Piasts

Piasts

 

a Polish princely and royal dynasty.

The legendary founder of the dynasty was a peasant wheelwright named Piast. The first historically verifiable prince of the Piast dynasty was Mieszko I (c. 960–992). His son Bolesław I the Brave adopted the title of king in 1025. Although the royal line came to an end in 1370 with the death of Casimir III, the Piasts continued to rule in the appanage principalities—in Mazovia until 1526 and in Silesia until 1675. During the 17th and 18th centuries, at the time of the elective monarchy, a native Polish candidate to the throne was called a piast.