Bolesław III Wrymouth (Polish: Bolesław III Krzywousty; 20 August 1086 – 28 October 1138), also known as Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed, was the duke of Lesser Poland, Silesia and Sandomierz between 1102 and 1107 and over the whole of Poland between 1107 and 1138. He was the only child of Duke Władysław I Herman and his first wife, Judith of Bohemia.
Bolesław began to rule in the last decade of the 11th century, when the central government in Poland was significantly weakened. Władysław I Herman fell under the political dependence of the Count palatine Sieciech, who became the de facto ruler of the country. Backed by their father, Boleslaw and his half-brother Zbigniew finally expelled Sieciech from the country in 1101, after several years of fighting. After the death of Władysław I Herman in 1102, two independent states were created, ruled by Bolesław and Zbigniew.
Bolesław sought to gain Pomerania, which caused an armed conflict between the brothers, and forced Zbigniew to flee the country and seek military help from King Henry V of Germany. Bolesław punished Zbigniew by blinding him. This action caused outrage among supporters of Zbigniew, resulting in a political crisis in Poland. Bolesław once again gained the favor of his subjects with public penance and made a pilgrimage to the monastery of his patron, Saint Giles, in Hungary.
Bolesław, like Bolesław II the Generous, based his foreign policy on maintaining good relations with neighboring Hungary and Kievan Rus, with whom he forged strong links through marriage and military cooperation in order to break Poland's political dependence on Germany and Henry's vassal, the King of Bohemia, who in moments of weakness of Polish policy was forced to pay tribute in Silesia. These alliances had allowed Bolesław to effectively defend the country from invasion in 1109. Several years later, Bolesław skillfully took advantage of the dynastic disputes in Bohemia to ensure peace on the south-west border.
Bolesław devoted the second half of his rule to the conquest of Pomerania. In 1113, he conquered the northern cities along Noteć, which strengthened the border with the Pomeranians. In subsequent years, he took further steps toward the conquest of Pomerania. The resolution of the conflict with the Holy Roman Empire allowed Bolesław to subordinate Western Pomerania and incorporate Gdańsk Pomerania. The expeditions, carried out in three stages, ended in the 1120s with military and political successes. Integration of the newly annexed lands enabled Bolesław to build churches and begin the process of converting Pomerania. Bishop Otto of Bamberg confirmed the Christianization of Pomerania from 1123 onward.
In the 1130s, Bolesław participated in the dynastic dispute in Hungary. After an unexpected defeat, he was forced to make an agreement with Germany. The Congress of Merseburg of 1135 addressed the issues of Pomerania, Silesian (probably also Polish) sovereignty and the supremacy of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg over the Polish Church.
Bolesław was married twice. His first marriage, to the Kievan princess Zbyslava, gave him an excuse to intervene militarily in the internal affairs of Rus'. After her death, Bolesław married a German noblewoman, Salomea of Berg, which in some way was the cause of changes in Polish foreign policy: in the second half of his rule, the duke sought to restore diplomatic relations with his western neighbor. His last, and perhaps most momentous act, was his will and testament known as "The Succession Statute" in which he divided the country among his sons, leading to almost 200 years of feudal fragmentation of the Polish Kingdom.
Bolesław III Wrymouth has been recognized by historiography as a symbol of Polish political aspirations until well into the 19th century. He also upheld the independence of the Polish archbishopric of Gniezno, despite a temporary failure in the 1130s. Although he achieved undoubted successes, he committed serious political errors, most notably against Zbigniew of Poland, his half-brother. The crime against Zbigniew and his penance for it show Bolesław's great ambition as well as his ability to find political compromise.
Situation of Poland during the 1080s
In 1086, the coronation of Vratislav II as King of Bohemia, and his alignment with László I, King of Hungary, threatened the position of the Polish ruler, duke Władysław I Herman. Therefore, that same year Władysław I was forced to recall from Hungarian banishment the only son of Bolesław II the Bold and a rightful heir to the Polish throne, Mieszko Bolesławowic. Upon his return, young Bolesławowic accepted the over-lordship of his uncle and gave up his hereditary claim to the crown of Poland in exchange for becoming first in line to succeed him. In return, Władysław I Herman granted his nephew the district of Kraków. The situation was further complicated for Władysław I Herman by a lack of a legitimate male heir, as his first-born son Zbigniew came from a union not recognized by the church. With the return of Mieszko Bolesławowic to Poland, Władysław I normalized his relations with the kingdom of Hungary as well as Kievan Rus (the marriage of Mieszko Bolesławowic to a Kievan princess was arranged in 1088). These actions allowed Herman to strengthen his authority and alleviate further tensions in international affairs.
The lack of a legitimate heir, however, remained a concern for Władysław I and in 1085 he and his wife Judith of Bohemia sent rich gifts, among which was a life size statue of a child made of gold, to the Benedictine Sanctuary of Saint Giles in Saint-Gilles, Provence begging for offspring. The Polish envoys were led by the personal chaplain of Duchess Judith, Piotr.
The date of birth of Bolesław is closely linked with the death of his mother, Judith. This fact is evidenced by contemporary sources:
Gallus Anonymus in the Cronicae et gesta ducum sive principum Polonorum reported that Duchess Judith gave birth to Bolesław on the day of Saint Stephen, King of Hungary (whose feast since the 11th century was celebrated on 20 August). However, the Duchess's health never recovered from childbirth and she died on "the night of Nativity" (i.e., 24–25 December). Gallus did not note the year in his chronicle;
Cosmas of Prague wrote in Latin in his Chronica Boëmorum ("Chronicle of Bohemians") that Bolesław was born three days before the death of Judith, who died on the VIII Calends of January (25 December) of 1085;
The Kalendarz krakowski said that Duchess Judith died on 24 December 1086, and only indicated that the birth of Bolesław was in the same year;
The Obituary of the Abbey of Saint-Gilles reported the death of Judith on 24 December 1086;
The Rocznik kapituły krakowskiej (closely related to the Kalendarz krakowski) placed the death of Judith on 24 December 1086.
Historian August Bielowski established Bolesław's birth on 26 December 1085 and the death of his mother two days later, on 28 December. According to him, Gallus Anonymus committed two errors. First, instead of "the Sunday after the Nativity of the Lord", he wrote incorrectly "in the Sunday of the Nativity". Secondly, he mistook the day of Saint Stephen (26 December) for the festivities of King Stephen of Hungary (20 August). Both corrections lead to the birth date of Bolesław on 26 December. This theory was supported by the fact that, in 1085, 28 December fell on a Sunday.