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Birth:          25 Jul 1018 of Krakow, Poland
Death:          28 Nov 1058 

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casimir_I_the_Restorer
Casimir I the Restorer (Polish: Kazimierz I Odnowiciel; b. Kraków, 25 July 1016 – d. 
Poznan, 28 November 1058), was Duke of Poland of the Piast dynasty and the de jure 
monarch of the entire country from 1034 until his death.

He was the only son of Mieszko II Lambert by his wife Richeza, daughter of Count 
Palatine Ezzo of Lotharingia (of the Ezzonids) and granddaughter of Emperor Otto II.

Casimir is known as the Restorer because he managed to reunite all parts of the 
Polish Kingdom after a period of turmoil. He reinstated Masovia, Silesia and Pomerania 
into his realm. However, he failed to crown himself King of Poland, mainly because of 
internal and external threats to his rule.
Early years[edit]


 


Jan Matejko's depiction of young Casimir
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) and even asked for a dispensation to become a monk. This hypothesis, 
however, is not supported by modern historians. Regardless, he left church work for 
good in 1031.

Rule of his father, Mieszko II[edit]


 


 Modern depiction of Casimir
Casimir's father, Mieszko II, was crowned King of Poland in 1025 after the death of his 
father Boleslaw I the Brave. However, the powerful magnates of the country feared a 
strong central government like the one that existed under Boleslaw 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 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 Duke Oldrich and castrated, returned to rule 
a portion of the kingdom, eventually regained the kingdom, and then died in May 1034 
under suspicious circumstances.

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 Queen 
Richeza brought the Polish royal crown and regalia to Emperor Conrad II at Bezprym's 
request to indicate his acceptance of the primacy of his western neighbor,[1] 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 Hermann II, 
Archbishop of Köln.

Interregnum[edit]

The central district of Greater Poland (Wielkopolska) revolted against the nobles and 
Catholic clergy in a mass rebellion. A pagan revival in the area lasted for several 
years. The district of Masovia seceded and a local lord, Mieclaw, formed a state of his 
own. A similar situation occurred in Pomerania.

In 1037 both the young prince and his mother returned to Poland and attempted to 
seize the throne. This precipitated a rebellion by local barons, which coupled with the 
so-called "Pagan Reaction" of the commoners, forced Casimir and Richeza to flee to 
Saxony. However, soon Casimir returned to Poland and in 1038, once again, tried to 
regain power with the aide of his influential mother. This also failed and he had to flee 
again, this time to the Kingdom of Hungary where he was imprisoned by Stephen I. 
The Dowager Queen remained in Germany as a nun until her death, in 1063.

Taking advantage of the chaos and his neighbour's weakness, Duke Bretislaus I of 
Bohemia invaded and ravaged the country in 1039. Lesser and Greater Poland were 
severely pillaged, Poznan was captured, and Bretislaus sacked Gniezno, taking the 
relics of Saint Adalbert, Radim Gaudentius, and the five hermit brothers[2] with him. 
On the way back he conquered part of Silesia, including Wroclaw, destroyed religious 
buildings which were built by Mieszko I during the feast of the conversion of Poland, 
and plundered Mieszko I's tomb.

Restoration[edit]


 


Casimir the Restorer returning to Poland, by Wojciech Gerson. The painting was made 
at a time when Poland had been partitioned and lost its independence, and memory of 
the medieval Restorer inspired Poles in their hope for a new one.
After initially escaping to Hungary, Casimir went to Germany, where in 1039 his 
relative the Emperor Henry III (who feared the increased power of the Bohemian ruler) 
gave him military and financial support. Casimir received a force of 1,000 heavy 
footmen and a significant amount of gold to restore his power in Poland. Casimir also 
signed an alliance with Yaroslav I the Wise, the Prince of Kievan Rus', who was 
linked with him through Casimir's marriage with Yaroslav's sister, Maria Dobroniega. 
With this support, Casimir returned to Poland and managed to retake most of his 
domain. In 1041, Bretislaus, defeated in his second attempted invasion by Emperor 
Henry III, signed a treaty at Regensburg (1042) in which he renounced his claims to 
all Polish lands except for Silesia, which was to be incorporated into the Bohemian 
Kingdom.[3] It was Casimir's success in strengthening royal power and ending internal 
strife that earned him the epithet of "the Restorer".

The treaty gained Casimir a period of peace on 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 the Holy Roman Emperor was pleased with the balance of 
power that had been restored to the region and forced Casimir not to crown himself 
the King of Poland. In 1046 Emperor Henry III held royal and imperial courts at 
Merseburg and Meissen, at which he ended the strife among the Duke of Pomerania 
(Dux Bomeraniorum), Duke Bretislaus of Bohemia, and Casimir I.

In 1047 Casimir, aided by his Kievan brother-in-law, started a war against Masovia and 
seized the land. 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, Casimir seized Bohemian-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 Casimir focused on internal matters. To strengthen his rule he re-created 
the bishopric in Kraków and Wroclaw and erected the new Wawel Cathedral. During 
Casimir's rule heraldry was introduced into Poland and, unlike his predecessors, he 
promoted landed gentry over 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.

Marriage and issue[edit]

Casimir married Maria Dobroniega (ca. 1012–1087), daughter of Grand Duke Vladimir I 
of Kiev.[4] There is no consensus among historians as to when it took place. Wladymir 
D. Koroliuk said that it was in 1039, Aleksej A. Szachmatow and Iwan Linniczenko 
agreed on 1041, while Dymitr S. Lichaczew postulated that it occurred during 1043.[5]

Casimir and Maria had five children:
1.Boleslaw II the Bold (ca. 1043 – 2/3 April 1081/82).
2.Wladyslaw I Herman (ca. 1044 – 4 June 1102)
3.Mieszko (16 April 1045 – 28 January 1065).
4.Otto (ca. 1046–1048).
5.Swietoslawa (ca. 1048 – 1 September 1126), married ca. 1062 to Duke (from 1085, 
King) Vratislaus II of Bohemia.

Parents
____ Mieszko (Mieszylaw) II (ABT  990 - 10 May 1034)
OF PFALZ-LORRAINE Richenza (Rixa) (ABT  995 - 21 Mar 1063)

Siblings
OF POLAND Richeza (Rixa) (22 Sep 1013 - 21 May 1075)
KAROL Kazimerz (Casimir) I "the Restorer" "The Great" (25 Jul 1018 - 28 Nov 1058)
OF POLAND Gertrude (Gertruda) (ABT 1020 - 4 Jan 1108)

Marriage To VLADIMIROVNA OF KIEV Debronega Marie (Dobronegra Mariya) (ABT 1011 - 1087)
    m. ABT 1040 

Notes

Parents
SWJATOSLAWITSCH VLADIMIR I "The Great" ( 955 - 15 Jul 1015)
____ Anna Porphyrogenita (13 Mar  963 - 1011)

Children by VLADIMIROVNA OF KIEV Debronega Marie (Dobronegra Mariya) ABT 1011 - 1087
HERMAN Wladislaw (Ladislas) I (ABT 1043 - 4 Jun 1102)

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