Editing Casimir I the Restorer (section)

===Early years===
Relatively little is known of Casimir's early life. He must have spent his childhood at the royal court of Poland in [[Gniezno]]. In order to acquire a proper education, he was sent to one of the Polish monasteries in 1026. According to some older sources he initially wanted to have a career in the Church (it is probable that he held the post of [[Oblate (religion)|oblate]]) and even asked for a dispensation to become a monk. This hypothesis, however, is not supported by modern historians. Regardless, he left church work indefinitely in 1031.

Casimir's father, [[Mieszko II]], was crowned King of Poland in 1025 after the death of his father, [[Bolesław the Brave]]. However, the powerful magnates of the country feared a strong central government like the one that existed under Bolesław I's rule. This led to considerable friction between the King and the nobility. Taking advantage of the King's precarious situation, Mieszko II's older half-brother [[Bezprym]] and younger brother [[Otto Bolesławowic|Otto]] turned against him and allied themselves with the Holy Roman [[Emperor Conrad II]], whose forces attacked Poland and regained [[Lusatia]]. Years of chaos and conflict followed, during which Mieszko II was forced to cede the throne to Bezprym in 1031, fled to Bohemia, was imprisoned by [[Oldřich, Duke of Bohemia|Duke Oldřich]] and castrated, returned to rule a portion of the kingdom, eventually regained the kingdom, and then died in May 1034 under suspicious circumstances.

[[File:Polska 1039 - 1058.png|thumb|right|Poland during the reign of Casimir I (1039/40–1058)]]

Sometime during the reign of Bezprym, Casimir and his sisters were taken by their mother to Germany (her native land) for refuge. It has been reported that [[Richeza of Lotharingia|Queen Richeza]] brought the [[Polish Crown Jewels|Polish royal crown and regalia]] to Emperor Conrad II at Bezprym's request to indicate his acceptance of the primacy of his western neighbor,<ref>Boshof, Egon (2008). Die Salier (in German) (5th ed.), p. 71. [[Kohlhammer Verlag]]. {{ISBN|3-17-020183-2}}.</ref> although the Queen could have taken them for safekeeping, or they could have been brought to the Emperor by another means.  At the time of his father's death in 1034, Casimir was about 18 years old and in Germany at the court of his uncle Archbishop [[Herman II (Archbishop of Cologne)|Hermann II]] of Cologne.