Paper -a:
Written sources contain very little on the period when the Polish state was created. Using the few sources that do exist together with historical analogies researchers have created the concept of a ducal la system which is used to describe the legal structure in force in these lands. At the same time, archaeologists referring to ethnographic development of society schemes employed the term chiefdom. The traditional notions of patrimonium and early state occur concurrently with the two aforementioned phrases. This paper concerns the difference in the scope of these notions used to describe the legal structure in place in Poland in the 9th and the 10th century.
Paper -b:
The settlement of Piast princes in Pomerania is a little known element of Polish 10th and 11th centuries dynastic politics. Even the first historical mentions about Poland are related to the conquest of Pomerania - and even back then the involvement of the ruling prince's family is not coincidental. Piast dynasty dukes in Pomerania were an extension of the Polish court and a response to a turbulent Pomeranian political situation, yet their presence in that province was also a result of intradynastic conflicts. In this paper I will attempt to discuss this aspect of Polish history in detail, additionally emphasizing the significance of access to Baltic Sea and, consequently, the crucial role of Pomerania for Polish international politics of the times.
Paper -c:
In 1177 the youngest son of Duke Boleslav the Wrymouthed occupied the Polish capital town of Krakow, claiming a position reserved for only senior members of the ruling Piast dynasty. This paper will explore the ideological and political efforts of the Krakovian episcopal leadership to justify this violation of the rule of succession. It will examine the ecclesiastical means of initiating new rules of elevation to the prestigious throne of Krakow. Local ecclesiastics devised a novel strategy of assimilation of these rules by conflating them with longstanding customs that promoted stability, efficiency, and piety of ducal government in early medieval Poland.
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