Editing Bolesław I the Brave (section)

== Early life ==
Bolesław was born in 966 or 967,<ref name=PSB248>Tymieniecki Kazimierz, ''Bolesław Chrobry''. In: Konopczyński Władysław (ed): ''Polski słownik biograficzny. T. II: Beyzym Jan – Brownsford Marja.'' Kraków: Nakładem Polskiej Akademii Umiejętności, 1936. {{ISBN|83-04-00148-9}}. p. 248</ref> the first child of [[Mieszko I of Poland]] and his wife, the [[Bohemia]]n princess [[Dobrawa]], known in [[Czech language|Czech]] as Doubravka.{{sfn|Wiszewski|2010|p=xliii}}{{sfn|Vlasto|1970|p=115}} His ''Epitaph'', which was written in the middle of the {{nobr|11th century}}, emphasised that Bolesław had been born to a "faithless" father and a "true-believing" mother, suggesting that he was born before [[Christianization of Poland|his father's baptism]].{{sfn|Vlasto|1970|p=115}}{{sfn|Wiszewski|2010|pp=57, 60}} Bolesław was baptised shortly after his birth.{{sfn|Wiszewski|2010|p=63}} He was named after his maternal grandfather, [[Boleslaus I, Duke of Bohemia]].{{sfn|Barford|2001|p=163}} Not much is known about Bolesław's childhood. His ''Epitaph'' recorded that he underwent the [[First haircut#European|traditional hair-cutting ceremony]] at the age of seven and a lock of his hair was sent to [[Rome]].{{sfn|Wiszewski|2010|p=63}} The latter act suggests that Mieszko wanted to place his son under the protection of the [[Holy See]].{{sfn|Wiszewski|2010|p=63}}{{sfn|Manteuffel|1982|p=51}} Historian [[Tadeusz Manteuffel]] says that Bolesław needed that protection because his father had sent him to the court of [[Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor]] in token of his allegiance to the emperor.{{sfn|Manteuffel|1982|p=51}} However, historian [[Marek Kazimierz Barański]] notes that the claim that Bolesław was sent as a hostage to the imperial court is disputed.{{sfn|Barański|2008|pp=51, 60–68}}

Bolesław's mother, Dobrawa, died in 977; his widowed father married [[Oda of Haldensleben]] who had already been a nun.{{sfn|Manteuffel|1982|p=52}}{{sfn|Wiszewski|2010|pp=xliii, 35}} Around that time, Bolesław became the ruler of [[Lesser Poland]], through it is not exactly clear in what circumstances. [[Jerzy Strzelczyk]] says that Bolesław received Lesser Poland from his father; Tadeusz Manteuffel states that he seized the province from his father with the local lords' support; and [[Henryk Łowmiański]] writes that his uncle, [[Boleslav II of Bohemia]], granted the region to him.{{sfn|Wiszewski|2010|pp=8–9}}