Congress of Gniezno

2025-08-19T16:51:01Z

2A01:115F:A1F:7100:85EB:BABF:ACCA:425:

{{morefootnotes|date=September 2015}}
[[File:Polska 992 - 1025.png|thumb|[[Poland]] during the reign of [[Bolesław the Brave]] and [[Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Otto]]'s route to [[Gniezno]].]]
[[File:Heilige Lanze 02.JPG|thumb|100px|The spearhead of the [[Holy Lance]], [[Imperial Treasury, Vienna]]]]
[[File:Maurycy.jpg|thumb|100px|Polish replica of the Holy Lance, [[Wawel Hill]], [[Kraków]]]]

The '''Congress of Gniezno''' ({{langx|pl|Zjazd gnieźnieński|link=no}}) was an amicable meeting between the [[Kingdom of Poland|Polish]] Duke [[Bolesław I the Brave]] and Emperor [[Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto III]], which took place at [[Gniezno]] in Poland on 11 March 1000. Scholars disagree over the details of the decisions made at the convention, especially whether the ruler of Poland was pledged the king's crown or not.

==Background==
[[File:Hnezdno katedrala relikviar sv Vojtecha2.jpg|thumb|left|Silver relic coffin of St. Adalbert at Gniezno Cathedral]]
After his death in 997 during a mission among the pagan [[Old Prussian|Prussian]] tribes, Bishop [[Adalbert of Prague]] was quickly [[Canonization|canonized]] by the common effort of Duke Bolesław I and Emperor Otto III. Thus, Adalbert became the first [[Slavs|Slavic]] bishop to become a saint.<ref name="Boßmann_2007"/> His body, bought back by Bolesław from the Prussians for its weight in gold, was put into a tomb at [[Gniezno Cathedral]], which became the ecclesiastical center of Poland.

According to the chronicles of [[Thietmar of Merseburg]], Otto III, who had been a friend and pupil of Adalbert,<ref name="Boßmann_2007"/> committed to a [[pilgrimage]] from [[Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)|Italy]] to St. Adalbert's tomb in Gniezno; in his attempt to extend the influence of Christianity in Central and Eastern Europe, and to renew the [[Holy Roman Empire]] based on a federal concept ("''[[renovatio imperii Romanorum]]''") with the Polish and [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungarian]] duchies upgraded to eastern ''federati'' of the empire.<ref name="Lawaty">Andreas Lawaty, Hubert Orłowski, ''Deutsche und Polen: Geschichte, Kultur, Politik'', 2003, p. 24, {{ISBN|3-406-49436-6}}, {{ISBN|978-3-406-49436-9}}</ref> As part of this policy he also invested Grand Prince [[Stephen I of Hungary]] with the king's crown (the [[Holy Crown of Hungary|Crown of Saint Stephen]]).

The Polish [[Piast dynasty]] under [[Mieszko I]] had extended their domains beyond the [[Oder]] river, where their claims to power collided with the interests of the [[Duchy of Saxony|Saxon]] margrave [[Gero]]. After his defeat by Gero's troops in 963, Mieszko I decided to come to terms with Emperor [[Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto I]] and agreed to pay tribute for this part of his lands. In turn he gained the title of ''amicus imperatoris'' ("Friend of the Emperor") and the acknowledgment of his position as a ''[[Dux]]'' of Poland. He continued his policy of convergence with the Empire by marrying [[Oda of Haldensleben|Oda]], the daughter of the Saxon margrave [[Dietrich of Haldensleben]], in 978 and by marrying his son Bolesław I to a daughter of Margrave [[Rikdag]] of Meissen. As a precaution however, shortly before his death in 992 he placed his realm ([[Civitas Schinesghe]]) under the protection of [[Pope John XV]] according to the ''[[dagome iudex]]'' regest.

When his son Bolesław succeeded him, Poland remained an ally of the Empire in the campaigns against the Polabian [[Lutici]] tribes. Emperor Otto II died at the age of 28 in 983. His widow [[Theophanu]] acted as regent for her son, also called Otto. In 996 Otto III was crowned as [[Holy Roman Emperor]] at [[Rome]]. By the time of the congress at Gniezno in AD 1000, he was 20 years old.

==The act==
[[File:Boleslaw I Chrobry (274954).jpg|thumb|left|Portrait of Bolesław with the replica of the Holy Lance, [[Jan Matejko]] (1838–1893)]]
On the pilgrimage to Gniezno, Emperor Otto III was received by Bolesław at the Polish border on the [[Bóbr]] river near [[Małomice]]. Bishop [[Unger (Bishop of Poland)|Unger of Poznań]] escorted him to Gniezno. Between the 7th and 15th of March Otto invested Bolesław with the titles ''frater et cooperator Imperii'' ("Brother and Partner of the Empire") and ''populi Romani amicus et socius''<ref name="Lawaty"/> as rendered in the 1115 ''[[Gesta principum Polonorum]]'' by the [[Kraków]] chronicler [[Gallus Anonymus]], the first author of Polish history. Whether the act implemented an elevation of Bolesław to the status of "king" has not been conclusively established. In any case, Bolesław had himself crowned King of Poland at Gniezno Cathedral in 1025.

On the same visit, Otto III raised Gniezno to the rank of an [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gniezno|archbishopric]]. Three new dioceses subordinate to Gniezno were created: the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kraków|Bishopric of Kraków]] (assigned to Bishop [[Poppo (bishop of Kraków)|Poppo]]), the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wrocław|Bishopric]] of [[Wrocław]] (assigned to Bishop [[Jan (bishop of Wrocław)|Jan]]) and the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Koszalin-Kołobrzeg|Bishopric of Kołobrzeg]] in [[Pomerania]] (assigned to bishop [[Reinbern]]).<ref name="Boßmann_2007">Janine Boßmann, ''Otto III. Und der Akt von Gnesen'', 2007, pp.9-10, {{ISBN|3-638-85343-8}}, {{ISBN|978-3-638-85343-9}}</ref> St. Adalbert's brother [[Radzim Gaudenty]] became the first archbishop of Gniezno.<ref name="Boßmann_2007"/> Otto III gave Bolesław a replica of his [[Holy Lance]], part of the [[Imperial Regalia]], and Bolesław presented the Emperor with a [[relic]], an arm of St. Adalbert in exchange.

The status of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Poznań|Bishopric of Poznań]] of Bishop Unger, whose diocese had also comprised Gniezno before and who had not supported the creation of a separate archdiocese in Gniezno, is also subject to historical debate. One view holds that it stayed independent and with Unger as a missionary bishop directly subordinate to the pope while another one holds that it was attached to the [[Archbishopric of Magdeburg]], the nearest German ecclesiastical province.<ref name="Boßmann_2007"/><ref>Nora Berend, ''Christianization and the Rise of Christian Monarchy: Scandinavia, Central Europe and Rus' C. 900–1200'', 2007, pp.281-182, {{ISBN|0-521-87616-8}}, {{ISBN|978-0-521-87616-2}}</ref> However, generally, the congress is seen as having established complete ecclesiastical independence of the Polish church from Magdeburg.<ref>[[Uta-Renate Blumenthal]], ''The Investiture Controversy: Church and Monarchy from the Ninth to the Twelfth Century'', University f Pennsylvania Press, 1991, pg. 38</ref>

Bolesław subsequently accompanied Otto III on his way back to Germany. Both proceeded to the grave of [[Charlemagne]] at [[Aachen Cathedral]], where Bolesław received Charlemagne's throne as a gift. Both arranged the betrothal of Bolesław's son [[Mieszko II Lambert]] with the Emperor's niece [[Richeza of Lotharingia]].

==Aftermath==
Due to Otto's early death in 1002, his ''renovatio'' policies were not fully realized. King [[Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry II]], Otto's successor, changed the empire's policies. Bolesław supported Henry's rival, Margrave [[Eckard I, Margrave of Meissen|Eckard I of Meissen]], expanded the Polish realm into the [[March of Lusatia]] and the [[Milceni]] lands, and also took the [[Duchy of Bohemia|Bohemian]] throne at [[Prague]], interfering with Henry's interests. During a meeting with Henry II in [[Merseburg]], Bolesław was attacked by Henry's men and narrowly escaped with his life. As a consequence, the excellent relations between the Empire and Poland marked by the Congress of Gniezno turned into a state of hostility that soon emerged into a [[German–Polish War (1003–1018)|German–Polish War]] which finally ended with the 1018 [[Peace of Bautzen]].

[[File:Kolobrzeg 2000 Gniezno 1000.jpg|thumb|Memorial erected in 2000 at [[Kołobrzeg]]]]

It was not until Henry's death in 1024, that Bolesław was able to acquire the papal consent for his coronation as Polish king. The Pomeranian diocese of Kołobrzeg, founded as a consequence of the Congress of Gniezno, was overthrown by a pagan resurgence of the [[Pomeranians (tribe)|Pomeranians]] around 1007, and bishop [[Reinbern]] was forced to return to Boleslaw's court.

The creation of the separate Archdiocese of Gniezno, as directly subordinate to the [[Holy See]] rather than a German archdiocese, kept Poland independent from the Holy Roman Empire throughout the [[Middle Ages]]. Around 1075 the Bishopric of Poznań became a [[suffragan diocese]] of Gniezno. The archdiocese then controlled the whole Piast realm, as confirmed by the papal [[Bull of Gniezno]] in 1136.

==See also==
*[[Germany–Poland relations]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Congress Of Gniezno}}
[[Category:1000 in Europe]]
[[Category:10th century in Poland]]
[[Category:History of Gniezno]]
[[Category:1000s in the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:History of Germany–Poland relations]]
[[Category:Diplomatic conferences in Poland|Gniezno]]
[[Category:Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor]]
[[Category:Holy Lance]]

Vero - Wikipedia - User contributions [en]

Congress of Gniezno