5,079
edits
Changes
== What happened next ==
Wydawałoby się, że to nie mogło się udać. Tak liberalnego stosunku do dzikusów z Zamurza nie miał nawet Jaśko Śnieg – a i tak go zaciukano za sprzyjanie nieprzyjaciołom. No i rzeczywiście – nie udało się! W latach 1222–1223 Lestek, wraz z Konradem, Henrykiem Brodatym i swoim namiestnikiem na Pomorzu, Świętopełkiem, dwukrotnie wyprawił się na ziemie Prusów i dwukrotnie wrócił z niczym. Po drugiej nieudanej wyprawie książęta postanowili, że na razie założą na granicy z Prusami coś w rodzaju Nocnej Straży – linię warowni obsadzonych przez rycerzy ze wszystkich dzielnic królestwa, którzy mieli pilnować, by dzikusy... tzn. Prusowie nie napadali na terytorium Konrada. Owa tzw. stróża miała status krzyżowców i utworzenie jej zostało Lestkowi i Konradowi zaliczone jako udział w krucjacie.
It would seem that Lestek's plan was doomed to fail. Even Jon Snow's attitude towards the wildlings was never this liberal and he was still killed for siding with the enemy. And as a matter of fact – it did fail! In the years 1222–1223, Lestek, along with Conrad, Henry the Bearded and Swantopolk, Lestek's representative in Pomerania, twice travelled into Prussian territory and twice did he return with nothing. After the second failed mission, the dukes decided that for now, they would just set up something akin to the Night's Watch – a line of strongholds manned by knights from all parts of the kingdom to keep the wild— I mean, the Prussians at bay. This force had a crusader status and, for Lestek and Conrad, its founding counted as participation in a crusade.
The three major differences between this Polish force and the Night's Watch is that the former didn't require chastity vows, they didn't have a giant ice wall at their disposal and they didn't last eight thousand years, but only... less than two. One night the Prussians attacked one of the strongholds; some of the knights died defending it, while others ran for their lives. Back in the capital, this led to a civil war between House Odrovonsh, whose sons had died in the battle, and House Griffin, whose members were decried as cravens and traitors. The Griffins escaped (again) to Silesia, where they talked Henry the Bearded into capturing Cracow while Lestek was away and claiming the title of high duke for himself. Lestek retook Cracow only a week later, but while the dukes were duking it out, the neglected watch entirely collapsed.
In 1227, Lestek called a summit of all Polish dukes at Gonsava in Paluki, the border region between Masovia, Greater Poland and Pomerania. We don't know exactly what points were on the agenda, but it was most likely about ending the feud between Spitter and Spindleshanks over Greater Poland and bringing Swantopolk to heel, as he trying to free Pomerania from Polish rule. Lestek from Cracow, Conrad from Masovia, Henry the Bearded from Silesia, Vladislav Spindleshanks from Greater Poland, as well as many bishops and great lords all came to Gonsava. Only two key participants were missing: Vladislav Spitter and Swantopolk. After almost two weeks, it was decided that there was no point waiting any longer and most people started heading back home. Lestek and Henry lingered on, though. Did they want to talk some things over in private or had they drunk so hard that they were unfit for a journey home (Henry had the same reputation as Lestek in this regard)? We don't know. But it was then, in the early morning of 24 November, when Spitter and Swantopolk finally showed up – along with their henchmen. Henry, whom they caught in his bed, was wounded, but it was his loyal knight, Peregrin of Weissenburg, who took the fatal blow. Meanwhile, Lestek was attacked while having a bath. Somehow this allegedly obese, hung-over forty-something was able to escape the assailants, run naked from the bathhouse to the stable, jump on a horse and ride off into a snow-covered forest (back then, the climate was colder and Poland was more forested). The assassins caught up with him 2 kilometres away, though.
{{Nawigacja|poprz=Kawa czy herbata?}}