Bezprym

Bezprym (; 986–1032) was the duke of Poland from 1031 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Bolesław the Brave, but was deprived of the succession by his father, who around 1001 sent him to Italy in order to become a monk at one of Saint Romuald's hermitages in Ravenna. Expelled by his half-brother Mieszko II Lambert after the death of their father, Bezprym became ruler of large areas of Poland in 1031 following a simultaneous attack by German and Kievan forces and Mieszko II's escape to Bohemia. His reign was short-lived and, according to some sources, extremely cruel. He was murdered in 1032 and Mieszko II returned to the throne of Poland. It is speculated that a pagan reaction began during his short reign. Onomastics In primary sources Bezprym appears as: Besprim (Thietmar's Chronicle), Besfrim (Annalista Saxo), or Bezbriem (Chronicles of Hildesheim and Annales Altahenses). This name was not used among the Polish nobility but was known in Bohemian sources, where it appears as: Bezprim, Bezprem, or Bezperem. According to one of the hypotheses the name is of Slavonic origin, and was probably originally pronounced as Bezprzem or Bezprzym. Due to tradition and the impossibility of determining the correct version of the name, Bezprym remains the form used, although, according to K. Jasiński, it probably requires modifications. The name meant "stubborn", "self-confident, not willing to retreat". The name of the Hungarian city of Veszprém is considered to be derived from the same. Older historiography frequently combined the figures of Bolesław the Brave's sons Otto and Bezprym. Marian Gumowski also suggested, on the basis of numismatic research, that this "combined" prince could have governed the Duchy of Bohemia in 1003. These theories are based on the chronicle of Wipo of Burgundy, who described only one brother of Mieszko II, Otto. Modern historians assume, however, that Bezprym did exist, and that the chronicler erroneously combined Otto and Bezprym into one person.