Lets give a short desriptions of national heroes celebred by your nation.
My country is Poland. Here goes.
Boleslaw Chrobry / Wielki (Boleslaus the Brave / the Great)
Son of first christian prince of Poles. He expanded Poland up to Elbe / Laba river in the west, loosing most of Lusatia (nowdays Saxony and Brandenburg) gains later, but still winning three wars against HRE. He conquered Moravia and Slovakia, and - for some time - Bohemia. He virtually destroyed southern Prussian tribes. He intervened a couple of times in Kievan Ruthenia, capturing Kiev despite it was ruled by one of its greatest rulers, Yaroslav The Wise, and recaptured lands lost to Kievan Ruthenia earlier.
He was the first polish rulers to get in touch with Byzantine Empire. He sent a mission of St Adalbert in Prussia, and greeted HRE emperor in Poland. He created polish archbishopric and most of medieval bishoprics, protecting independance of church of Poland against german archbishoprics.
In 1025, he was crowned as first polish king.
Yet, he was fat, he forcibly married a nun etc, and his state, surrounded by nations hungry for revenge, collapsed during the reign of his son, and lost most of its gains.
Kazimierz Wielki (Casimir the Great)
After Poland was divided in XII century, it was united at the very end of XIII century, just to see its king murdered, and the reign fall into hands of a foreign, czech dinasty. After the second czech king of Poland was murdered, Poland was - partially - reunited by Wladyslaw Lokietek, but Czechs kept some of it.
Kazimierz inherited a weak state, made of minority of polish territory, surrounded by mighty Luxemburgs demanding the throne, agressive Lithuania and Brandenburg, and teutonic Knights co-operating with Luxemburgs and occupying polish territories.
Kazimierz could not solve all the problems, yet, he doubled the size of his kingdom, payed off Luxemburgs (on cost of loss of Silesia, though), strenghtened the country internationally (a crusade conference of rulers of Europe was organised in Krakow), established the first university in Poland, founded many cities, built dozens of castles and city walls (they call him "king that received a wooden Poland, and left it made of brick"), supported Jewish immigration (they say he had a jewish lover), supported trade, made good relations with Lithuania. Among his conquests was inheriting and de facto conquering Red Ruthenia, which included once-lost polish territories and important cities like Halicz and Lwow.
He left no hair, and Poland was inherited by Anjou dinasty, which, under king Louis, was very bad for it. Yet, was his testimony completed, Poland may have re-united with at least part of western Pomerania.
He had a lot of lovers. It caused a big scandal, when he was at court of his sister, queen of Hungary, and one hungarian noble, angry at that his daughter lost virginity, attacked the queen, cutting of part of her hand.
They say he only had sons with his jewish lover, Estera.
more to follow
My country is Poland. Here goes.
Boleslaw Chrobry / Wielki (Boleslaus the Brave / the Great)
Son of first christian prince of Poles. He expanded Poland up to Elbe / Laba river in the west, loosing most of Lusatia (nowdays Saxony and Brandenburg) gains later, but still winning three wars against HRE. He conquered Moravia and Slovakia, and - for some time - Bohemia. He virtually destroyed southern Prussian tribes. He intervened a couple of times in Kievan Ruthenia, capturing Kiev despite it was ruled by one of its greatest rulers, Yaroslav The Wise, and recaptured lands lost to Kievan Ruthenia earlier.
He was the first polish rulers to get in touch with Byzantine Empire. He sent a mission of St Adalbert in Prussia, and greeted HRE emperor in Poland. He created polish archbishopric and most of medieval bishoprics, protecting independance of church of Poland against german archbishoprics.
In 1025, he was crowned as first polish king.
Yet, he was fat, he forcibly married a nun etc, and his state, surrounded by nations hungry for revenge, collapsed during the reign of his son, and lost most of its gains.
Kazimierz Wielki (Casimir the Great)
After Poland was divided in XII century, it was united at the very end of XIII century, just to see its king murdered, and the reign fall into hands of a foreign, czech dinasty. After the second czech king of Poland was murdered, Poland was - partially - reunited by Wladyslaw Lokietek, but Czechs kept some of it.
Kazimierz inherited a weak state, made of minority of polish territory, surrounded by mighty Luxemburgs demanding the throne, agressive Lithuania and Brandenburg, and teutonic Knights co-operating with Luxemburgs and occupying polish territories.
Kazimierz could not solve all the problems, yet, he doubled the size of his kingdom, payed off Luxemburgs (on cost of loss of Silesia, though), strenghtened the country internationally (a crusade conference of rulers of Europe was organised in Krakow), established the first university in Poland, founded many cities, built dozens of castles and city walls (they call him "king that received a wooden Poland, and left it made of brick"), supported Jewish immigration (they say he had a jewish lover), supported trade, made good relations with Lithuania. Among his conquests was inheriting and de facto conquering Red Ruthenia, which included once-lost polish territories and important cities like Halicz and Lwow.
He left no hair, and Poland was inherited by Anjou dinasty, which, under king Louis, was very bad for it. Yet, was his testimony completed, Poland may have re-united with at least part of western Pomerania.
He had a lot of lovers. It caused a big scandal, when he was at court of his sister, queen of Hungary, and one hungarian noble, angry at that his daughter lost virginity, attacked the queen, cutting of part of her hand.
They say he only had sons with his jewish lover, Estera.
more to follow
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