The Wendish Research Exchange - Mühle, Edward: The Peace Treaty of Bautzen, the Piasts and the Empire. German-Polish Entanglements in the Early 11th Century

Lětopis Abstract 2019 1: Mühle, Edward: The Peace Treaty of Bautzen, the Piasts and the Empire. German-Polish Entanglements in the Early 11th Century.

Bishop Thietmar von Merseburg reports in his chronicle, finished in 1018, on the peace treaty concluded on the 30th January 1018 between Emperor Heinrich and the Piast Duke Boleslaw I in Bautzen castle. The article pursues the question of how this event came to pass, what events formed the basis for it and what the motives of the people involved were. These included not only the two main protagonists, the Emperor and the Duke, who were looking for confrontation stemming in both cases from a strong awareness of their roles as rulers. Important participants were also the Saxon and Piast grandees. While we know little about the latter, the Saxon religious and secular grandees were confronted with a very particular dilemma. The repeated military conflicts plunged them into serious conflicts of loyalty as they not only had obligations towards the German king, but were also partly connected to the Piasts through family and friendship ties. It was not least the endeavours of those involved to find a way out which led to the conclusion of the peace treaty of Bautzen. It is true that this treaty only provided temporary relief during the remaining lifetime of the two protagonists, Heinrich and Boleslaw, from the ongoing conflict between the Piasts and the German king about status and honor; it did not provide a complete resolution.