Duchy of Racibórz

Who rules

Name

Mieszko I Tanglefoot (Mieszko Plątonogi, 'Loripes'; also called Crassus in a Silesian chronicle)

Title

Duke of Racibórz (dux de Ratibor)

Since

1172/73 (Racibórz, Koźle and Cieszyn); 1177 or about 1179 (Bytom, Oświęcim, Siewierz and the lands with them, from Casimir II)

Born

About 1130 (en.wikipedia); fmg.ac gives 1132/46. Between his fifties and about seventy on 1 January 1200.

Family

Second son of Władysław II the Exile; brother of Bolesław the Tall. Wife Ludmila (died after 20 October 1210), of unknown family, probably Bohemian and perhaps a Přemyslid, married by 1178. Son Casimir (born about 1179/80, so about 20), his heir. Daughters Ludmila, Agnes, Euphrosyne and Ryksa (Richeza): birth dates not pinned; the marriage dates from the 1170s, so most or all are probably born by 1200.

Confidence

high

en.wikipedia (Mieszko I Tanglefoot; Duchy of Racibórz); de.wikipedia (Mieszko I. (Oppeln)); fmg.ac SILESIA.

What the realm holds

• The castle district of Racibórz on the upper Oder, his seat
• The castle district of Koźle on the Oder
• The castle district of Cieszyn on the Olza, towards the Jablunkov pass and Hungary
• The castle district of Bytom, Lesser Polish until 1177, with its silver and lead ores
• The castle district of Oświęcim on the Soła and the Vistula, with Zator on the Skawa and the forest of the upper Soła
• The castle of Siewierz on the Czarna Przemsza and its land
• The Pszczyna country between Racibórz, Cieszyn and Oświęcim (castle first named later)

How it was acquired

Racibórz with Koźle and Cieszyn as his share in the division of 1172/73; Bytom, Oświęcim, Siewierz, Pszczyna and Zator from Casimir II in 1177 (en.wikipedia; other historians say about 1179).

Allies and rivals

Rivals: his brother Bolesław the Tall; his nephew Henry, Bolesław's heir; the Kraków lords who chose Leszek. Allies: Mieszko III the Old, whom he backed in 1177 and 1195; his nephew Jarosław, his ally of 1172 and 1195, now a reconciled bishop. Neighbours: the Moravian province of Opava across the Opava and the Ostravice, the Hungarian Trencsén and Árva country across the Beskids, the Kraków castellanies of Będzin, Sławków and Kraków itself across the Przemsza and the Skawa.

The realm that morning

Mieszko holds Racibórz, Koźle, Cieszyn, Bytom, Oświęcim with Zator, and Siewierz on 1 January 1200 (high confidence for the core and for Bytom and Oświęcim; Siewierz and Zator rest on en.wikipedia's list of the 1177 grant and on their later history with the Upper Silesian dukes). He does not hold Opole: he takes it only in 1202. His side in the Kraków quarrel after 1195 is not pinned; he has no part in Kraków's government that winter.

Długosz (Annales VI, under 1201) says Bytom alone held for Mieszko the Old after the palatine Mikołaj's coup and raided the Kraków land; if that is so in the winter of 1199-1200, Mieszko Tanglefoot's Bytom is a base against Leszek's Kraków (thin evidence, not drawn as a belt).

Wealth

The Moravian Gate road from Opava to Kraków crossing the Oder at Racibórz; the Cieszyn road to the Jablunkov pass and Hungary; silver and lead at Bytom; river traffic on the Oder and the Vistula; forest dues. en.wikipedia says he settled Flemish (Walloon) merchants below his castle at Racibórz (date not pinned) and that a coin inscribed 'MILOST' was struck there in 1211.

Military

Castles at Racibórz, Koźle, Cieszyn, Bytom, Oświęcim and Siewierz. His troops marched with Jarosław's in 1195 and beat the Sandomierz palatine Goworek after Mozgawa. No numbers.

Threats

• His brother and nephew in Wrocław, who will resist any move on Opole
• The Kraków lords and Leszek's regents, who never accepted the loss of Bytom and Oświęcim
• Age: he is old, though he lives until 16 May 1211
• Retaliation from Kraków if the Bytom garrison is raiding the Kraków land (Długosz, under 1201)

Claims

• Opole, his nephew Jarosław's life duchy, on Jarosław's death (he seizes it in 1202)
• The senior throne of Kraków as the eldest surviving son of Władysław II after Bolesław (he takes Kraków in 1210 with a papal bull behind him)
• A bigger share of the Silesian inheritance, which the 1172 division denied him

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.

In 1200

1. During 1200 (month not pinned)Mieszko builds (fortifies) the castle of Bytom: the Lesser Poland Annals (Rocznik małopolski) note under 1200 that 'Duke Mieszko Tanglefoot built Bytom'. Długosz, under 1201, makes Bytom the one castle that held for Mieszko the Old against the Kraków lords and raided the Kraków land.Depends on: Mieszko's means and the quarrel with Leszek's Kraków continuing. Stopped by: A settlement with Kraków, or a Kraków attack on the Bytom works first.

Later, on the likely course

1. Early 1202On Bolesław's death he takes Opole by surprise and keeps it; the Church saves the rest of Henry's inheritance; 1,000 marks of silver change hands in the settlement (the sources disagree on who paid whom).Depends on: Jarosław dying 22 March 1201 and Bolesław 7/8 December 1201. Stopped by: Henry garrisoning Opole; Mieszko's own death or capture.
2. 9 June 1210 to 16 May 1211With a papal bull upholding the seniority rule he takes Kraków and holds it until his death.Depends on: Leszek's position weakening; Mieszko alive. Stopped by: Leszek keeping the Kraków lords together.

Places of note

• Racibórz castle: The duke's seat on the Oder
• Cieszyn castle and rotunda of St Nicholas: Castellany seat on the road to the Jablunkov pass
• Bytom castle: Castellany seat of the silver and lead country, Lesser Polish until 1177
• Oświęcim castle: Castellany seat at the meeting of the Soła and the Vistula

Where the sources disagree

• The 1177 grant: en.wikipedia lists Bytom, Oświęcim, Zator, Pszczyna and Siewierz (Duchy of Racibórz) or Oświęcim, Bytom, Mikołów, Siewierz and Pszczyna (Mieszko I Tanglefoot); de.wikipedia lists Bytom, Oświęcim, Zator, Siewierz and Pless (Pszczyna); en.wikipedia (Oświęcim) dates the attachment 'around 1179'. Pszczyna, Mikołów and Zator are first named as places later; they are drawn inside the Bytom and Oświęcim districts.
• en.wikipedia (Duchy of Racibórz) dates the duchy's creation to 1172; en.wikipedia (Mieszko I Tanglefoot) has Mieszko ruling Racibórz from 1173.

Evidence: The man, his family and the grants of 1172/73 and 1177 are well attested; the extent of the castle districts in 1200 and his castellans are not.

On the map: The southern forest edge in the Beskids and the line between the Racibórz castellany and the Moravian province of Opava (the Hlučín country) are approximate; the frontier with Kraków follows the later border of the Oświęcim and Siewierz lands.

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