“Usque in Vurta fluvium”. On Mieszko’s Tribute

Abstract

The article is about relations between the oldest Piast rulers (tenth century) and the Ottonian Empire. In his account of the battle waged in 972 by the Polish Duke Mieszko I and the Saxon Margrave Hodo, the Saxon chronicler Thietmar of Merseburg wrote (II, 29) that Mieszko was “loyal to the emperor and paid him a tribute all the way to the river Warta” (inperatori fidelis tributumque usque in Vurta fluvium solvens). This sentence has been for long the object of contradictory interpretations. As a rule, German historians maintain that it refers to the entire Western part of the Piast dominion (looking from the West). On the other hand, Polish historians always attempted to minimalize the significance of the tribute and consequently indicated that the chronicler had in mind a certain fragmentary territory; as a rule, they pointed to Pomerania (which, however, was located already beyond the Warta) or a small region of the supposed Lubuszanie tribe (at the mouth of the Warta flowing into the Odra). By referring to conceptions launched by certain German historians the author of the article tries to prove that a proper comprehension of the examined sentence calls for its interpretation from the viewpoint of Mieszko. In other words, it pertains to his whole dominion, seen from its centre towards the Warta, i.e. a river playing the part of an outer frontier. Such an interpretation is supported by the fact that at the time tributes were, as a rule, imposed on a whole state or a people and not their artificially distinguished parts. True, the Warta did constitute a rough boundary separating the Piast state from Pomerania. The proposed approach matches the context of the Thietmar account. The background of the clash between Mieszko and Hodo was Polish expansion in Pomerania. The commentary claiming that Mieszko paid a tribute from a territory up to Warta, a frontier river, was used to explain that Hodo was entitled to attack a duke loyal to the emperor since the former had crossed the boundary. The tribute-based relation was established probably in 963 when (according to Thietmar’s account, often questioned by Polish historians), margrave Gero imposed imperial supremacy over Mieszko I. Presumably, when after a victory over the Lusatians Gero moved towards the Odra, alarmed Mieszko voluntarily surrendered and offered a tribute.