Mieszko III the Old

Who he is

Name

Mieszko III the Old (Mieszko Stary)

Title

Duke of Greater Poland; senior duke (by the usual reckoning in Kraków too)

Since

1138; restored 1181-82; Kalisz his own again since Odon's death (20 April 1194)

Born

about 1126

Family

Son of Bolesław III Wrymouth; see the realm record for his wives, children and grandchildren

Confidence

high

en.wikipedia and de.wikipedia (Jasiński's genealogy); the division with his son after 1194 from en.wikipedia (Duchy of Greater Poland; Władysław Odonic)

Overlord

None (claims the seniorate)

What it holds

• Kalisz castle and its land: taken from the senior province in 1181; given to Mieszko the Younger 1191-93 and to Odon 1193-94; his own since 1194
• Gniezno castle and district (the archbishop's city and see)
• Giecz and Ląd castles with their districts; Kłecko; Lednica
• Nakło on the Noteć with the southern Krajna and the Pałuki (Kcynia, Szubin, Gąsawa)
• The march castles of Santok, Drzeń, Wieleń, Czarnków and Ujście on the Noteć and Warta, and Międzyrzecz, Zbąszyń and Wschowa on the Obra march (see the march records)
• The mint, the market and river tolls, the ducal law over the peasants
• Kraków and the senior province, by the usual reckoning (krakow record)

How it was acquired

See the realm record. Kalisz and Gniezno were taken from the senior province in 1181 with Pomeranian help.

Allies and rivals

Allies: his grandsons the Pomeranian dukes; Jaromar I of Rügen; the Silesian princes Mieszko Tanglefoot and Jarosław of Opole (at Mozgawa, 1195). Rivals: the Kraków lords round Helen of Znojmo, Bishop Pełka and the palatine Mikołaj; Leszek the White.

How things stand that morning

He holds these districts directly through his castellans. Whether the march castles of the Noteć and the Obra answered to him or to his son in Poznań is not pinned; as duke and senior he is overlord of both shares.

Wealth

The Kalisz and Gniezno plains (grain, cattle), the market dues of Gniezno and Kalisz, the Noteć and Warta tolls, the mint.

Military

His retinue and the knights of the castle districts; the castles listed. Beaten at Mozgawa (1195).

Threats

• Age
• The Kraków lords
• Family strife over Odon's land

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. 13 March 1202Dies at Kalisz; buried in St Paul's there. His share passes to Władysław Spindleshanks.Depends on: Natural course. Stopped by: Play that changes his circumstances.

Places of note

• Kalisz-Zawodzie: castle and St Paul's: Residence and foundation.
• Gniezno castle: The archbishop's see and the duke's castle.
• Giecz: Old Piast castle, seat of a castellan.
• Ląd: Castle on the Warta and Cistercian abbey.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: His residence at Kalisz, the recovery of Gniezno and Kalisz in 1181 and his death and burial at Kalisz are well reported. Which castle districts he kept and which his son governed after 1194 is not pinned beyond Odon's land south of the Obra.

On the map: The split between father and son is drawn from the usual account (the son has Odon's land and Poznań); the marches are given to the father as overlord.

Primary sources for Greater Poland

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