page_title: Leszek the White
section_title: Conflict with Władysław III Spindleshanks
hierarchical_section_title: Leszek the White / Conflict with Władysław III Spindleshanks
caption_attribution_description: Polski: Pieczęć Leszka I Białego
context_page_description: Leszek the White was Prince of Sandomierz and High Duke of Poland during 1194–1198, 1199, 1206–1210, and 1211–1227. During the early stages of his reign his uncle, Duke Mieszko III the Old, and cousin Władysław III Spindleshanks, from the Greater Polish branch of the royal Piast dynasty, contested Leszek's right to be High Duke.
  Leszek was the third or fourth, but eldest surviving son of Casimir II the Just and his wife Helen of Znojmo.
context_section_description: The quiet government of Leszek over Kraków after the deposition of Władysław III Spindleshanks was interrupted in 1210 with his excommunication through a papal bull issued by Pope Innocent III. This development was used by Mieszko Tanglefoot, who quickly conquered Kraków and took the title of High Duke for himself. The bull was issued at the request of an anonymous Duke of Silesia, which could only have been Henry I the Bearded because Mieszko used the title of a Duke of Racibórz-Opole. The situation became quite confused, as nobody was sure who held the real power. The papal bull was a complete surprise for Leszek and the local church hierarchy who supported him, especially since both parties for the first time in Poland agreed upon the choice of the new Bishop of Kraków after the death of Fulka, the chronicler Wincenty Kadłubek.
  Henryk Kietlicz, Archbishop of Gniezno — who had returned from exile some time before — decided to call the Synod of Borzykowa, at which he tried to find a solution to this delicate issue. In addition to the church hierarchy, almost all of the Piast dukes participated in the convention. Leszek, wanting to regain the support of the Church and the other rulers, bestowed a Great Privilege on the clergy, which ensured the integrity of territorial possession of the bishops. This privilege was not signed by Henry I the Bearded nor Władysław III, but they did comply with the provisions established therein. Mieszko Tanglefoot was not present in Borzykowa; with the help of the Lesser Poland family of Gryfici, he went with his army to Kraków, where the confusion among the citizens as to who was actually in charge enabled him to take the capital without a fight. This was the zenith of the success of Mieszko, as he died in May of the following year. Only then did Archbishop Kietlicz manage to make an appeal to Rome in order to obtain the reversal of the Bull. Henry I, although he was now the oldest Junior Duke, directed his attention to the German invasions, to Lubusz. Leszek returned to Kraków without any major difficulties.
  Another result of the close cooperation between the Piasts and the Church was the synod of Wolbórz, where Archbishop Kietlicz obtained additional privileges for the Church. The good political relationship between Leszek and Archbishop Ketlicz ended in 1216, when the Archbishop lost the favor of Rome after the death of Pope Innocent III and was forced to end his political influence.
caption: Seal of Leszek Biały (Leszek I, "the White"), Front side.
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