Boleslaw II the Generous

Boleslaw II the Generous, also known as the Bold and the Cruel (ca.

1041 or 1042 – 2 or 3 April 1081 or 1082), is Duke of Poland from 1058 to 1076 and third King of Poland from 1076 to 1079.

He is the eldest son of Duke Casimir I the Restorer and Princess Maria Dobroniega, daughter of Grand Prince Vladimir the Great of Kiev.

Bolesław II is considered to have been one of the most capable of the Piast rulers.

In 1075 he re–establishes the Archdiocese of Gniezno (consecrated in 1064) and founds the Diocese of Płock.

He establishes Benedictine monasteries in Mogilno, Lubin and Wrocław.

Bolesław II is also the first Polish monarch to produce his own coinage in quantity great enough to replace the foreign coins prevalent in the country during the reigns of the first Piast kings.

He establishes royal mints in Kraków and Wrocław and reforms the coinage, which brings considerable revenue into the royal coffers.

All these efforts have an enormous influence on the economic and cultural development of the country.

According to the chronicler Gallus Anonymus, during his reign he was called largus ("the Generous" in English, "Szczodry" in Polish) as he founded many churches and monasteries throughout Poland.

The nickname "the Bold" (Śmiały) was only given to Bolesław II for the first time in the later Chronicle of the Polish kings, although it was considered by historiography of the 19th and 20th centuries as a contemporary nickname.

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