Władysław and his wife, Judith of Bohemia (c.1056 - 25 December 1086) was not producing a legitimate heir, and this was a concern. The two had been married as part of a Bohemia-Poland alliance, but five years after the wedding there was still no child. They did the only logical approach available to them: they made an offering to St. Giles in the form of valuable gifts including a life-sized statue of a baby made of gold to the Benedictine sanctuary in Provence named for Giles the Hermit.
The "result" of this was Bolesław, born on...well, you would not believe how much ink has been spent on this topic. Tied to this is the date of his mother's death, and theories abound. Why? His birth had to take place before she died, but different more-or-less contemporary accounts are interpreted differently.
The first straightforward account that creates confusion was by a Latin account, the Gesta principum Polonorum, ("Deeds of the Princes of the Poles") by Gallus Anonymus [sic]. Composed between 1112 and 1118. Gallus says Judith gave birth on the day of St. Stephen, King of Hungary, but died on the night of Nativity. Gallus does not mention the year, but the night of Nativity should be 24-25 December. The feast of St. Stephen King of Hungary was 20 August.
Another chronicler of Bohemia, Cosmas of Prague, writes that Judith died on 24 December 1085 and Bolesław was born three days before. The Obituary of Saint-Gilles in Provence, recipient of the couple's donation, clearly states that Judith died on 24 December 1086.
A modern historian declares that Bolesław was born on 26 December 1085 and Judith died two days later. This man claims that Gallus confused the day of Stephen King of Hungary with St. Stephen's Day (26 December).
Bolesław was lucky to be born at all—first because his parents had trouble conceiving, and second because his birth might have been so close to his mother's death that if it weren't childbirth that led to her death but illness, he might not have survived her pregnancy.
He did survive, however (that's a commemorative coin above), and ruled for just over 30 years. They weren't easy cars, however, and one of the sticking points was the existence of his half-brother, Zbigniew. But that's a story for tomorrow.
