Duchy of Kraków (the senior throne)

Who rules

Name

Mieszko III the Old (Mieszko Stary)

Title

Senior duke (princeps) of Poland and duke of Kraków; also duke of Greater Poland (see Greater Poland)

Since

1198, by treaty with Casimir II's widow Helen of Znojmo. Driven out in 1199 by the palatine Mikołaj and Bishop Pełka, who set up Leszek again, and let back in on a new settlement the same year (the usual chronology; the date of the return is disputed: see notes_discrepancy)

Born

1126 or 1127; about 73 on 1 January 1200

Family

Piast. Son of Bolesław III Wrymouth and Salome of Berg. Senior duke 1173-1177, again briefly in 1191, and from 1198. His only surviving son and heir is Władysław III Spindleshanks, who holds the south of Greater Poland and is guardian of Odon's son Władysław Odonic (born about 1190); his son Bolesław of Kuyavia was killed at Mozgawa in 1195 and Odon died on 20 April 1194. His wives, daughters and Greater Polish lands are in the wlk records.

Confidence

medium

Who holds Kraków that morning turns on a disputed chronology. The usual list of senior dukes gives Mieszko III 1198-1199 ('agreement with Leszek and his regents'), Leszek the White 1199 ('restored'), Mieszko III 1199-1202 ('restored') (en.wikipedia, List of Polish monarchs; Seniorate Province), and en.wikipedia's Leszek the White says Mieszko held Kraków from 1198 until his death on 13 March 1202 'with a short interruption in 1199'. en.wikipedia's Mieszko III the Old instead has him deposed in 1199 and back only after a later settlement. We follow the usual chronology: on 1 January 1200 Mieszko is in possession, but only as far as the Kraków lords allow.

Polish-language works (Jasiński, Dobosz and others) could not be reached in this run.

What the realm holds

• Kraków: Wawel castle with the duke's hall and the cathedral, and the castle district round the city (Castellany of Kraków)
• The castle district of Wojnicz on the Dunajec, on the road to Hungary (Castellany of Wojnicz)
• The Sącz country on the upper Dunajec and the Poprad, towards the Hungarian border (Sącz country; thin)
• The open country north of the Vistula between the Przemsza and the Nida: Miechów, Książ, Proszowice, Słomniki, with the gords of Lelów (named 1193) and Skała (early 13th century)
• The castle district of Biecz on the Ropa, a castellany by the 12th century whose tithes Casimir II gave to St Florian's at Kraków in 1184 (Castellany of Biecz)
• The brine springs of Wieliczka and Bochnia, boiled for salt; the rock-salt mines come only in 1248-1252
• Inside the land but not the duke's: the bishop of Kraków's estates (Church map), the abbeys of Tyniec and Jędrzejów, the canons of Miechów, the Premonstratensian nuns of Zwierzyniec, and the kindreds' own estates
• The Sieradz and Łęczyca lands to the north, parts of the senior province since Duchess Salome's death in 1144, which follow whoever holds Kraków: drawn by wlk (Sieradz land) and maz (Łęczyca land) under this realm
• Not his: the castellanies of Bytom, Oświęcim and Siewierz, taken from the Kraków land in 1177 and held by Mieszko Tanglefoot of Racibórz (sil)

How it was acquired

Mieszko III was senior duke from 1173 until the Kraków lords rose in 1177 and gave Kraków to his brother Casimir II; he retook it briefly in 1191. When Casimir died (May 1194) the Kraków lords chose Casimir's son Leszek, a boy of about nine, under the regency of his mother Helen, Bishop Pełka and the palatine Mikołaj. Mieszko fought for the throne at Mozgawa near Jędrzejów on 13 September 1195: his son Bolesław was killed and he himself badly wounded, and he withdrew to Kalisz; his Silesian allies, Mieszko Tanglefoot and Jarosław of Opole, came late but routed the Sandomierz men and took their palatine Goworek prisoner.

In 1198 Helen gave Kraków up to him by treaty, in return for Kuyavia for her sons, who kept Sandomierz and Masovia, and with Leszek named his successor. In 1199 Mikołaj and Pełka deposed him and restored Leszek; a new settlement brought him back with his title and less power.

Allies and rivals

Allies: his son Władysław III Spindleshanks; his Silesian allies of 1195, Mieszko Tanglefoot of Racibórz and Jarosław of Opole (bishop of Wrocław). Rivals: the boy Leszek the White and his mother at Sandomierz, with the palatine Goworek; their cousin and ally Roman Mstislavich of Galicia and Volhynia; and the Kraków lords themselves, who have made and unmade him twice.

The realm that morning

Mieszko holds Kraków, Wawel and the Kraków castle districts and is senior duke in name, on terms set by the palatine Mikołaj, Bishop Pełka and the Kraków lords, who expelled him once already in 1199. Where he spends the winter is not pinned (he dies at Kalisz in 1202). The treaty of 1198 stands in outline: Kuyavia has gone to Casimir's sons, Sandomierz and Masovia stay with Helen and her sons, and Leszek is the heir named for Kraków.

The Sieradz and Łęczyca lands to the north go with Kraków (Sieradz land, Łęczyca land). Across the borders: Racibórz's castellanies of Oświęcim, Bytom and Siewierz to the west (sil), Greater Poland beyond the Sieradz land (wlk), Masovia beyond Łęczyca (maz), Leszek's Sandomierz to the east (Sandomierz (Leszek the White)), Hungary's Szepes, Sáros and Orava forests over the Carpathians to the south (hno), and Galicia under Roman beyond the Wisłoka (outside).

Wealth

Salt from the brine springs at Wieliczka and Bochnia, boiled in pans and carried up and down the Vistula; Bochnia is first named in 1198, when the patriarch of Jerusalem confirmed a gift there by the Gryfita Mikora to the canons of Miechów; the rock-salt mines come only after the finds of 1248-1252. Tolls and market dues at Kraków, where the roads from Wrocław and Prague, from Hungary over the passes by Sącz, and from Rus' by Sandomierz meet the Vistula. The duke's mint at Kraków.

Lead and silver near Olkusz and at Sławków (the bishop's) were worked by the 13th century; their state in 1200 is not pinned. The farmland of the loess north of the Vistula.

Military

Wawel and the castle districts' strongholds, each with a castellan and the castle folk who owe guard duty and labour; the knights of the Kraków kindreds, who follow the palatine more than the duke; Mieszko's own Greater Polish retinue. Record: driven off at Mozgawa in 1195, though his Silesian allies won the second phase of the battle.

Threats

• The Kraków lords, who deposed him in 1199 and can do it again
• His age: he is about 73 and dies at Kalisz on 13 March 1202
• Leszek the White coming of age at Sandomierz, with Roman of Galicia and Volhynia as his cousin and ally
• The succession: the 1198 treaty names Leszek; his own son Władysław III wants Kraków; the palatine Mikołaj and Goworek of Sandomierz are enemies
• Church reform under Archbishop Henryk Kietlicz, which will press on the dukes' rights over church land and bishops' elections

Consort

See Greater Poland for his wives; no duchess is pinned at Kraków in 1200.

Heirs

By the treaty of 1198 Leszek the White is to succeed him at Kraków (en.wikipedia, Mikołaj Gryfita). His own heir in Greater Poland is his son Władysław III Spindleshanks, who will claim Kraków too.

Officers and household

• The palatine (wojewoda, comes palatinus) of Kraków: Mikołaj, the head of the Kraków lords, palatine since the 1170s or 1180s and until his death in 1202 (Palatine Mikołaj)
• The castellan (kasztelan) of Kraków, keeper of Wawel and first of the castellans: not named for 1199-1200 in any source we could reach (Castellany of Kraków)
• The castellans of Wojnicz, Biecz and the lesser castle districts: not named for 1200 (Castellany of Wojnicz, Castellany of Biecz, Sącz country)
• The chancellor: not pinned. Court offices that appear in Lesser Polish charters in these decades (the chamberlain, the steward, the cup-bearer, the master of the hunt, the judge) are not pinned to names for 1200
• The bishop of Kraków, Pełka (Fulko), since 1186: a Church map record, but in politics one of the two men who make and unmake dukes at Kraków

Great families

The Kraków lords are a few great kindreds (rody) whose members hold the palatine's and the castellans' offices and whose estates lie scattered through the land: the Gryfici (Jaksa of Miechów's kin, founders of Jędrzejów and Miechów; the palatine Mikołaj is usually counted one of them and probably married Jaksa's daughter), the Lisowie (to whom Długosz assigns Mikołaj), the Toporczycy (Starykoń), the Odrowąż (Końskie, Prandocin), the Awdańcy, the Bogoria (founders of Koprzywnica, 1185) and the Janina. See The Gryfici, The Odrowąż, The Bogoria and Lesser Polish kindreds.

Treaties

The treaty of 1198 with Helen of Znojmo (Kraków to Mieszko; Kuyavia to Casimir's sons; Sandomierz and Masovia left to them; Leszek to succeed at Kraków) and its sequel of 1199 with the Kraków lords (Mieszko keeps the title, gives up part of his power). Texts do not survive; the terms come from the chronicles.

Wars and feuds

No war is being fought over Kraków on 1 January 1200: the dispute between Mieszko's house and Casimir's sons is held in check by the settlements of 1198-1199. The feud between the Kraków palatine Mikołaj and Goworek, palatine of Sandomierz, is live and will decide the succession in 1202.

Relations

Rome and church

Bishop Pełka of Kraków, a regent of 1194-1198, is one of the Kraków lords who bind Mieszko. Henryk Kietlicz, archbishop of Gniezno since 1199 and a reformer of the pope's school, had served Mieszko as an administrator before his election; he will press church immunity and free elections against all the dukes (campaign notes Part 6 we and Part 9).

Empire

No imperial claim is pressed on Kraków in 1200; the Empire is split between Philip of Swabia and Otto IV.

Other dukes

His nephews Mieszko Tanglefoot of Racibórz and Jarosław of Opole fought for him in 1195; Bolesław the Tall of Silesia has kept apart since; his son Władysław III holds the south of Greater Poland; Leszek and Konrad, Casimir's sons, are his rivals and his treaty partners.

Hungary

No clash on the Carpathian frontier is recorded for 1199-1200. The road over the passes by Sącz and the Poprad carries trade with Upper Hungary and the Szepes (Spiš) country.

Galicia volhynia

Roman Mstislavich, prince of Volhynia, fought against Mieszko at Mozgawa and took Halych in 1199 with Leszek's help: he is Leszek's cousin and ally, not Mieszko's.

Coinage

Lesser Poland's coin in these years is the bracteate, a thin one-sided silver penny struck by the dukes' moneyers and regularly recalled for re-striking. Bracteates in Hebrew letters naming Mieszko, struck by Jewish moneyers, belong to his reigns, mostly in Greater Poland; which coins were struck at Kraków in 1198-1202 is not pinned.

The host

The castle districts' levies under their castellans, led by the palatine; the knights of the great kindreds with their followers; Mieszko's own Greater Polish retinue. Numbers unknown.

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 1200 (not pinned)No war over Kraków is recorded for 1200. Mieszko keeps the throne under the settlement of 1199 while the palatine Mikołaj and Bishop Pełka govern in practice.Depends on: The settlement holding, and Leszek's party keeping the peace. Stopped by: A quarrel between Mieszko and the palatine or the bishop, or a move by Leszek's party: the lords expelled him once in 1199 and could do it again.
2. 1199 or 1200 (not pinned)Leszek the White begins to rule Sandomierz in his own right, and about 1200 Casimir's sons divide their lands: Konrad takes Masovia and Kuyavia, Leszek keeps Sandomierz. It matters at Kraków because Leszek is the heir named in 1198.Depends on: Helen giving up the regency; agreement between the brothers. Stopped by: Helen or the lords keeping the boys under tutelage; a death in the family.
3. 13 March 1202 (beyond 1200)Mieszko dies at Kalisz. The Kraków lords offer Leszek the throne if he dismisses Goworek; he refuses, and the palatine Mikołaj brings in Władysław III Spindleshanks. After Mikołaj's own death in 1202 the lords recall Leszek (how long Władysław holds Kraków is disputed: autumn 1202, 1206 or 1210).Depends on: Mieszko's natural death on that date; the feud between Mikołaj and Goworek. Stopped by: Play that changes Mieszko's circumstances, or a deal between Leszek and the palatine.

Places of note

• Wawel: the duke's hall and the cathedral: Castle hill with the Romanesque cathedral (consecrated 1142) and the bishop's residence; St Florian's relics came from Rome in 1184.
• Mozgawa battlefield (between Jędrzejów and Pińczów): 13 September 1195: Mieszko III against the Kraków and Sandomierz lords; his son Bolesław killed; Goworek captured by the Silesians.
• Wieliczka brine springs: Salt boiled from brine; rock salt mined only after the finds of the mid-13th century (1252).
• Bochnia: Named in 1198 in the patriarch of Jerusalem's confirmation of a Gryfita gift to Miechów.
• Tyniec abbey: The Benedictines on the Vistula above Kraków (Church map matter).

Where the sources disagree

• campaign notes Part 6 I: 'KRAKÓW. PEŁKA, bishop since 1186. Co-regent for Leszek with the dowager Helen and the voivode.' That describes 1194-1198. By the usual chronology Mieszko III holds Kraków on 1 January 1200 (back since 1199), so Pełka is then not a regent of Kraków for Leszek but one of the Kraków lords who hold Mieszko to his terms; any regency for Leszek is Helen's, at Sandomierz. Sources: en.wikipedia Leszek the White (Mieszko held Kraków from 1198 to his death, with a short interruption in 1199); Seniorate Province and List of Polish monarchs (Mieszko restored 1199-1202); Helen of Znojmo (regent of Sandomierz and Masovia, with Kuyavia, until 1199/1200).
• The sources disagree on 1199-1202. en.wikipedia's Mieszko III the Old says the palatine Mikołaj and Bishop Fulko (Pełka) deposed Mieszko in 1199 and that he came back only 'three years later' after a new settlement, which would put Leszek in Kraków on 1 January 1200; the Leszek the White and Seniorate Province articles give Mieszko 1199-1202. If the campaign prefers the other reading, Leszek holds Kraków that morning under Mikołaj and Pełka, and Mieszko's return belongs to the likely course of 1200-1201. The Polish scholarship behind both could not be reached in this run.
• The Church map record Kraków (Kielce) leaves this 'not pinned'; this record pins it to Mieszko III with medium confidence.
• Sieradz and Łęczyca: en.wikipedia (Leszek the White) says that after the brothers' division of about 1200 Leszek 'hoped to later reconquer the Seniorate Province and Sieradz-Łęczyca', which implies he did not hold those lands then. wlk and maz give both lands the realm krakow as parts of the senior province under Mieszko III; this record agrees. They are drawn in Sieradz land and Łęczyca land, not here.

Evidence: The outline (the 1194 regency, Mozgawa 1195, the 1198 treaty, the 1199 coup, Mieszko's death in 1202) is firm in the chronicles (Kadłubek, the Kraków annals) as summarised in the standard works. The month of Mieszko's return in 1199 is not, and no castellan of 1199-1200 is named in any source we could reach. Polish-language reference sites did not load in this run, so the record rests on English summaries of Polish scholarship.

On the map: No raiding belt is drawn in Lesser Poland: no raid across the Carpathians, from Galicia or Volhynia, or by the Yotvingians is recorded for the winter of 1199-1200, and the quarrel over Kraków is held in check by the settlements of 1198-1199. The outline follows the later border of the Kraków land against Sandomierz (the Nida and the Dunajec), against Racibórz's Oświęcim, Bytom and Siewierz (the Przemsza and the Skawa) and against the Sieradz land, with the Carpathian forests to the south. In 1200 the line between Kraków and Sandomierz runs between castle districts of one dynasty's lands, not along a fortified border. The Biecz and Jasło country and the mountain forests (Podhale, the Beskids) are assigned by their later attachment; the Carpathian frontier with Hungary is a wide forest, not a line.

Primary sources for this realm

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