukes attended. Leszek the White, wanting to ensure the support of the Church, along with other Piast princes, then gave a great privilege, which ensured the integrity of territorial possession of the bishops (the privilege was not signed by Henry I and
Władysław III Spindleshanks
, but they did comply with the provisions established there). Mieszko, however, was not present in Borzykowa;
[note 3]
with the support of the Gryfici family, he decided to lead his army and march into
Krakow
, where the confusion among the citizens left him in total control over the capital without fighting. This was the zenith of Mieszko's career, as he died less than one year later, on 16 May 1211. According to
Jan Długosz
, he was probably buried in the Cathedral of Krakow (
Wawel Cathedral
). Only after Mieszko's death could Leszek the White return to Krakow without major difficulties.
Marriage and issue
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]
By 1178, Mieszko married
Ludmila
(died after 20 October 1210), whose origins are unknown. Her name indicates that she may have a
Bohemian
origin, probably a member of the
P?emyslid dynasty
. According to the majority of historians,
[
citation needed
]
she could be the daughter of
Otto III Detleb
[
pl
]
, Duke of
Olomouc
, by his wife
Durantia
[
pl
]
. There are also minority hypotheses that put her as a daughter of Duke
Sob?slav I of Bohemia
;
Konrad II, Duke of Znojmo
[
pl
]
; or
Vladimir, Duke of Olomouc
[
pl
]
, son of Otto III Detleb (who would be her brother according to the majority opinion).
Mieszko and Ludmila had five children:
[2]
- Casimir I
(b. ca. 1179/80 ? d. 13 May 1230).
- Ludmilla (d. 24 January aft. 1200).
- Agnes (d. 9 May aft. 1200).
- Euphrosyne
(d. 25 May aft. 1200).
- Ryksa (d. aft. 24 September 1239).
[note 4]
Notes
[
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]
- ^
It was previously noted on this page that this was the oldest preserved record of Mieszko's nickname in the form of "Pl?tonogi", however this was when the sentence was worded as though 1192 was the year of the reference itself, and not the year to which the quote referred.
- ^
Interestingly, despite the reference, Mieszko I Tanglefoot had little to do with Krakow in 1192. It was Mieszko II the Old, and possibly his son, Mieszko the Younger, who were challenging Casimir II the Just for rule over Krakow and the Seniorate Province.
- ^
Mieszko Tanglefoot was in fact the eldest Piast duke at this time. This may be why he skipped the synod, as he knew that he was the beneficiary of the papal bull as written. He also may have been the exempted duke of Silesia, even though he was actually duke of Raciborz-Opole.
- ^
Her parentage is uncertain; she is only known from a document of
Mieszko II the Fat
, who called her his aunt (
Amita
), which means that she could be also the sister of his mother Viola. See
Mieszko I (IV) Pl?tonogi (Laskonogi, Raciborski)
References
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Further reading
[
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]
- Rajman Jerzy, Mieszko Pl?tonogi,
[1]
See also
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