Ambition pushed the arrogant ruler of Poland. He was not going to be content with the status of an ordinary leader. But how big his aspirations REALLY were?
It has been assumed that Bolesław the Brave waited for the royal crown for a quarter of a century. He was promised it already in Gniezno, during the famous reunion in the thousandth year. It finally rested on his temples only in the spring of 1025. Only a few weeks before the death of the Polish ruler. The image of Bolesław, patiently drumming his fingers on the table and waiting for further developments, however, does not correspond to reality. Chrobry did not wait. He just took what he thought was his own.
Piast did little to deal with the fact that Otto III only promised him elevation to the rank of a full-fledged monarch. On coins, he ordered to be called king anyway. This is probably how he was called at the Piast court, in unpreserved letters and documents. After all, the conviction of all Polish chroniclers that the coronation took place in the thousandth year came from somewhere. It probably did not end there. Strong premises suggest that Bolesław resigned from strenuous efforts for the crown, because ... in his own opinion, he was already someone much, much more important than the king.
Empire of the Slavs
According to the laws of the 11th century, the king did not mean a completely independent ruler. A full coronation could only take place with the consent of the emperor. And all new kings created in the circle of Carolingian culture were at least officially subordinate to the emperors. However, the status of Bolesław the Brave was completely different. At least in the opinion of ... the first Polish chronicler.
Imperial coronation of Charlemagne. How would a similar ceremony in Poznań or Gniezno look like?
Gall Anonim presented Bolesław as a ruler equal to the German emperors. He also clearly stated that already in the thousandth year of Gniezno, the Polish prince behaved not only like a king, but even like ... an emperor! Gestures, gifts, glamor meetings and titles. All elements of the description contained in the "Polish Chronicle" create the image of a hegemon claiming the right to be the "emperor of the Slavs".
The figments of a chronicler… or a prince?
Of course, it can be said that it was only a historian from the perspective of a century who had a fairy-tale vision. It seems more likely, however, that Bolesław - as a self-righteous megalomaniac - really dreamed of creating a new Slavic empire.
He defeated the Czechs, who until recently ruled over half of Central Europe. For many years he played on the nose of the German king Henry II, and probably also led quite successful wars with Prussia and successfully oppressed the Slovaks. In his own opinion (fueled by the flattery of courtiers and the obliging messages of foreign diplomats), he was already one of the most powerful leaders in the world.
What could the path of Bolesław the Brave to the imperial sacred look like? Check the cult novel by Teodor Parnicki entitled Silver Eagles.
Importantly, not only Gall Anonim, but also the authors of other texts from the era, were inclined to equate the Piast with the sovereign of the Reich. There are also historians who attribute imperial plans to Brave. Hungarian medievalist György Györffy wrote directly that "after the death of Otto III" he made an attempt to "unite the Western Slavs under his own scepter."
A truly imperial expedition
The seizure of southern Pila, Moravia and the Slovak Republic was still not enough to declare itself the new emperor. In 1018, Chrobry went a step further.
He entered into an alliance with Germany, against whom he had been at war for over a decade. With the support of the imperial contingent, as well as allies from Hungary and the nomadic Pechenegs, he set off for Kyiv. The chief city of Kievan Rus was said to have four hundred churches, eight markets and an "indescribable" population. It was one of the wealthiest metropolises in Europe.
Even the Byzantine emperors did not manage to tame Kiev. Now, on August 14, 1018, the Polish prince entered it. Immediately he sent envoys to the emperors of the east and west. According to the account of the German chronicler Thietmar, the emissaries carried a mixture of threats and bragging rights with them.
Otto III was ready to make Bolesław king. But he did not offer him the rank of emperor ...
First Emperor's Gesture
This historian could not understand Brave's actions:it seemed to him to be an ordinary act of pride. But it is possible that Bolesław knew what he was doing. He made contact with the rulers of the east and west to announce to them in the aftermath of his greatest triumph that he was claiming the same glory. And that he would not be satisfied with the royal crown.
It is not known what responses to Piast's messages came. We can only say that the Kiev expedition quickly turned from success into a catastrophe. Bolesław was forced to withdraw from Ruthenia, and the borders of his power shifted back to the vicinity of Przemyśl. The continent's third empire did not come into existence. But does that mean it could not have arisen?
Inspiration:
The article was inspired by the cult novel by Teodor Parnicki entitled Silver Eagles which has just been re-released.
A fictional vision of the times of Brave. One of a kind:
Selected bibliography:
- György Györffy, Saint Stephen. King of Hungary , Warsaw 2003.
- Kamil Janicki, Ladies with a flaw. Women who crowned Poland , Krakow 2016.
- Kamil Janicki, Ladies of iron. The Women Who Built Poland , Krakow 2015.
- Karol Kollinger, Eastern policy of Bolesław the Brave (992-1025) , February 2014.
- Andrzej Pleszczyński, "Amicitia" and the Polish case. Comments on the Piasts' attitude to the Empire in the 10th and early 11th centuries [in:] Ad fontes. On the nature of the historical source , ed. S. Rosik, P. Wiszewski, Wrocław 2004.
- Andrzej Pleszczyński, Germany towards the first Piast monarchy (963-1034). The birth of the stereotype , Lublin 2008.
- Przemysław Wiszewski, Domus Bolezlai. In search of the Piast dynastic tradition (until around 1138) , Wrocław 2008.