Salvete Omnes,
glorious anniversary
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| king Mieszko II |
more than a thousand years ago some of the Polish tribes unified into one state under the their own dynasts from Greater Poland.
Traditionally and in the Polish Christian lore and historiography duke Mieszko I is considered the first ruler of Polish realm circa 966AD, but naturally this could not be not true, as if duke Mieszko appeared from a thin smoke.
Especially since the Polish archaeologists have been digging into the soils of Greater Poland for more than a century and can reasonably show the sudden development of large strongholds around 920-40s AD within the heartlands of Polish state, i.e., Greater Poland - Wielkopolska, the center of the Polish state for the next centuries to come. It was duke Ziemomysl and his son Mieszko I who unified the tribal territories and make Polish tribes into one realm. Mieszko I chose Roman Catholic Christianity as his state's official religion in 966AD, and wed Czech princes Dobrawa for wife and mother of his children.
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| a chalice from Gniezno Archdiocese museum |
Fast forward to duke Boleslaw I, the son and successor of Mieszko I, who after a long war against the German Empire, which he won in 1018AD.
Duke Boleslaw I was crowned king, according to the primary sources, in 1025AD. There are many ideas why and how this Piast (the name Piast as the name for the Polish dynasty was used by Polish XV century chronicler Jan Dlugosz) dynast fought and negotiated his way to the crown.
The date of the coronation and the site are unclear - it is thought that the ceremony was performed on Easter or close to it in 1025AD, which was the 18th of April 1025. Some historians theorize that it was April 23, 1025AD.
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| Emperor Otto III gave this spear to duke Boleslaw I in 1000AD |
Curiously the younger son of our first king, Mieszko II, was crowned king of our Polish Kingdom along with his father and lord.
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| Boleslaw I's coin 992-1000AD |
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| Bolesla I's denarius |
This is the greatest anniversary in Polish history - the birth of Polish Kingdom.
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| here you can download Mariusz Kozik's' very high resolution of his digital painting |
the beauty of all things is that my friend Mariusz Kozik created a digital painting, true, an imaginary scene of this coronation - Boleslaw I in the Gniezno cathedral.
(Note that Boleslaw I had this first cathedral built before 1000AD, and created then and there the sanctuary to the martyred Saint Adalbert.
Emperor Otto III visited the cathedral and the sanctuary in the year 1000AD.
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| Gniezno Door's detail (1170AD) - Boleslaw I pays for the body of martyred Bishop Adalbertus |
Unfortunately in 1038AD Czech duke Bretislav destroyed the city and the cathedral, which was rebuild in a Romanesque style by our king Boleslaw II in 1064AD)
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| Polish Kingdom during the reign of Boleslaw I and Mieszko II |
Maestro Mariusz Kozik made his fine work available for free to any and all - if you are teacher or aficionado of all things medieval you can download and print this digital work for free.
Vivat Polish Kingodm, vivat Polish people around the world - some say circa 65-70 million strong.
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| this time - the X & XI centuries were the period of the Ottonian Golden age in art |
Enjoy
ps
if you understand Polish then the Yt page of prof. Gosciwit Malinowski is a great place to visit for a great journey into the world of sources and their interpretations
