Palatine Mikołaj

Who he is

Name

Mikołaj (called Mikołaj Gryfita in modern works)

Title

Palatine (wojewoda, comes palatinus) of Kraków

Since

The 1170s or 1180s (en.wikipedia gives 1176-1202; not checked against the charters)

Born

Not known

Family

A Lesser Polish kindred: the Gryfici (Świebodzice) by most modern writers, the Lisowie according to Długosz; the two were probably treated as one kin at the time. His father is given as Stępota or as Klemens of Brzeźnica (the old name of Jędrzejów). A voivode Mikołaj, probably he, married a daughter of Jaksa of Miechów (died about 1176), the Gryfita crusader who founded the Miechów canons.

Confidence

medium

en.wikipedia (Mikołaj Gryfita; Leszek the White; Mieszko III the Old; Władysław III Spindleshanks); Jaxa of Köpenick for the marriage.

Overlord

Duke Mieszko III at Kraków, whom he tolerates on terms

What it holds

• The palatine's office, its share of the duke's dues and its court
• His kin's estates (not pinned; the Gryfici held round Jędrzejów, Miechów and Bochnia)

How it was acquired

Appointed by Casimir II; kept office through the regency and under Mieszko III.

Allies and rivals

With Bishop Pełka and the Kraków kindreds. Against Goworek of Sandomierz; uneasy with Mieszko III.

How things stand that morning

Palatine of Kraków under Mieszko III and the real head of the Kraków lords.

Wealth

Office revenues and family estates; nothing quantified.

Military

Commands the Kraków levies; led the Lesser Polish army at Mozgawa (1195).

Threats

• Goworek and Leszek's party
• The succession when Mieszko dies

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 1202 and after (beyond 1200)Refuses Leszek unless Goworek goes, and calls in Władysław III; dies later in 1202.Depends on: Mieszko's death on that date; the feud with Goworek. Stopped by: A reconciliation with Goworek, or his own earlier death.

Places of note

• Kraków: Seat of the palatine.

Where the sources disagree

• campaign notes Part 6 we call him the 'voivode' co-regent for Leszek. That was his role in 1194-1198; on 1 January 1200 (usual chronology) he is palatine under Mieszko III.

Evidence: His role in 1194-1202 is in the chronicles; his kindred and estates are disputed and not pinned.

On the map: A marker only: his own estates are not pinned.

Primary sources for Kraków (Mieszko III)

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
• The Hypatian Chronicle (the Kievan Chronicle compiled about 1200 at the Vydubichi monastery; the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle in the 13th century). The southern record. Read online
• The Book of Census of the Roman Church, Cencius Camerarius (Cencio Savelli, later Pope Honorius III) (1192, with later additions). The papal rent roll: every church, monastery, town and kingdom that owed a census to Rome in 1192, diocese by diocese, with the sums, followed by lists of papal lands and castles, the ceremonial Ordo and copies of charters. Read online
• The Registers of Pope Innocent III for 1199 to 1201, Innocent III and the papal chancery (22 February 1199 to 21 February 1201). The pope's outgoing letters for the year, in his chancery's own copy, touching nearly every realm in the atlas. Read online