Mieszko I of Poland Mieszko I of Poland Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was the ruler of the Polans from about 960 until his death. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was a son of the legendary Siemomysł, and a grandson of Lestek. He was the father of Bolesław I the Brave (the first crowned king of Poland) and of Gunhild of Wenden. Most sources make Mieszko I the father of Sigrid the Haughty, a Nordic queen, though one source identifies her father as Skoglar Toste, and the grandfather of Canute the Great (Gundhild's son), and the great-grandfather of Gunhilda of
Mieszko I of Poland in the hands of Bohemia. Sandomierz under this scenario was the central hub of the area, with Czerwień, Przemyśl and Chełm assuming the function of defensive borderland strongholds. After the death of Emperor Otto I in 973 Mieszko, like his brother-in-law, Duke Boleslav II of Bohemia, joined the German opposition in support of the attempted imperial succession of Henry II, Duke of Bavaria. Mieszko may have been motivated by revenge because of the (presumably) negative verdict of the Quedlinburg summit, but, more importantly, he may have wanted more favorable terms for his cooperation with Germany. The participation of Mieszko in