Duchy of Sandomierz

Who rules

Name

Leszek the White (Leszek Biały), with his mother Helen of Znojmo as guardian

Title

Duke of Sandomierz (with his brother Konrad, heir of Masovia and Kuyavia); the heir named for Kraków by the treaty of 1198

Since

May 1194 (heir of Casimir II); Sandomierz kept under the treaty of 1198. He takes up rule in his own right in 1199 or 1200 (not pinned)

Born

About 1184/85 (K. Jasiński, 2001); older works give 1186/87. About 15 on 1 January 1200 (13 by the older dating)

Family

Piast. Son of Casimir II the Just (died May 1194) and Helen of Znojmo, a Přemyslid, daughter of Conrad II of Znojmo. Brother: Konrad, born about 1187/88, heir of Masovia (Masovia and Kuyavia). Sister: Adelaide (about 1177/84 to 1211), unmarried, later founder of St James at Sandomierz; an elder sister married Vsevolod Svyatoslavich in 1178. First cousin: Roman Mstislavich of Galicia and Volhynia, son of Casimir II's sister Agnes. Leszek is unmarried and childless: he marries first in 1207 or 1208.

Confidence

medium

Helen governed Sandomierz and Masovia, with Kuyavia from 1198, 'until 1199/1200', and Leszek took up independent rule 'in 1199 or 1200' (en.wikipedia, Helen of Znojmo). The division with Konrad is dated 'c. 1200' (Duchy of Sandomierz; Leszek the White), or Masovia 1199 and Kuyavia 1205 (Konrad I of Masovia). Whether the boy or his mother gives orders that morning is not pinned; the household and the palatine are the same either way.

What the realm holds

• Sandomierz: castle, collegiate church of St Mary and market settlement (Castellany of Sandomierz)
• Wiślica on the Nida, Casimir II's capital in 1166-1173, which Helen made a centre of learning (Castellany of Wiślica)
• Zawichost, a castellan's seat and market by 1148, at the Vistula crossing on the road to Rus' (Castellany of Zawichost)
• Radom, a stronghold named in 1155 (Castellany of Radom)
• The Lublin land: the castle on Castle Hill; the name first written in 1198 (Castellany of Lublin)
• Lesser castle districts listed for the duchy: Żarnów, Małogoszcz, Sieciechów, Skrzynno, Połaniec, and Łuków on the Yotvingian side (Lesser Sandomierz castellanies)
• South of the Vistula, the thinly settled country between the Dunajec and the forests of the Wisłok and the San (Tarnów, Pilzno, Dębica, Ropczyce, Mielec)
• Inside the duchy but the Church's: the bishop of Kraków's Kielce and Iłża (Church map), the Benedictines of Łysiec (Holy Cross), the Cistercians of Wąchock (1179) and Koprzywnica (1185), the Hospitallers of Zagość (Hospitallers of Zagość), and the Norbertine nuns of Zwierzyniec at Kazimierz on the Vistula (Casimir II's gift of 1181)
• With Konrad: Masovia and Kuyavia (maz)

How it was acquired

Henry of Sandomierz held the duchy from 1146 until he was killed fighting the Prussians in 1166 (18 October); it was then split, Sandomierz to Bolesław IV and Wiślica to Casimir II, until Casimir reunited it in 1173. Casimir added Kraków in 1177 and held both until his death in May 1194, when the Kraków lords made his son Leszek duke of both under a regency. By the treaty of 1198 Helen ceded Kraków to Mieszko III and kept Sandomierz and Masovia for her sons, gaining Kuyavia; Leszek was named Mieszko's successor at Kraków.

Allies and rivals

Allies: Roman Mstislavich of Galicia and Volhynia; his brother Konrad; the palatine Goworek. Rivals: Mieszko III at Kraków and his son Władysław III; Mieszko Tanglefoot of Racibórz and Jarosław of Opole; and the Kraków palatine Mikołaj, Goworek's bitter enemy, so that the Kraków lords' support for Leszek is conditional.

The realm that morning

Held for Leszek, with Helen still beside him and perhaps still his guardian (not pinned), and Goworek as palatine of Sandomierz. At peace with Kraków under the 1198 treaty and its 1199 sequel; allied with Roman of Galicia and Volhynia, so the eastern frontier is quiet; no Yotvingian raid is recorded that winter. Across the borders: Mieszko III's Kraków land to the west (Kraków (Mieszko III)); Masovia (Czersk, Radom's northern neighbour) and the Łęczyca land to the north (maz); Roman's Volhynia (the Chełm and Czerwień country) to the east and his Galicia (Przemyśl, Jarosław, Sanok) to the south-east (outside).

Wealth

The Vistula trade through Sandomierz and Zawichost, where the road from Kraków to Lublin, Vladimir in Volhynia and Kiev crosses the river; market dues and tolls at the river crossings; the loess farmland round Sandomierz and Opatów, among the richest in Poland; forest, honey and wax; iron worked in the Holy Cross hills (the scale in 1200 not pinned).

Military

The castles of Sandomierz, Wiślica, Zawichost, Radom and Lublin with their castellans and castle folk; the Sandomierz knights under Goworek, who were routed by the Silesians in the second phase of Mozgawa (1195); troops sent to Roman in 1199. Numbers unknown.

Threats

• A new move by Mieszko III's party, or a break with the Kraków lords
• The feud between Goworek and the Kraków palatine Mikołaj, which will cost Leszek Kraków in 1202
• Roman's growing power: an ally now, an invader in 1205
• Yotvingian raids on the Lublin and Łuków lands (none pinned for 1199-1200)
• Hungary's claim to Halych, which could set the king against Leszek's ally Roman

Consort

None (Leszek is unmarried). The dowager duchess Helen of Znojmo, born in the 1140s, is the first lady of the court; she dies between 1202 and 1206.

Heirs

His brother Konrad. Leszek's own children are born only in 1211/12 (Salomea) and 1226 (Bolesław the Chaste).

Officers and household

• The palatine (wojewoda, comes) of Sandomierz: Goworek, Leszek's closest counsellor (Goworek)
• The castellans of Sandomierz, Wiślica, Zawichost, Radom and Lublin and of the lesser castle districts: none named for 1199-1200 in any source we could reach (Castellany of Sandomierz, Castellany of Wiślica, Castellany of Zawichost, Castellany of Radom, Castellany of Lublin, Lesser Sandomierz castellanies)
• The chapter of St Mary's at Sandomierz, whose provost in these years is the chronicler Wincenty Kadłubek (dates not pinned): the court's learned men
• The chancellor: not pinned for 1200 (Iwo Odrowąż is Leszek's chancellor only from about 1206)

Great families

The Sandomierz knights belong to the same kindreds as the Kraków lords, but with their own leaders: Goworek; the Bogoria (Koprzywnica, 1185); the Odrowąż (Końskie); the Awdańcy, prominent at Sandomierz in the 13th century. See The Bogoria, The Odrowąż and Lesser Polish kindreds.

Treaties

The treaty of 1198 with Mieszko III (as in Kraków (Mieszko III)). An alliance with Roman Mstislavich, sealed by Leszek's help in taking Halych in 1199; no written text.

Wars and feuds

No war on 1 January 1200. The feud between Goworek and the Kraków palatine Mikołaj is live. The quarrel with Mieszko III's house over Kraków is in abeyance under the 1198 treaty.

Relations

Rome and church

The duchy lies in the diocese of Kraków (Bishop Pełka) and the province of Gniezno (Archbishop Henryk Kietlicz, since 1199). No quarrel with the Church is pinned for 1200.

Other dukes

Mieszko III at Kraków is the treaty partner and the old enemy; Mieszko Tanglefoot and Jarosław of Opole defeated Goworek in 1195 and ransomed him; Bolesław the Tall of Silesia is not known to be engaged.

Galicia volhynia

Roman Mstislavich, Leszek's first cousin, fought for Leszek's party at Mozgawa, where he was wounded, and was helped by Leszek's troops to take Halych in 1199, uniting Galicia and Volhynia. He is the strongest prince on the duchy's eastern border and a friend that winter; he breaks with Leszek and Konrad and is killed at Zawichost in 1205.

Hungary

No dealings pinned for 1200. Hungary claims Halych (Béla III's son Andrew was its king in 1188-1189), so Leszek's friendship with Roman could set him against Emeric or Duke Andrew later.

Yotvingians

The Yotvingians (Sudovians) raid the Lublin, Łuków and Masovian borders in these decades; Casimir II campaigned against them in the early 1190s, and Roman raided them in 1196 because they were attacking his borders. No raid is recorded for the winter of 1199-1200, so no raiding belt is drawn.

Coinage

Bracteates, as at Kraków. A Sandomierz mint striking for Leszek in 1199-1200 is not pinned.

The host

The castle districts' levies under their castellans, led by the palatine Goworek; the Sandomierz knights of the kindreds. 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.

In 1200

1. 1199 or 1200 (not pinned)Leszek takes up rule in his own right; Helen steps back.Depends on: Helen's consent and the lords' support. Stopped by: Leszek's death or illness, or Helen keeping the guardianship.
2. About 1200 (not pinned)The brothers divide Casimir's lands: Konrad takes Masovia and Kuyavia, Leszek keeps Sandomierz. (en.wikipedia's Konrad I of Masovia dates Masovia to 1199 and Kuyavia to 1205.)Depends on: Agreement in the family and among the Masovian lords. Stopped by: Konrad's death, or Leszek needing Masovia's knights for a bid for Kraków.
3. 13 March 1202 (beyond 1200)Mieszko III dies. The Kraków lords offer Leszek the throne if he dismisses Goworek; he refuses (Goworek offers to step down), and the palatine Mikołaj calls in Władysław III. Leszek gets Kraków after Mikołaj's death in 1202.Depends on: Mieszko's natural death on that date. Stopped by: Play that changes Mieszko's circumstances or ends the Mikołaj-Goworek feud.
4. 1205 (beyond 1200)Roman breaks the alliance, invades and is killed near Zawichost by Leszek's and Konrad's men.Depends on: A breach between the cousins. Stopped by: The alliance being kept up.

Later, on the likely course

1. 1201-1202Roman campaigns against the Cumans and in the affairs of Kiev, his strength turned east.Depends on: Peace on his Polish and Hungarian borders. Stopped by: A war with Hungary over Halych.

Places of note

• Sandomierz castle and St Mary's collegiate church: Ducal castle on the Vistula bluff; the chapter of St Mary's, where Kadłubek served as provost (dates not pinned).
• Wiślica: Casimir II's palace with two residences and round chapels; the Romanesque church with the gypsum 'Orants' floor (about 1175); the burial of Henry of Sandomierz.
• Zawichost crossing: Castellan's seat and market by 1148 at the Vistula crossing on the road to Lublin and Rus'.
• Lublin castle: Stronghold on Castle Hill since the mid-12th century; the name first written in 1198.

Where the sources disagree

• en.wikipedia's Duchy of Sandomierz lists the duchy's castellanies as Łuków, Lublin, Sieciechów, Radom, Skrzynno, Żarnów, Małogoszcz, Czchów, Wiślica, Połaniec, Zawichost and Sandomierz, without dates. Czchów on the Dunajec was later a castellany of the Kraków land (castellan by 1357); it is treated here as Kraków's ground, not pinned for 1200.
• Konrad's share: Masovia in 1199 and Kuyavia in 1205 (en.wikipedia, Konrad I of Masovia) against a division 'c. 1200' (Duchy of Sandomierz; Leszek the White). For maz to settle.
• campaign notes Part 6 we make Pełka 'co-regent for Leszek with the dowager Helen and the voivode'. If the usual chronology is followed (Kraków (Mieszko III)), the regency that remains in 1200 is Helen's over Sandomierz and Masovia, and the voivode Mikołaj is Mieszko's palatine at Kraków, not Leszek's regent.

Evidence: The treaty of 1198 and the brothers' division about 1200 are in the standard accounts; the exact time when Leszek ruled for himself and the castellans of 1200 are not. Polish-language sources were unreachable in this run.

On the map: The outline follows the later Sandomierz and Lublin voivodeships for the core and the old line of the Kraków land in the west. The eastern edge towards Volhynia (Chełm, Krasnystaw, Szczebrzeszyn) and the south-eastern edge towards Galicia (Rzeszów, Leżajsk) were forest frontiers in 1200, drawn here by guess; the Łuków land in the north-east was a thinly held march against the Yotvingians.

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