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71-485: Gisela of Swabia ( c. 990 – 15 February 1043), was queen of Germany from 1024 to 1039 and empress of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 to 1039 by her third marriage with Emperor Conrad II . She was the mother of Emperor Henry III . She was regent of Swabia for her minor son Duke Ernest II of Swabia in 1015, although it seems at that time her husband Conrad was the one who held the reins of government, leading to

142-538: A sobriquet , was given to him as a reference to Saint Lambert . However, it is also probable that the name was chosen after Bolesław's half-brother Lambert Mieszkowic . It is thought that the choice of this name for his son was an expression of warming relations between Bolesław I and his stepmother Oda of Haldensleben . Since Mieszko II was politically active before his father's death, Bolesław appointed him as his successor. He participated mainly in German politics, both as

213-591: A "pagan reaction". The exact reasons and date are unknown. Mieszko II's only son and heir, Casimir I , was either expelled by this insurrection, or the insurrection was caused by the aristocracy's expulsion of him. Some modern historians argue that the insurrection was caused more by economic than by religious issues, such as new taxes for the Church and the militarization of the early Polish polity. Priests, monks and knights were killed; cities, churches and monasteries were burned. The chaos became still greater when, unexpectedly,

284-678: A defensive war against Germany , Bohemia and the Kievan princes. Mieszko II was forced to escape from the country in 1031 after an attack by Yaroslav I the Wise , who installed Mieszko's older half-brother Bezprym onto the Polish throne. Mieszko II took refuge in Bohemia, where he was imprisoned by the Duke Oldrich . In 1032 he regained power in one of the three districts, then united the country, making good use of

355-514: A hostage. Henry II probably wanted to force the presence of Bolesław I in Merseburg and make him explain his actions. The plan failed however, because, under pressure from his relatives, the Emperor soon agreed to release Mieszko II. A year later, Mieszko II stood at the head of Polish troops in the next war against the Emperor. The campaign was not favorable to Henry. His army needed over a month to reach

426-536: A new crisis. The empress died of dysentery at the Imperial Palace of Goslar in 1043. She is interred in the grotto of Speyer Cathedral , Germany along with several emperors and other members of the imperial family. Gisela was known for "her most becoming appearance". Gisela's tomb in Speyer was opened in 1900 and her mummified body was found to be 172 cm (5 ft 8 in) tall, with long blond hair. Gisela

497-501: A peace agreement in Mutten, near Basel . Rudolph recognized her husband's right of succession in Burgundy . She tried to mediate between Conrad and her son Ernest II, Duke of Swabia , who repeatedly rebelled against his stepfather. All her efforts broke down though, when in 1030, Ernest refused to act against his friend and vassal Werner of Kyburg and impose peace. She had to give up and swear

568-417: A public oath not to take revenge should any measure be taken against her son, who had received an imperial ban . In the end, Ernest lost his life fighting against Count Manegold, who was charged by Bishop Warmann of Constance (the guardian of Hermann, her younger son who had become the new duke by then ) to reestablish the peace breached by Ernest, Werner and their men. In 1032, she interceded successfully on

639-458: A representative of his father and the commander of the Polish troops. In 1013, Mieszko II went to Magdeburg , where he paid homage to Emperor Henry II . A few months later, Bolesław I paid homage in person. The real purpose of Mieszko II's visit is unclear, especially since soon afterwards, his father paid homage to the Holy Roman Empire. Presumably, the young prince paid homage to Milsko, Lusatia and Moravia. The relevant treaty stipulated that it

710-459: Is a useful measure for gauging the influence of a queen in the government). Huschner rates her success as mediator between Conrad and Rudolph III highly, but points out that in 1033, Conrad's claim on Burgundian throne and the resulting campaign were based on imperial law (as Conrad was the successor of Emperor Henry II ) rather than the inheritance right of Gisela, who did not appear in Burgundy. She

781-592: Is noted. The couple is depicted as ruling partners, both with crowns, receiving divine blessings and associated with divine figures through adornment, and the colours of their clothing matched (these characteristics are also applied in the portrayal of Henry III and Agnes of Poitou . The tears of Conrad are shown, reminding of a previous argument between father and son, in which Conrad is said to have wept and collapsed (Henry III considered his behaviour justified, and this image seems to show this too). There are also statues of Conrad, Gisela, Henry III, Henry IV and Bertha in

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852-450: Is unjustly known as Mieszko II Gnuśny (the "Lazy", "Stagnant" or "Slothful"). He received that epithet due to the unfortunate way his reign ended; but in the beginning he acted as a skillful and talented ruler. Mieszko was a son of King Bolesław the Brave . He was probably named after his paternal grandfather, Mieszko I . His second name, Lambert, sometimes erroneously considered to be

923-669: The Frankfurter Rundschau , the treasure is considered "the most important testimony of medieval gold jewellery". There are a lot of debates about the dates, the true origin place of the treasure and the owner though. It is generally agreed that the pieces come from different eras. In a 2017 exhibition Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt , it was argued that the jewels were found in a field near Wiesbaden , with some pieces being nineteenth-century forgeries created to persuade Emperor Wilhelm II to buy them for an excessive price. Mechthild Schulze-Dörrlamm refutes these theories, claiming that

994-723: The Kaiserpfalz (imperial residence) in Ingelheim. Queen of Germany Queen of the Romans ( Latin : Regina Romanorum , German : Königin der Römer ) or Queen of the Germans were the official titles of the queens consort of the medieval and early modern Kingdom of Germany . They were the wives of the King of the Romans (chosen by imperial election ), and are informally also known as German queen ( German : Deutsche Königin ). A Queen of

1065-535: The Leitha and Fischa Rivers. Now that the Emperor was less concerned about an attack from the south, in the autumn of 1031, he went on the offensive against Poland and besieged Milsko. The offensive ended with a complete success, and Mieszko II was forced to surrender some lands. As a result, the Polish King lost portions of the lands taken by his father, who warred often against Emperor Henry II. Historians estimate that

1136-522: The Lutici tribe. In October 1028, the Emperor's opportunity came as the Lutici district of Pöhlde asked the Emperor to defend against the attacks of Mieszko II, promising support in the fight against the Polish ruler. Despite the treaty which secured peace between Poland and Germany, the Emperor soon armed a retaliatory expedition against Mieszko II. Conrad II's army arrived to Lusatia in the autumn of 1029 and began

1207-661: The Creation to Jesus Christ) was read—a ritual of great importance, symbolizing the birth of a new dynasty. For the same reason, Henry II replaced her as her son's regent with Poppo of Trier , which became the source of conflict between Conrad and Henry. Gisela played an active part in politics, attending Imperial councils . Also, she participated in several synods of the church. She took care of her sister Matilda 's daughters Sophie and Beatrice , who later ruled Bar and Tuscany , respectively. In 1027, she mediated between Conrad and King Rudolph III of Burgundy , her uncle, leading to

1278-553: The Duchess presenting the Book to Mieszko II while sitting on a throne. The gift was accompanied by a letter, wherein Matilda named him a distinguished king and a model for the spread of Christianity . Also written was praise of the merits of Mieszko II in the building of new churches, as well his knowledge of Latin , very unusual in those times when Greek was more widely used. In this book are found

1349-452: The Emperor organized another expedition against the Polish king, this time by organizing a coalition against Mieszko II. Already in 1030, Yaroslav I the Wise began the offensive and conquered Red Ruthenia and some Bełz castles. In 1031, the Emperor concluded a peace with the Kingdom of Hungary . Probably in exchange for Stephen I 's support, Conrad II ceded to Hungary the territories between

1420-405: The German army. When the Polish army advanced to Meissen , Mieszko II unsuccessfully tried to besiege the castle of his brother-in-law, Margrave Herman I (husband of his sister Regelinda). The fighting stopped in autumn and was resumed only in 1017 after the failure of peace talks. Imperial forces bypassed the main defensive site near Krosno Odrzańskie and besieged Niemcza . At the same time, at

1491-553: The Kaiser-Halle of the cathedral, erected in the nineteenth century. Gisela is one of the five empresses (together with Adelaide of Italy , Theophanu , Cunigunde of Luxembourg and Agnes of Poitou ), presented as Säulen der Macht (pillars of power), commemorated by the city of Ingelheim am Rhein . There are six stelae at the Heidesheim Gate ( Heidesheimer Tor ) displaying their lives and work. All five empresses once stayed at

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1562-505: The Kingdom of Germany – although a King of Germany might not bear the Imperial title, it would eventually become impossible to conceive of a Holy Roman Emperor not being King of Germany (a viewpoint reinforced with the equation of King of the Romans with King of Germany from the 12th century). Thus, the following women, though not all Holy Roman Empresses, were all Queens of Germany, and – from

1633-465: The Polish throne remained vacant. Mieszko II was still imprisoned in Bohemia and Otto probably in Germany. German sources report that the Emperor organized an expedition in order to invade Poland. It is unknown what happened after this, but certainly Mieszko II was released by Duke Oldřich and he could return to the country. After his recent opponent had regained power, the Emperor immediately reacted and began

1704-565: The Romans also became Holy Roman Empress if her husband was crowned Holy Roman Emperor , in the Middle Ages usually by the Pope in Rome during an Italienzug . Most elected Kings of the Romans did, but some never made it that far, and thus their wives only ever achieved the status of Queen of the Romans. Empress Maria Theresa (1745–1780) is often considered to be a ruler in her own right , as she

1775-405: The activity of the opposition centered around Dukes Ernest II of Swabia and Frederick II of Upper Lorraine . Conrad II's opponents conspired to acquire Mieszko's favor. Historical evidence of these efforts is in the prayer book sent to Mieszko by Frederick's wife, Matilda of Swabia , around 1027. The volume is entitled: officiorum Liber quem ordinem Romanum apellant . In it, a miniature showed

1846-630: The age of 35. It seems there were troubles between the couple and their son Henry III . Henry at times criticized Conrad, and after Conrad's death, in a bitter quarrel, Gisela told Henry (now the only child she had left) that he would die before her. Huschner opines that she must have loved Conrad, with whom she shared what was probably the best years of her life, ruling together at the top. The young Henry's education and development were also in accordance with her wishes. After Conrad's death, she tried to continue her previous role together with Henry III (because Henry's wife, Gunhilda of Denmark , had died), but

1917-552: The behalf of King Mieszko II Lambert , who regained the favour of Conrad. She was a long-time donor and patron of the Speyer Cathedral , paying close attention to the development of her family's memorial culture there. After Conrad's death in 1039, she and her son Henry III led the mourning progression. During the 1030s, she played an important role as the patron of the new church reform movement. In 1037, she ruled as regent on behalf of Conrad who returned to Italy to deal with

1988-432: The distribution was uncertain, this division was short-lived: in 1033, Otto was killed by one of his own men, and Mieszko II took his domains. Shortly afterwards, he likely had Dytryk expelled and thus was able to reunite the whole country in his hands. Mieszko II regained full power, but he still had to fight against the nobility and his own subjects. In Poland, his renunciation of the crown was disregarded, and after 1032, he

2059-417: The earliest records of the Kingdom of Poland: neumes at the margins of the sequence Ad célèbres rex celica . The gift caused the expected effect, and Mieszko II promised to take military action. The preparations for the war began in the autumn of 1027. In the middle of that year, Conrad II returned to Germany and began to fight the rebels. Soon, he defeated Duke Ernest II, depriving him of his lands. Only when

2130-484: The enmity between stepfather and stepson. She was an active empress, exemplifying a tradition in which, up to the period of the Hohenstaufens , as the consors regni (ruling partner to the king or emperor), the queen and empress held a substantive role in the government, often intervening in the drafting of documents or even issuing documents in her own name. She reigned as regent for her absent husband in 1037. Gisela

2201-417: The existing political situation. After his father's death, Mieszko II inherited a vast territory, which in addition to Greater Poland , Lesser Poland , Silesia and Gdańsk Pomerania , also included Lusatia, Red Ruthenia and the territory of present-day Slovakia. Whether Moravia was still under his reign or was lost earlier is disputed. Once his solo reign had begun, as an important Central European ruler, he

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2272-428: The fact that she could appoint personally related candidates to the offices of bishop. 0 0 0 See also : Große Adler-/Pfauenfibel Mainz  [ de ] In 1880, a treasure of golden jewellery of 25 pieces was discovered by building workers. In 1913, Otto von Falke published this discovery and attributed it to Gisela. Since then, it has often been called "Gisela's jewels" or "Gisela's treasure". According to

2343-463: The final loss of the war against the Holy Roman Empire weakened the position of the King, who had to face several rebellions from the opposition, who claimed that the previous war did not produce the expected benefits. An additional problem was a dynastic crisis: Mieszko II's brothers continued their attempts to gain power with the help of foreign forces. The brother who caused the first problems to Mieszko II

2414-502: The followers of Mieszko II. At the time, power was exercised in the face of mutiny by the people, an event known as the "Pagan Reaction". Having degraded the structure of power, the Duke's authority collapsed, and he was forced to send the Polish regalia to the Emperor. After only one year of reign, Bezprym was murdered (1032), probably at the instigation of his brothers. After the death of Bezprym,

2485-491: The future Henry III. Gisela was the sole intercessor in 33 diplomata. Of these, 12 of the last 14 times (issued after the couple's stay in Verona ) were for Italian recipients. Huschner opines that although she never had the chance to bear sole responsibility for the highest decisions in the government, Gisela had a significant share in royal-imperial rule and greatly contributed to the consolidation of central government, thus shaping

2556-433: The government of Poland. Only Gallus Anonymus mentions the then Prince on the occasion of the description of his father's trip to Rus in 1018: "due to the fact that his son (...) Mieszko wasn't considered yet capable of taking the government by himself, he established a regent among his family during his trip to Rus". This statement was probably the result of the complete ignorance of the chronicler since in 1018, Mieszko II

2627-455: The head of ten legions, Mieszko II went to Moravia and planned an allied attack together with Bohemia against the Emperor. This action forced the Emperor to give up on any plan of a frontal attack. A year later, the Peace of Bautzen (30 January 1018) was concluded, with terms extremely favorable to the Polish side. Beginning in 1028, Mieszko II successfully waged war against the Holy Roman Empire. He

2698-565: The inception of the Hohenstaufen dynasty – all Queens of the Romans. In addition to the above, the following women were the wives of men who made claim to the Kingship of Germany, but who are not recognised as official Kings: Mieszko II Lambert He was the second son of Bolesław I the Brave , but the eldest born from his third wife Emnilda of Lusatia . He organized two devastating invasions of Saxony in 1028 and 1030. Then, Mieszko II ran

2769-509: The kingdom, Mieszko II's brothers received nothing from their father's legacy. As Bezprym was the oldest son, there were some who felt that he should have succeeded his father as king. Bezprym had, however, always been disliked by his father, as indicated by his name (the Piasts tended to give names such as Bolesław , Mieszko and later Kazimierz , Władysław and emperors' names, such as Otto , Konrad (Conrad), and Henryk (Heinrich). Bezprym

2840-481: The line of the Oder River , and once there, his troops encountered strong resistance led by Mieszko II and his father. Henry II sent a delegation to the Polish rulers, in an effort to induce them to conclude a peace settlement. Mieszko II refused, and after the Emperor's failure to defeat his troops in battle, Henry decided to begin retreating to Dziadoszyce . The Polish prince went in pursuit and inflicted heavy losses on

2911-400: The medieval government was not a modern one "with Gisela functioning as the medieval equivalent of a politically appointed cabinet minister for religion and education aided by a state secretary—in this case, Poppo of Stavelot—drawn from the career civil service". Wolfram opines that the majority of Gisela's and Conrad's appointees were excellent people by intellectual standard. Zey remarks that

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2982-502: The new dynasty. As imperatrix augusta and consors regni , she was considered co-ruler by her contemporaries (although in documents, the latter title was only used sporadically, and almost exclusively in diplomata granted to Italians—the reason for this rare use was that the previous empress, Cunigunde of Luxembourg , had failed to assert herself in the Chancellery of her husband, Henry II . Zey comments that this also shows how this title

3053-477: The new emperor was vehemently against this idea, which led to conflicts between mother and son. Before 1041, she still frequented the court. After this year though, she retired to Goslar . Gisela and Brun I, Count of Brunswick had: Gisela and Ernest I, Duke of Swabia had: Gisela and Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor had: In Germany, new studies and exhibitions on Gisela, once almost forgotten together with her husband and their family, have arisen together with

3124-473: The other two competitors: his brother Otto and a certain Dytryk ( German : Thiedric ) —his cousin, grandson of Duke Mieszko I and his third wife, Oda von Haldensleben . Mieszko II probably received Lesser Poland and Masovia , Otto obtained Silesia, and Dytryk took Greater Poland. According to another hypothesis, Mieszko II received Greater Poland, and other neighborhoods were given to Otto and Dytryk. Although

3195-520: The preparations for the expedition against Poland. Mieszko II was not prepared for the confrontation, so he used his influence in the German court in order to resolve the conflict. On 7 July 1032, in Merseburg , a meeting took place between Conrad II and the surviving heirs of the Piast dynasty . Without alternatives, Mieszko II was forced to surrender the crown and agreed to the division of Poland between him and

3266-445: The reason for the rapid capitulation of Mieszko II was the bad internal situation in the country. Bolesław left an unstable kingdom to his son, who had to defend his autonomy and position amongst neighboring rulers. Also, the cost of Mieszko II's extensive war against Emperor Conrad II caused his popularity to decline among his subjects, despite the fact that during the invasion of Saxony the King only defended their territory. Furthermore,

3337-404: The rebel fight was nearly lost did Mieszko II arrive to their aid. In 1028, Polish troops invaded Saxony and took a number of prisoners. The devastation was so great that, according to Saxon sources, "where Mieszko II's troops put their feet grass never thence grew". The Emperor accused the Polish ruler of an illegal coronation as King and declared him a usurper. This invasion involved the lands of

3408-597: The recent interest in the Salians as well as imperial women Gisela is often depicted as an ambitious, intelligent and strong-minded woman who nevertheless, was also a loyal partner to her husband, with whom she formed a harmonious team, instead of pursuing "one's own politics". The chronicler Wipo of Burgundy praised Gisela as embodying both feminine and manly qualities, as well as piety and political abilities both innate and nurtured by experience. According to Wipo, she attained her coronation thanks to her "manly probity", which won

3479-408: The remaining power structures. At this time, several Polish territorial acquisitions of his father were lost: Upper Lusatia (also known as Milsko ), part of Lower Lusatia , Red Ruthenia , the western and central parts of Upper Hungary (now Slovakia ), and probably Moravia . Mieszko II was very well educated for the period. He was able to read and write, and knew both Greek and Latin . He

3550-555: The role of empresses and queens as intercessors and petitioners had already been well established under the Ottonians ; however, the number of times Gisela played these roles surpassed all other empresses and queens during the Middle Age. Moreover, her role as mediator between Conrad and his opponents both inside and outside the Empire was remarkable. Her power in ecclesiastical politics showed in

3621-536: The siege of Bautzen , but the German troops did not receive the promised support of the Lutici tribe and the expedition failed. Threatened by the Hungarians, the Emperor was forced to retreat. Probably in this same year, the son of Oldřich, Bretislaus I , attacked and took Moravia. In 1030, Mieszko II secured an alliance with Hungary and once again invaded Saxony . In the meanwhile, his southern ally attacked Bavaria and temporarily occupied Vienna . In response,

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3692-403: The support of the princes, the people and the emperor. She was also esteemed above all other imperial advisors. Gisela's intercession shows the central role of herself as well as imperial consorts in general in the government. Among 191 (out of 248 diplomata, thus representing 78 percent) in which intercessors appeared, she intervened in 155 cases (85 percent), many of which together with her son,

3763-492: The title of Emperor ; Louis obtained Eastern Francia, the area which would become Germany. The wives of that realm's Kings are thus German Queens (or more precisely, East Francian Queens – 'Germany' is historically deemed to have developed with the election of Henry the Fowler), but not always Empresses. With the elevation of Otto I of Germany in 962 to the Imperial title, the title 'Roman King/Emperor' became inaliably associated with

3834-491: The treasure is genuine and the place where they were found is Mainz, but opines that the treasure, with most of the pieces created in the eleventh century, should be associated with Agnes of Poitou , Gisela's daughter-in-law. Charles T. Little from the Metropolitan Museum of Art , relying on the date identified as late tenth century by Hiltrud Westermann-Angerhausen and Hermann Fillitz as well as Byzantine influence, linked

3905-603: The treasure to Theophanu . Peter Lasko suggests a date of Late Carolingian . The most notable piece was the fibula with the eagle (or peacock) shape. Its authenticity has never been doubted, but the latest investigations have also failed to establish a clear date. Birgit Heide opines that the date was either much earlier than the assumed date of the second half of the ninth century (thus Late Carolingian), or between 975 and 1025. The Golden Gospels of Henry III , commissioned by Henry III, honours himself as well as his mother. An image showing Gisela and Conrad before Christ (fol. 2v)

3976-429: The year 1014, Mieszko II was sent by his father to Bohemia as an emissary. He had to persuade Duke Oldřich to make an alliance against Emperor Henry II. The mission failed as Oldřich imprisoned Mieszko II. He was released only after the intervention of the Emperor, who, despite the planned betrayal of Bolesław I, loyally acted on behalf of his vassal. As a result, Mieszko II was sent to the Imperial court in Merseburg as

4047-511: Was 28 years old and was already fully able to exercise power by himself. King Bolesław died on 17 June 1025. Six months later, on Christmas Day , Mieszko II Lambert was crowned king of Poland by the archbishop of Gniezno , Hipolit , in the Gniezno Cathedral . Contemporary German chroniclers considered this to be an abuse of power on the part of the Archbishop, which was made necessary by

4118-522: Was Queen regnant of Bohemia and Hungary, and although her husband Francis I was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1745, it was she who ruled the Empire and continued to do so even after Francis' death in 1765 before ruling jointly with her son Emperor Joseph II . With the Treaty of Verdun in 843, the Carolingian Empire was divided. Lothair, the King of the middle Kingdom of Lotharingia or Burgundy, obtained

4189-429: Was a prince of considerable influence as a great leader of the opposition against Henry II. Through marriage with his daughter, Mieszko II entered the circle of the Imperial family. Probably after the wedding, and in accordance with prevailing custom, Bolesław I the Brave gave a separate district to Mieszko II to rule: Kraków . One of his towns, Wawel (now part of the city), was chosen by the prince as his residence. In

4260-462: Was able to repel its invading army, and later even invaded Saxony . He allied Poland with Hungary , resulting in a temporary Hungarian occupation of Vienna . This war was probably prompted by family connections of Mieszko II's in Germany who opposed Emperor Conrad II . Due to the death of Thietmar of Merseburg , the principal chronicler of that period, there is little information about Mieszko II's life from 1018 until 1025, when he finally took over

4331-513: Was ambitious, intelligent and energetic. As "necessary companion" ( necessaria comes ) to her husband, she often acted authoritative and decisive in his small circle of advisors. Unlike Conrad, she was educated, thus he often entrusted her with affairs of the Church. Privately, the imperial pair's relationship was also considered harmonious, although it is hard to know whether they loved each other or not. Wolfram suggests possible use of birth control, because they had no more children after they reached

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4402-519: Was c. 1012 with the Babenberg scion Ernest , who had been enfeoffed with the Duchy of Swabia by King Henry II of Germany at the death of Gisela's brother, Duke Herman III and aimed at legitimising himself as his heir. After Ernest's early death in 1015, Gisela became regent for their minor son Duke Ernest II of Swabia . Gisela's third marriage, which took place before January 1017, was to Conrad II , who

4473-515: Was elected king of Germany in 1024 and became emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in 1027. According to Thietmar of Merseburg , Archbishop Aribo of Mainz refused to crown her as queen because Gisela and Conrad were too closely related, the couple both descending from King Henry the Fowler . She was instead crowned and anointed thirteen days after Conrad's coronation by Archbishop Pilgrim of Cologne . The Liber Generationum (a text about generations from

4544-576: Was most likely Bezprym , who allegedly won the alliance of Kiev in order to take power with the support of Otto. When Mieszko II was busy defending Lusatia from the troops of Conrad II, the Kievan expedition came from the east with Yaroslav I the Wise as the leader. In 1031, Poland was invaded and then Bezprym was settled on the throne. Mieszko II and his family were forced to flee the country. Queen Richeza and her children found refuge in Germany. The King could not escape to Hungary because, during his travel, he

4615-487: Was now very important to the Holy Roman Empire. Later developments during his reign had their source in dynastic and familial issues. His older half-brother Bezprym was the son of the Hungarian princess Judith, Bolesław's second wife. Mieszko II also had a younger full-brother, Otto . According to Slavonic custom, a father was expected to divide his legacy among all his sons. However, since Bolesław I did not wish to break up

4686-423: Was only a personal tribute, not entailing any legal obligations. Another hypothesis assumes that the territories were transferred by Bolesław to him, and as a result made Mieszko II a vassal of the Empire. The position of the young prince, at both the Polish and Imperial courts, became stronger in 1013 when he married Richeza , daughter of Count Palatine Ezzo of Lotharingia and niece of Emperor Otto III . Ezzo

4757-513: Was rather a commoner's name, which implied that Bolesław did not wish Bezprym to succeed him). For that reason, Bezprym was sent to a monastery. According to some chroniclers, Mieszko II expelled his two brothers from the country. Otto took refuge in Germany and Bezprym escaped to the Kievan Rus . In 1026, King Conrad II of Germany went to Italy for his Imperial coronation. His absence increased

4828-548: Was still called king in the chronicles. Mieszko II died suddenly on either 10 or 11 May 1034, probably in Poznań . The Polish chronicles clearly stated that he died of natural causes; the information given by the chronicles of Gottfried of Viterbo that he was murdered by the sword-bearer ( Miecznik ) refers in fact to Bezprym. He was buried in the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul . After Mieszko II's death, Poland's peasants revolted in

4899-672: Was stopped by Rus' troops. King Stephen I of Hungary was not favorable to accepting him in his country. Without alternatives, Mieszko II went to Bohemia . Duke Oldřich once again imprisoned him. This time, the King could not count on Imperial support. Mieszko II was not only imprisoned but also castrated, which was to be a punishment to Bolesław I the Brave, who blinded Duke Boleslaus III the Red (Oldřich's brother) thirty years before. Mieszko II and his wife never reunited again; according to some sources, they were either officially divorced, or only separated. Bezprym probably made bloody persecutions against

4970-538: Was the daughter of Duke Herman II of Swabia and Gerberga of Burgundy , daughter of King Conrad the Peaceful . Both her parents were descendants of Charlemagne . According to a plate found when her tomb was unearthed, she was born on 11 November 999, but that date cannot be reconciled with the records of her marriages. Gisela first married the Saxon count Brun I of Brunswick , about 1002. Upon Brun's death, her second marriage

5041-413: Was very supportive of her relatives. Her kinsman, Archbishop Bardo of Mainz for example owed his career to her patronage. She never hesitated to choose Conrad above everyone else, including family, though. While her role in religious matters was essential, Wolfram writes that it would be wrong to assume that Conrad neglected ecclesiastical affairs leaving Gisela as the sole originator of policies, because

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