Dagome Iudex
Dating to the early period of Polish statehood, this document – known as Dagome Iudex after its opening words – was written down circa 991. It is known only from an abstract compiled in Rome in the late 11th century. By means of this deed, Mieszko, the first historical ruler of Poland, together with his wife Oda and their two sons, entrusts his realm, which was centred on Gniezno, to the safekeeping of the Apostolic See.
Historians have made various conjectures about the intention of this document. Some argue that papal custody was meant to protect the independence of the Polish Church against the claims of the archbishops of Magdeburg; others argue that the point was to ensure the participation of Mieszko’s sons from his second marriage (with Oda) in the ruling of the state. This would explain why Mieszko’s eldest son Bolesław Chrobry (Boleslaus the Brave), whose mother was the Bohemian princess, Dobrava, was not mentioned. The document describes the borders of the territory ruled by Mieszko in the late years of his reign, which lasted from about 960 to his death in 992.
