Bezprym
| Bezprym | |
|---|---|
| Duke of Poland | |
as imagined by Jan Matejko.
|
|
| Reign | 1031–1032 |
| Predecessor | Mieszko II Lambert |
| Successor | Mieszko II Lambert |
| Born | c. 986 |
| Died | 1032 |
| Dynasty | Piast dynasty |
| Father | Bolesław I the Brave |
| Mother | Judith of Hungary |
Bezprym (c. 986 – 1032) was a Duke of Poland during 1031–1032.
He was the eldest son of Bolesław I the Brave, King of Poland, but was deprived of the succession by his father, who around 1001 sent him to Italy, in order to become a monk at one of Saint Romuald's hermitages in Ravenna.
Expelled by his half-brother Mieszko II Lambert after the death of their father, in 1031 Bezprym became ruler of large areas of Poland following simultaneous attack of the German and Kievan forces and Mieszko II's escape to Bohemia. His reign was short-lived and, according to some sources, extremely cruel. He was murdered in 1032 and Mieszko II returned to the throne of Poland. It's speculated that Pagan Reaction began during his short reign.
In primary sources Bezprym appears as: Besprim (Chronicles of Thietmar of Merseburg) Besfrim (Annalista Saxo), Bezbriem (Chronicles of Hildesheim and Altaic Chronicles). This name wasn't used among the Polish nobility but was known in the Bohemian sources, where it appears as: Bezprim, Bezprem, Bezperem. According to one of the hypotheses the name is of Slavonic origin, and was probably originally pronounced as Bezprzem or Bezprzym. Due to tradition and the impossibility of determining the correct version of the name, Bezprym remains the form used, although, according to K. Jasiński, it probably requires modifications.
Older historiography frequently combined the figures of Bolesław I's two sons, Otto and Bezprym, or even attributed to Bezprym the middle name of Otto. Marian Gumowski also suggested, on the basis of numismatic research that this "combined" prince could have governed Bohemia in 1003. These theories are based on the chronicle of Wipo of Burgundy, who described only one brother of Mieszko II, Otto. Modern historians assume, however, that Bezprym in fact did exist, and that the chronicler erroneously combined Otto and Bezprym into one person.
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