Bolesław the Brave of Poland’s Embassy to Byzantium in 1018: Power, Diplomacy, and Symbolism at the Turn of the First Millennium

Abstract Referring to Thietmar of Merseburg’s account of the embassy sent by Bolesław the Brave of Poland to Byzantium following his conquest of Kyiv in 1018 - an event recorded in two different forms in two versions of Thietmar’s chronicle - this article explores the significance the Polish ruler placed on establishing relations with the Byzantine Empire. The study argues that Bolesław’s efforts to forge these connections should be interpreted not only in the context of Polish-Byzantine relations, but rather within the broader framework of ideas associated with Byzantium in the political culture of the Latin West at the turn of the first millennium. It demonstrates that for the Polish rulers, as for many other rulers in Latin Europe, Byzantium, with its ceremonies and symbols, served as an important reference point for concepts of legitimate rulership.