Bolesław I the Brave

Bolesław I the Brave (c. 967 – 17 June 1025), less often known as Bolesław the Great, was Duke of Poland from 992 to 1025 and the first King of Poland in 1025. He was also Duke of Bohemia between 1003 and 1004 as Boleslaus IV. A member of the Piast dynasty, Bolesław was a capable monarch and a strong mediator in Central European affairs. He continued to proselytise Western Christianity among his subjects and raised Poland to the rank of a kingdom, thus becoming the first Polish ruler to hold the title of rex, Latin for King.

The son of Mieszko I by his first wife Doubravka of Bohemia, Bolesław ruled Lesser Poland already during the final years of Mieszko's reign. When the country became divided in 992, he banished his father's widow, Oda of Haldensleben and his half-brothers, purged their adherents, and successfully reunified Poland by 995. As a devout Christian, Bolesław supported the missionary endeavours of Adalbert of Prague and Bruno of Querfurt. The martyrdom of Adalbert in 997 and Bolesław's successful attempt to ransom the bishop's remains, paying for their weight in gold, consolidated Poland's autonomy from the Holy Roman Empire.

At the Congress of Gniezno (11 March 1000), Emperor Otto III permitted the establishment of a Polish church structure with a metropolitan see at Gniezno, independent from the Archbishopric of Magdeburg. Bishoprics were also established in Kraków, Wrocław, and Kołobrzeg, and Bolesław formally repudiated paying tribute to the Empire. Following Otto's death in 1002, Bolesław fought a series of wars against Otto's cousin and heir, Henry II, ending in the Peace of Bautzen (1018). In the summer of 1018, in one of his expeditions, Bolesław I captured Kiev, where he installed his son-in-law Sviatopolk I as ruler. According to legend, Bolesław chipped his blade when striking Kiev's Golden Gate. In honour of this legend, the Szczerbiec ("Jagged Sword") would later become the coronation sword of Polish kings.