General Notes

Name Suffix:<NSFX> Prince Of The Polanians
Piast DYNASTY, first ruling family of Poland. According to a 12th-century legend, when Prince Popiel of Gnesen (now Gniezno) died, in the second half of the 9th century, he was succeeded by Siemowit, the son of the prince's plowman, Piast, thus founding a dynasty that ruled the Polish lands until 1370. (The name Piast was not applied to the dynasty until the 17th century.) [Encyclopaedia Britannica CD '97, PIAST]
The descendants of "Piast," the legendary founder of the dynasty-- Siemowit (Ziemowit), Leszek (Lestko), and Siemomysl (Ziemomysl)--united the lands around Poznan, Kruszwica, Gniezno, and Kalisz, and this region later became known as Great Poland (Wielkopolska)