Birth and naming
The lack of a legitimate heir, however, remained a concern for Władysław I and in 1085 he and his wife Judith of Bohemia sent rich gifts, among which was a life size statue of a child made of gold, to the Benedictine Sanctuary of Saint Giles in Saint-Gilles, Provence begging for offspring. The Polish envoys were led by the personal chaplain of Duchess Judith, Piotr.
The date of birth of Bolesław is closely linked with the death of his mother, Judith. This fact is evidenced by contemporary sources:
Gallus Anonymus in the Cronicae et gesta ducum sive principum Polonorum reported that Duchess Judith gave birth to Bolesław on the day of Saint Stephen, King of Hungary (whose feast since the 11th century was celebrated on 20 August). However, the Duchess's health never recovered from childbirth and she died on "the night of Nativity" (i.e., 24–25 December). Gallus did not note the year in his chronicle;
Cosmas of Prague wrote in Latin in his Chronica Boëmorum ("Chronicle of Bohemians") that Bolesław was born three days before the death of Judith, who died on the VIII Calends of January (25 December) of 1085;
The Kalendarz krakowski said that Duchess Judith died on 24 December 1086, and only indicated that the birth of Bolesław was in the same year;
The Obituary of the Abbey of Saint-Gilles reported the death of Judith on 24 December 1086;
The Rocznik kapituły krakowskiej (closely related to the Kalendarz krakowski) placed the death of Judith on 24 December 1086.
Historian August Bielowski established Bolesław's birth on 26 December 1085 and the death of his mother two days later, on 28 December. According to him, Gallus Anonymus committed two errors. First, instead of "the Sunday after the Nativity of the Lord", he wrote incorrectly "in the Sunday of the Nativity". Secondly, he mistook the day of Saint Stephen (26 December) for the festivities of King Stephen of Hungary (20 August). Both corrections lead to the birth date of Bolesław on 26 December. This theory was supported by the fact that, in 1085, 28 December fell on a Sunday.
Oswald Balzer refuted Bielowski's theory, arguing that Judith's death was on the night of 24/25 December 1086, and the birth of Bolesław was four months before, on 20 August. According to him, this timing of Judith's death gives rise to possible discrepancies in determining the exact date of Bolesław's birth, but corroborates all known sources who placed the death of Judith. Gallus wrote that Judith died shortly after giving birth to a son. Later sources interpret this as a death in childbirth and Cosmas of Prague followed this fact, though he didn't receive the information firsthand. Hence, his mistake would result in this point. In contrast, the correct date of birth of Bolesław would be 20 August, as indicated by Gallus. In the medieval tradition, the year began on 25 December. In that case, the reports of Cosmas allow us to conclude that Bolesław was born in 1085. This information, however, was contradicted by the Kalendarz krakowski, which gave the year as 1086. Judith was styled by the authors of the Kalendarz as "regina Polonia" (Queen of Poland in Latin), and this title could be associated with her father's coronation as King of Bohemia and Poland on 15 June 1086 (according to Cosmas). Karol Maleczyński refuted Balzer's date for the coronation of Vratislav II, the one given by Cosmas. However, most researchers indicate that the coronation took place on 15 June 1085, so Judith could have been called Queen a year earlier.
Karol Maleczyński determined that the death of Judith took place on the night between 24 and 25 December 1085, and Bolesław was born four months before, on 20 August. Researchers found that the date given by the Rocznik kapituły krakowskiej (24 December 1086) was the same as that established by Cosmas (25 December 1085). The difference in the year could be explained by the different style of dating followed by Cosmas, who began the year according to the Julian calendar on 1 January and Christmas (Nativitate in Latin) on 25 December. According to Maleczyński, Kazimierz Jasiński failed to consider this calendar difference, which occurs only during the period of 25–31 December.
Archaeologist Wojciech Szafrański reassumed the theory of Bielowski: Judith of Bohemia died on 28 December 1085, and Bolesław was born two days before, on 26 December. According to Szafrański, Cosmas used the term VIII Calends of January, with no specific date. However, in the Chronicle of Gallus should read that Judith died on Christmas Day, but on Sunday in the Octave of Christmas. Using such a broadened range of days, the investigator determined the birth of Boleslaw in the feast of Saint Stephen (26 December). For these reasons, the date of 1085 given by Bielowski is correct according to him. However, Jasiński pointed out the weaknesses of the argument of Szafrański because Gallus has written about the Octave, specifically about Christmas night, but the investigator didn't consider all other sources, as well as the achievements of research in genealogy.
Marian Plezia argued that Bolesław was born on 2 September 1085 or 1086. According to Gallus, the day of King Stephen of Hungary was also celebrated on 2 September. Jasiński considered this theory unfounded. In Poland, the feast of King Stephen of Hungary is celebrated by the Kalendarz krakowski and the Kalendarz Kodeksu Gertrudy on 20 August. Besides, if Bolesław was born on 2 September, Gallus probably would have noted that this was the day after the celebration of Saint Giles (1 September), which was attributed to be the intercessor of his birth.
Kazimierz Jasiński placed the death of Judith in the night between 24 and 25 December 1086 and the birth of Bolesław four months before, on 20 August. At this point, he agrees with the findings of Balzer. He supported his views with additional arguments: All sources are based on the missing Rocznika kapituły krakowskiej, and the next known text of this source refers to events in 1086. Cosmas, writing his chronicle a few decades later, probably benefited from oral tradition and could make a mistake when he placed the year. His reports, which placed the birth of Bolesław three days before the death of his mother, denoted a quite short time.
Today is widely recognized that the view of both Jasiński and Balzer is that Bolesław most likely was born on the day of King Stephen of Hungary, 20 August 1086. According to Cosmas of Prague, Bolesław was named after his uncle, Bolesław II the Generous. Władysław I Herman had no reason to name his first-born legitimate son after his brother, but probably in this way tried to placate the former allies of his predecessor.
Bolesław's nickname "Wrymouth" (pl: Krzywousty) appeared in Polish and Latin sources of the 13th century: Genealogia płocka (Criwousti) and the Rocznik świętokrzyski młodszy (Crzyvousti). Probably the origin of this nickname dates back to the 12th century and is related to some physical characteristics of the Polish ruler, who were noticed at the time of his reign. Probably he began to be named in this way after 1114, because Gallus Anonymus in his Chronicle never mentioned it. In the Kronika książąt polskich and Kronika polsko-śląska Bolesław was qualified by the Latin adjective curvus, whose significance remains unclear. According to the 14th-century Kronika o Piotrze Włostowicu, the duke was hunchbacked (Latin: gibbosus) or had a crooked mouth. The 15th-century chronicler Jan Długosz wrote:
He had a mouth on one side slightly bent, and for this he was called Wrymouth; however, this did not mar his face, and even added to him some charm.
In March 1972, in the Masovian Blessed Virgin Mary Cathedral of Płock, where, according to tradition, Bolesław was buried, an archaeological research project was conducted. A coffin was discovered containing the bones of 16 men and women. One of the skulls, of a man who died aged 50, had a deformed mandible. There is a hypothesis that these remains belonged to Bolesław. Opponents of this theory suggest that the duke was named in this way many years after his death, and his contemporary Gallus did not mention any physical defect in the hero of his Chronicles. The defenders of the hypothesis argue that the work of Gallus has the characteristics of a panegyric in honor of Bolesław, because the chronicler did not mention his physical infirmities. It is also speculated that the bone damage occurred as a result of childbirth complications, which led to the death of his mother a few months later.
The nickname of Boleslaw was also explained in other ways. According to a legend, Boleslaw slammed his face against a wall after watching his father's subservience towards the Germans and Czechs. According to Jan Długosz, the duke in his youth had an ulcer, which caused the deformity of his face. According to older historiography, he received the nickname Wrymouth for his perjury.
