Casimir I  Piast PIAST of POLAND

• General Notes
  • BIOGRAPHY
    Kazimierz was born on 25 July 1016, the son of Mieszko II Lambert, king of Poland, and Richeza of Lorraine. Relatively little is known of his early life, but he must have spent his childhood at the royal court of Poland in Gniezno. Mieszko II was crowned the king of Poland in 1025 after he father's death. Many landlords, however, feared the single rule of the monarch. This situation led to conflicts in the country, in which Mieszko's brothers turned against him and Emperor Konrad II's forces attacked the country, seizing Lusatia. Years of chaos and conflict followed, during which Mieszko died in 1034 in suspicious circumstances, after a forced abdication and a brief restoration.
    
    After the death of her husband, Richeza probably tried to seize the power in the country and secure the crown for her son. However, she failed and Kazimierz had to flee to the kingdom of Hungary while the central parts of Poland were controlled by his uncle Bezprym. The region of Greater Poland revolted against the nobles and clergy and a mass pagan revival ensued there. Also the land of Masovia seceded and a local landlord named Mieclaw formed a state of his own there. A similar situation arose in Pomerania, where the power was held by a local dynasty loosely related to the Piasts. Bretislaw I 'the Warrior', duke of Bohemia and Moravia, observing the period of turmoil in Poland, took advantage of his neighbours' weakness and invaded the country. After a short struggle he conquered Silesia and Lesser Poland, and severely pillaged Greater Poland, burning Gniezno to the ground and looting the relics of Saint Adalbert.
    
    The following year the new Holy Roman Emperor, Heinrich III, allied himself with the exiled Polish ruler against the Bohemians. Kazimierz was given a troop of 1000 heavy footmen and a significant amount of gold to restore his power in the country. Kazimierz also signed an alliance with Jaroslav I Vladimirovitch 'the Wise', grand duke of Kiev. The alliance was sealed by Kazimierz's marriage to Jaroslav's half-sister Dobronega (Maria). He and Maria had five children, of whom two sons, Boleslaw and Wladyslaw I Herman, and a daughter Swatawa, would have progeny.
    
    With Jaroslav's support Kazimierz returned to Poland and managed to retake most of his domain. In 1041 the defeated Bretislaw signed a treaty at Regensburg in which he renounced his claims to all Polish lands except Silesia, which was to be incorporated into the Crown of Bohemia. It was Kazimierz's success in strengthening royal power and ending internal strife that earned him the epithet of 'the Restorer'.
    
    The treaty gained Kazimierz a period of peace at the southern border and the capital of Poland was moved to Kraków, the only major Polish city relatively untouched by the wars. It is probable that Emperor Heinrich was happy with the balance of power restored in the region, and that he forced Kazimierz not to crown himself king of Poland. In 1046 the emperor held royal and imperial courts at Merseburg and Meissen, at which he formally ended the conflict between the duke of Pomerania, Bretislaw of Bohemia and Kazimierz.
    
    In 1047 Kazimierz, aided by his brother-in-law Jaroslav I Vladimirovitch of Kiev, started a war against Masovia and seized the lands. It is probable that he also defeated Mieclaw's allies from Pomerania and attached Gdansk to Poland. This secured his power in central Poland. Three years later, against the will of the emperor, Kazimierz seized Czech-controlled Silesia, thus securing most of his father's domain. In 1054 in Quedlinburg the emperor ruled that Silesia was to remain in Poland in exchange for a yearly tribute of 117 kg of silver and 7 kg of gold.
    
    At that time Kazimierz focused on internal matters. In conflict with the emperor over Silesia, he supported the papacy in the Investiture Controversy and gained the support of the Church. To strengthen his rule he recreated the bishopric of Kraków and Wroclaw and erected the new Cathedral Basilica of St. Stanislaus and St. Wenceslaus in Kraków. During Kazimierz's rule heraldry was introduced to Poland, and unlike his predecessors, he promoted landed gentry over his own mounted warriors (the 'druzyna') as his base of power. One of his reforms was the introduction to Poland of a key element of feudalism: the granting of fiefdoms to his retinue of warriors, thus gradually transforming them into medieval knights.
    
    Kazimierz died on 19 March 1058. He was succeeded by his elder son Boleslaw, who was in turn followed by his brother Wladyslaw I Herman.
    
    from - http://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00027277&tree=LEO