Editing Mieszko II Lambert (section)

==Kingship==
===Accession===
[[File:Catedral de Gniezno, Gniezno, Polonia, 2014-09-17, DD 07-09 HDR.jpg|thumb|right|180px|[[Gniezno Cathedral]], where Mieszko Lambert was crowned King of Poland in 1025.]]
King Bolesław died on 17 June 1025. Six months later, on [[Christmas Day]], Mieszko II Lambert was crowned [[king of Poland]] by the [[archbishop of Gniezno]], [[Hipolit]], in the [[Gniezno Cathedral]]. Contemporary German chroniclers considered this to be an abuse of power on the part of the Archbishop, which was made necessary by the existing political situation. After his father's death, Mieszko II inherited a vast territory, which in addition to [[Greater Poland]], [[Lesser Poland]], [[Silesia]] and [[Gdańsk Pomerania]], also included Lusatia, Red Ruthenia and the territory of present-day Slovakia. Whether Moravia was still under his reign or was lost earlier is disputed.<ref>See note No. 4</ref> Once his solo reign had begun, as an important Central European ruler, he was now very important to the Holy Roman Empire.

Later developments during his reign had their source in dynastic and familial issues. His older half-brother [[Bezprym]] was the son of the Hungarian princess Judith, Bolesław's second wife. Mieszko II also had a younger full-brother, [[Otto Bolesławowic|Otto]]. According to Slavonic custom, a father was expected to divide his legacy among all his sons. However, since Bolesław I did not wish to break up the kingdom, Mieszko II's brothers received nothing from their father's legacy.

As Bezprym was the oldest son, there were some who felt that he should have succeeded his father as king. Bezprym had, however, always been disliked by his father, as indicated by his name (the [[Piast]]s tended to give names such as ''Bolesław'', ''Mieszko'' and later ''Kazimierz'', ''Władysław'' and emperors' names, such as ''Otto'', ''Konrad'' (Conrad), and ''Henryk'' (Heinrich).  ''Bezprym'' was rather a commoner's name, which implied that Bolesław did not wish Bezprym to succeed him). For that reason, Bezprym was sent to a monastery.

According to some chroniclers, Mieszko II expelled his two brothers from the country. [[Otto Bolesławowic|Otto]] took refuge in [[Holy Roman Empire|Germany]] and Bezprym escaped to the [[Kievan Rus]].

===Role in German conflict===
In 1026, King [[Conrad II of Germany]] went to [[Italy]] for his Imperial coronation. His absence increased the activity of the opposition centered around Dukes [[Ernest II of Swabia]] and [[Frederick II of Upper Lorraine]]. Conrad II's opponents conspired to acquire Mieszko's favor. Historical evidence of these efforts is in the prayer book sent to Mieszko by Frederick's wife, [[Matilda of Swabia]], around 1027. The volume is entitled: {{lang|la|officiorum Liber quem ordinem Romanum apellant}}. In it, a miniature showed the Duchess presenting the Book to Mieszko II while sitting on a throne. The gift was accompanied by a letter, wherein Matilda named him a distinguished king and a model for the spread of [[Christianity]]. Also written was praise of the merits of Mieszko II in the building of new churches, as well his knowledge of [[Latin]], very unusual in those times when Greek was more widely used. In this book are found the earliest records of the Kingdom of Poland: [[neume]]s at the margins of the sequence ''Ad célèbres rex celica''. The gift caused the expected effect, and Mieszko II promised to take military action. The preparations for the war began in the autumn of 1027. In the middle of that year, Conrad II returned to Germany and began to fight the rebels. Soon, he defeated Duke Ernest II, depriving him of his lands. Only when the rebel fight was nearly lost did Mieszko II arrive to their aid. In 1028, Polish troops invaded [[Saxony]] and took a number of prisoners. The devastation was so great that, according to Saxon sources, "where Mieszko II's troops put their feet grass never thence grew". The Emperor accused the Polish ruler of an illegal coronation as King and declared him a usurper. This invasion involved the lands of the [[Lutici]] tribe. In October 1028, the Emperor's opportunity came as the Lutici district of Pöhlde asked the Emperor to defend against the attacks of Mieszko II, promising support in the fight against the Polish ruler.

===Retaliatory expeditions===
Despite the treaty which secured peace between Poland and Germany, the Emperor soon armed a retaliatory expedition against Mieszko II. Conrad II's army arrived to Lusatia in the autumn of 1029 and began the siege of [[Bautzen]], but the German troops did not receive the promised support of the [[Lutici]] tribe and the expedition failed. Threatened by the Hungarians, the Emperor was forced to retreat.

Probably in this same year, the son of Oldřich, [[Bretislaus I, Duke of Bohemia|Bretislaus I]], attacked and took Moravia.<ref>In the historical literature, different dates for this conquest appear: '''1017''' (Norman Davies, Boże igrzysko, t. I, Wydawnictwo ZNAK, Kraków 1987, {{ISBN|8370060528}}), '''1019''' (this date is supported by virtually all of Czech historiography; as ''[[pars pro toto|partes pro toto]]'' can be named: {{cite book |last1= Krzemieńska|first1= Barbara|title= Břetislav I.: Čechy a střední Evropa v prvé polovině XI. století|trans-title= Bretislaus I: Bohemia and Central Europe in 1st Half of the 11th Century|edition= 2nd.|year= 1999|publisher= Garamond|location= Praha|language= cs|isbn= 8090176070|chapter= II. Dobytí Moravy|trans-chapter= II. Conquering of Moravia}} or {{cite book |last1= Wihoda|first1= Martin|title= Morava v době knížecí (906–1197)|trans-title= Moravia in the Ducal Era (906–1197)|year= 2010|publisher= NLN|location= Praha|language= cs|isbn= 978-8071065630}}), '''1020''' (Tadeusz Manteuffel, ''Trudności wzrostu w Zarys historii Polski pod redakcją Janusza Tazbira, Polski Instytut Wydawniczy'', Warszaw 1980, p. 24), '''1021''', '''1029''' (G. Labuda, ''Korona i infuła'', Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, Kraków 1996, {{ISBN|8303036599}}, p. 1) and '''1030'''.</ref>

In 1030, Mieszko II secured an alliance with Hungary and once again invaded [[Saxony]]. In the meanwhile, his southern ally attacked [[Bavaria]] and temporarily occupied [[Vienna]].

In response, the Emperor organized another expedition against the Polish king, this time by organizing a coalition against Mieszko II. Already in 1030, [[Yaroslav I the Wise]] began the offensive and conquered Red Ruthenia and some [[Bełz]] castles.

In 1031, the Emperor concluded a peace with the [[Kingdom of Hungary]]. Probably in exchange for [[Stephen I of Hungary|Stephen I]]'s support, Conrad II ceded to Hungary the territories between the [[Leitha]] and Fischa Rivers. Now that the Emperor was less concerned about an attack from the south, in the autumn of 1031, he went on the offensive against Poland and besieged Milsko. The offensive ended with a complete success, and Mieszko II was forced to surrender some lands. As a result, the Polish King lost portions of the lands taken by his father, who warred often against Emperor Henry II.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mieszko-II-Lambert. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Mieszko II Lambert". ''Encyclopedia Britannica'']</ref>