Dagome iudex is one of the earliest historical documents relating to Poland. Although Poland is not mentioned by name, it refers to Dagome and Ote and their sons in 991, placing their land under the protection of the Apostolic See. The document's name derives from its opening words.
History
The Dagome iudex survives in the form of a summary, completed c. 1080. It was found in a register compiled by a curialcardinal during the papacy of Gregory VII. Most historians believe that the word"Dagome" is a melding of two names: the Christian "Dago," for "Dagobert", and the Slavic"Me," for "Mieszko." The Latin word "iudex" could refer to "prince." Another interpretation is that "Dagome iudex" is a corruption of "Ego Mesco dux". In the Vatican copy, the e of Dagome might have an s adscriptum, although the Vatican copyist read iudexliterally, relating it to Sardinia and its four "judges". Place names are misspelled by the writer who made the summary. He was apparently unaware that the document related to territory later called Poland. The boundaries of the "Gniezno" state are described as those that extended to the "Long Sea", Prussia, Rus', Kraków, Moravia and the Oder River. Lesser Poland is included by the mention of its capital, Kraków. Between alemura, probably Olomouc and Upper Lusatia region of the Milceni a straightened border could include Silesia. The text seems to use ciuitas schinesghe as a synonym of Greater Poland. Otherwise, the boundary description would be more logical if schenisghe meant the city ofSzczecin. Of the other regions and places in Mieszko's territory, it mentioned only Kraków and Lusatia, both without fines. The regions outside Mieszko's rule, pruzze and russe were mentioned with the word fines. The Dagome iudex is of critical importance to Polish history, since it provided a general description of the futurePolish state in that period. It, however, left many questions unanswered. First, it did not explain whyMieszko I placed his state under the Pope's protection. Also, it is unclear why the document did not mention Mieszko's eldest son, Bolesław I the Brave. Instead, his sons by his second wife, Oda, were mentioned instead. Finally, Mieszko I is not referred to as "Dagome" in any other document. Historians suppose that Bolesław's absence from the document might be explained by an old Slavic custom whereby children received their inheritance as soon as they reached the age of majority. Thus, Bolesław the Brave might have received Kraków as his part of his father's legacy before the Dagome iudex was written.
