Name Leszek, of | ||
Leszek of Masovia (Polish: Leszek also Lestek) (d. 1186) was a Polish prince from the Piast dynasty, the Duke of Masovia from 1173 until his death. He was the only son of Bolesław IV the Curly, Duke of Masovia and High Prince of Polan, who survived father. After his father death he inherited Masovia. At the beginning, Leszek ruled under the guardianship of his uncle Kazimierz II the Just. He was a man of poor health. For a short time he supported his other uncle, Mieszko III the Old, but later decided to reconsiled with Kazimierz II, who after Leszek's death inherited his duchy.
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Early life
Older Polish historians, like Oswald Balzer, named him Leszko, which is now considered as incorrect. The correct form is ending with "ek". In document written in Latin Leszek was mentioned as Lizstek (1177). Most Polish historians use the version "Leszek", but some modern Polish historian started to use the version Lestek. Historian Józef Mitkowski stated that Leszek was named thanks to the courtly tradition preserved by Gallus Anonymus in his Cronicae Polonorum, but as pointed out by historian and genealogist Kazimierz Jasiński he could be named after the eldest full-brother of his father, Leszek, who died in his youth before 1131.
In the past historians were unsure which wife of Bolesław IV the Curly was the mother of Leszek: the first, Wierzchosława, daughter of St. Vsevolod, Prince of Novgorod and Pskov, or the second, Maria. According to chronicler Jan Długosz Leszek was son of Ansastazja, princess of Halych and first wife of Bolesław IV. Oswald Balzer found this information false as the first wife of Bolesław IV was Wierzchosława and she was not form Halych.
According to the historian Miron Korduba Leszek was son of Maria. Józef Mitkowski and Kazimierz Jasiński supposed that he was the son rather of the first than the second wife of Bolesław IV. However, after the discovery of coins where Leszek mentioned his parents as BOL (Bolesław IV the Curly) and ANA (Anastazja) it became clear that he was the son of his father's first marriage as Wiezchosława is mentioned in some sources as Anastazja.
The date of Leszek's birth is unknown. According to Jan Długosz, writing in 15th century, he was born in 1158. Historian Oswald Balzer stated that Leszek was born between 1160 and 1165. He based his argumentat on the document from 26 April 1177, where Leszek was mentioned as taking the last place among Polish princes, after Mieszko younger (Misico iunior dux). Balzer considered that Leszek was younger than Mieszko, who according to Balzer was the same as Mieszko the Younger, who was born after 1159. Balzer also considered that Leszek being a witness had to be at least 12 years old. This date proposed by Balzer had been accepted in historiography. However, argument was proven wrong as Mieszko younger mentioned in said document was shown to be instead Mieszko I Tanglefoot (born before 1147) and a prince could be mentioned in document as a witness even though he was less than 12 years old.
Historian Kazimierz Jasiński, based on the tympanum from Ołbin made in 1172, supposed that at that time Leszek was around 10 years old, so he was born around 1162. These idea is accepted by some historians. Borys Paszkiewicz considered that date of birth written by Długosz could be right.
Duke of Masovia and Kuyavia
The death of his older brother Bolesław in 1172 left him as the only heir of his father. High Duke Bolesław IV (reportedly devastated by his first-born son's death) died one year later (5 January 1173), leaving Masovia (and Kuyavia, which was in 12th century a part of Masovia) to Leszek, at the age of eleven or less. The overlordship of Poland (who included the control over Kraków and Gniezno), was taken by the eldest surviving brother of Bolesław IV, Mieszko III the Old.
Accordingly to his father's will, Leszek began his rule under the guardianship of his youngest uncle, Kazimierz II the Just. When in 1177 Kazimierz II became prince of Kraków, he nominated the magnate Żyron as a guard for Leszek, who suffered of an extremely poor health.
Accordig to older historiogprahy, based on the information of Vasily Tatishchev, 18th-century Russian historian, Leszek fought against Prince Volodar of Minsk, who in 1180 captured Brest, which belonged to his brother-in-law, Vasilko Iaropolkovich. After a long and exhausting war, Brest ultimately wasn't recovered, and Vasilko gave all the rights over this land to Leszek. Nowadays, this account is however considered as unreliable.
At some time before 1186 Leszek unexpectedly changed his dynastic politics. Under the influence of his entourage and Żyron, he decided to support his uncle Mieszko III the Old. He declared Mieszko III his guard and made a testament in which declared his cousin Mieszko the Younger, son of Mieszko III, his heir. Shortly afterwards Mieszko the Young started acting like he was already the ruler of Masovia an Kuyavia, so Leszek apologised to Kazimierz II and changed his testament by making Kazimierz II his heir.
On 20 January 1185 Leszek made a big donation for the bishopric of Włocławek, including among others Słońsk and village Kowale.
Death and legacy
Leszek died in 1186. The day of his death is unknown. Duke Leszek, whose death is mentioned in the necrology of the abbey of St. Vincent in Wrocław on 21 November, according to historians is a different Leszek, Leszek Biały, who was killed on 24 November 1227.
There is no information about wife and children of Leszek. Information provided by Kadłubek supported the theory that he died unmarried and childless According to Vasily Tatishchev, 18th-century Russian historian, citing unknown Polotsk's Latopis, Vasilko Yaropolkovich, Prince of Drohiczyn, was married to daughter of Leszek, duke of Masovia. Older historiography considered these information as reliable, correcting early a crucial fact, namely that that Vasilko married not the daughter, but a sister of Leszek. Nowadays information of Tatishchev about Vasilko Yaropolkovich is considered unreliable. There were not based on lost sources but were likely results of Tatsihchev's fabrications.
According to chronicler Jan Długosz Leszek was buried in the Płock Cathedral. Długosz could take this information from some lost source, but also he could know this from an autopsy or it could be his own supposition. However, this information is considered as likely by modern historiography.
Under his last will, his heir was Kazimierz II the Just. Some Polish historians (first Henryk Rutkowski) considered that after Leszek's death Mieszko III took control over western part of Kuyavia. However, there is no direct evidence in primary sources about that fact.