Castellany of Bytom

Who he is

Title

Castellan of Bytom

Confidence

low

Castellan (kasztelan, comes castellanus) not named for 1199-1200 in the sources consulted. Silesian castellans appear by name mostly in charters from 1202 onward; no name is carried back to 1 January 1200 here.

Overlord

Mieszko Tanglefoot, duke of Racibórz

What it holds

• The castle of Bytom
• The silver and lead workings round Bytom
• The road from Wrocław and Opole to Kraków

How it was acquired

Appointed by the duke at his pleasure; the castellan is not a hereditary lord.

How things stand that morning

Held for Mieszko by his castellan (not pinned). The Kraków lords have not given up the claim. Długosz (Annales, book VI, under 1201, a late and often misdated source) says that when the Kraków palatine Mikołaj seized Kraków for Leszek and Helen while Mieszko the Old was in Greater Poland, only the castle of Bytom stayed loyal to Mieszko, who put a strong garrison in it that raided and plundered the Kraków land. The coup he describes is the one dated 1199; whether the Bytom raids belong to 1199-1200 and whose garrison it was (Mieszko the Old's, or his ally Mieszko Tanglefoot's) is not pinned.

The Lesser Poland Annals note under 1200 that Duke Mieszko Tanglefoot built Bytom: the castle is being built or rebuilt in the year the game opens.

Threats

• The Kraków lords' claim to their lost castellany

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. During 1200Mieszko builds (fortifies) Bytom (Lesser Poland Annals, under 1200).

Places of note

• Bytom castle: Castellany seat (gród)

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The grant of 1177 is attested; the castellan and the district's western edge (Gliwice, Toszek) are not.

On the map: The district is drawn from its head castle and a few places near its later edges; its 1200 bounds are not documented.

Primary sources for Racibórz (Mieszko Tanglefoot)

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Chronicle of the Poles, by Master Vincent (Wincenty Kadłubek), Wincenty Kadłubek (about 1190 to 1208). Book 4 is a contemporary's account of the fight for the senior throne of Kraków. Read online
• The annals of the Kraków chapter and the other Polish annals (kept from the 11th century; the Kraków chapter annals continued to 1266). Short dated entries that fix the chronology Kadłubek blurs: the deaths of dukes and bishops, Mieszko the Old's captures of Kraków, Prussian raids on Masovia, church consecrations. Read online