Otto Bolesławowic

Otto Bolesławowic (1000–1033) was a Polish prince and member of the House of Piast.

He was the third son of Bolesław I the Brave but the second born from his third marriage with Emnilda, daughter of Dobromir, a Slavic prince of Lusatia.

Life

Otto was the youngest child of his parents; he was named after Emperor Otto III, who probably stood as his godfather. In 1018 he was present at his father's fourth and last marriage to Oda of Meissen on Cziczani.

After the death of his father in 1025, Otto expected to obtain a part of Bolesław's heritage, according to Slavic custom, under which a father should divide his legacy among all his sons. However, because Poland became a Kingdom, the country could not be divided, and in consequence Otto received nothing from his father's legacy. The only heir and successor of Bolesław I was Mieszko II Lambert, his eldest son from his marriage to Emnilda.

Along with Otto, his half-brother Bezprym was also disinherited. Bezprym was the older son of Bolesław I by his second wife, the Hungarian princess Judith, who was repudiated shortly after Bezprym was born. Possibly as a result of this he was allegedly disliked by his father, who determined that Mieszko II was to be his only heir.

Soon after Mieszko II took over the governing of Poland, he either expelled or forced to flee his brothers from the country. Otto went to Germany, probably to Meissen to the court of his sister Regelinda. In 1031 a combined attack of Kievan and German forces led to the downfall of Mieszko II, who had to flee to Bohemia. The government was taken by Bezprym alone; this allegedly caused Otto's resentment and his approach to Mieszko II. As a result, in the first half of 1032 Bezprym was murdered probably as a result of a conspiracy organized by his half-brothers.

In Merseburg on 7 July 1032, the Emperor Conrad II divided Poland between Mieszko II, Otto, and their cousin Dytryk (grandson of Mieszko I and his third wife Oda). It's unknown exactly how the country was divided between them.[1]

Otto died in 1033 of natural causes,[2] or killed by his own vassals.[3] His place of burial is unknown.

References

  1. ↑ S.Szczur suggests that Otto probably received Silesia ("Historia Polski średniowiecze", Wydawnictwo Literackie 2002, ISBN 83-08-03272-9, p. 80).
  2. ↑ K. Jasiński, Rodowód pierwszych Piastów
  3. ↑ G. Labuda, Pierwsze państwo polskie, Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, Kraków 1989, p. 54.
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