Bytom

Who holds it

Name

Duke Mieszko Tanglefoot, through his castellan

Title

Lord

Confidence

medium

Lord in 1200

Duke Mieszko Tanglefoot, through his castellan

How things stand that morning

Held by Mieszko; claimed by Kraków's lords.

Charter

No town charter and no German town law in 1200: a ducal castle (gród) with a market settlement (suburbium) under the castellan's court and Polish law.

Council

None. The castellan or the duke's officers judge and collect dues.

Communities

Polish castle folk, craftsmen and traders; no foreign community pinned for 1200.

Militia

None as a town; the castle folk and the knights of the district.

Walls and castle

Castle; no town wall.

Trade and crafts

Silver and lead; the Kraków road.

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) the castle.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The castle is attested; its market settlement in 1200 is inferred from the castle-district pattern.

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