Zbigniew of Poland
| Zbigniew | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Poland | |
Portrait by Leonard Chodźko.
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| Reign | 1102–1107 |
| Predecessor | Władysław I Herman |
| Successor | Bolesław III Wrymouth |
| Born | c. 1073 Poland |
| Died | 8 July 1113 (?) Tyniec Abbey, Tyniec (?) |
| House | Piast |
| Father | Władysław I Herman |
| Mother | Przecława (Prawdzic?) |
Zbigniew (also known as Zbygniew; ca. 1073 – 8 July 1113?), was a Prince of Poland (in Greater Poland, Kuyavia and Masovia) during 1102-1107. He was first-born son of Władysław I Herman and probably Przecława, a member of the Prawdzic family.
Zbigniew was considered illegitimate, and after the birth of his half-brother Bolesław was destined to the Church. At the end of the 11th century, when the real power in the country was by the Palatine Sieciech, the opposition of some Silesian magnates caused the return of Zbigniew to Poland and forced Władysław I his recognition as his successor. The intrigues of Sieciech and Władysław I's second wife Judith Maria caused that Zbigniew and his younger half-brother became allies, and both at the end forced their father to divide the country between them and the exile of the Palatine.
After the death of his father, Zbigniew obtained the northern part of the country as an equal ruler with Bolesław. However, soon erupted the conflicts between them, because Zbigniew, as the eldest one, considered himself the rightful and sole heir of Poland. He began to search allies against Bolesław. During 1102-1106 took place a fratricidal war for the supremacy, in which Zbigniew suffered a complete defeat and was forced to go into exile in Germany. Under the pretext of restoring him, in 1109 Emperor Henry V invaded Poland, but was defeated at Głogów.
In subsequent years, Boleslaw failed to defeat the neighboring Bohemia, and in 1111 he had to make peace with them and his overlord, the Emperor. One of the conditions of Henry V was the return of Zbigniew to Poland, where he received a minor domain. For unknown reasons, shortly after his return, Zbigniew was blinded, and then he died.
Following 15th-century reports, Władysław I Herman married with a Polish woman, a member of the Prawdzic family. This union was performed ca. 1070 under the Slavic rites without a church ceremony. Some medievalists argue that the marriage, although made under old Pagan rites, was lawful. They indicate that only at the end of the 12th century, the Papal legate Peter of Capua, who stayed in Poland during 1197, ordered that only the marriages performed under the Church rites (Latin: matrimonium in facie ecclesie contrahere) would be considered as legitimate, following the writings of the Rocznik krakowsk.
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