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Boleslaus I

(Encyclopedia)Boleslaus I bōˈləslôs [key], c.966–1025, Polish ruler (992–1025), the first to call himself king; also called Boleslaus the Brave. He succeeded his father, Mieszko I, as duke of Poland, seized...

Boleslaus II

(Encyclopedia)Boleslaus II, c.1039–1081, duke (1058–76), and later king (1076–79) of Poland; son and successor of Casimir I. Throughout his reign he opposed the influence of the Holy Roman Empire. He asserted...

Boleslaus III

(Encyclopedia)Boleslaus III, 1085–1138, duke of Poland (1102–38). The kingdom had been divided by his father, Ladislaus Herman, between Boleslaus and his elder brother Zbigniew, whose legitimacy was disputed. Z...

Ladislaus Herman

(Encyclopedia)Ladislaus Herman lädˈĭslousˌ hĕrˈmän [key], 1040–1102, duke of Poland (1079–1102), brother and successor of Boleslaus II. His rule was one of weakness and decline. At his death the kingdom ...

Henry II, Holy Roman emperor and German king

(Encyclopedia)Henry II, 973–1024, Holy Roman emperor (1014–24) and German king (1002–24), last of the Saxon line. He succeeded his father as duke of Bavaria. When Otto III died without an heir, Henry, who was...

Piast

(Encyclopedia)Piast pyäst [key], 1st dynasty of Polish dukes and kings. Its name was derived from that of its legendary ancestor, a simple peasant. The first historic member, Duke Mieszko I (reigned 962–92), beg...

Mieszko II

(Encyclopedia)Mieszko II or Mieczyslaw II, 990–1034, king of Poland (1025–34), son and successor of Boleslaus I. His reign was marked by internal and external strife. Moravia was lost to Bohemia, Lusatia to Ger...

Casimir I

(Encyclopedia)Casimir I kăsˈəmēr [key], c.1015–1058, duke of Poland (c.1040–1058), son of Mieszko II. He succeeded in reuniting the central Polish lands under the hegemony of the Holy Roman Empire, but he w...

Casimir II

(Encyclopedia)Casimir II, 1138–94, duke of Poland (1177–94), youngest son of Boleslaus III. A member of the Piast dynasty, he drove his brother Mieszko III from power at Kraków in 1177 and became the principal...

Mazovia

(Encyclopedia)Mazovia məsōˈ– [key] Pol. Mazowsze, historic region, central Poland. At the death (1138) of Boleslaus III, Mazovia became an independent duchy under the Piast dynasty. It became a suzerainty of G...

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