60 PIAST
The status of the monarchy was never clearly defined. Although for practical
purposes the Piasts were undoubtedly masters in their own house, their rela-
tionship to the Holy Roman Emperor, and to other neighbouring authorities,
was the subject of constant adjustments and accommodations. In the Latin doc-
uments of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the Piasts were most frequently
denoted by the dignity of Dux. Literally translated as 'Duke', or in German as
'Herzog', the title inaccurately implies a degree of subordination to a feudal
superior. By German historians, it was customarily interpreted as a sign of the
Piasts' allegiance to the Holy Roman Emperor. In fact, it might better be ren-
dered by 'chief or 'warleader'. Yet when Krzywousty's Testament divided the
realm among his sons in 1138, the title that was chosen for 'the senior prince',
who was to hold the province of Cracow and to enjoy precedence over his broth-
ers, was not Dux, but Princeps. In Polish, the title of Dux is generally translated
as Ksiqze to distinguish the rank of uncrowned prince from that of krol (rex) or
'crowned king' — krol being a corruption of Karol - Karl - Charlemagne.
Coronation, however, was no infallible sign of sovereign status. When Otto III
placed his own crown on the head of Boleslaw Chrobry during the festivities at
Gniezno in 1000, he raised him to the dignity of patricius, or 'elder of the Roman
nation', and declared him 'brother and aide in the Empire'. Some historians see
this as an act of favour between the Emperor and his vassal: others as a gesture
of friendship between equals. Otto's agreement to Chrobry's formal coronation
was unrealized for a quarter of a century owing to the intransigence of his suc-
cessor, Henry II. It was put into effect with papal connivance in 1015 during the
folio wing interregnum. Thereafter, coronation and recognition of the Polish
rulers by no means came automatically. A number of Chrobry's successors
admitted the over-lordship of the Emperor. In 1033, at the Congress of
Merseburg, Mieszko II (990-1034) submitted to the new Salian Emperor,
Conrad II, and turned Poland into an imperial fief. In contrast, Kazimierz II
Odnowiciel (Casimir the Restorer, 1016-58), who rebuilt the state after the
rebellion of 1037, was never crowned. Boleslaw II Szczodry (Boleslaus the Bold,
1039—81), imitated his earlier namesake, and in 1076 crowned himself King
whilst the Emperor Henry IV was distracted. Wladyslaw Herman (1043—1102)
was not crowned, and submitted to the Emperor. His elder son, Zbigniew,
sought the Emperor's protection against his younger brother Boleslaw HI
Krzywousty. The latter was a predatory warrior who needed no one's protec-
tion. He did not bother to be crowned, but in 1135 was invested by the Emperor
with Pomerania. In the period of fragmentation, which followed, the inter-
minable struggles for the Cracovian throne made royal coronations impossible.
On occasion, as with Boleslaw Kedzierzawy (Boleslaus the Curly, 1120-73),
Prince of Mazovia, who paid homage to Frederick Barbarossa in 1157, there
were echoes of imperial suzerainty. After the death of Henryk II Pobozny,
(Henry the Pious, 1191-1241), at the Battle of Legnica (Liegnitz), the concept of
the principate was itself abandoned. Not until 1320, when Lokietek obtained
the Pope's approval for his elevation as monarch of the reunited realm, did the