BOLESLAV III., called "the Wry-mouthed," king of Poland (1086-1139), the son of Wladislav I. and Judith of Bohemia, succeeded his father in 1102. His earlier years were troubled continually by the intrigues of his natural half-brother Zbigniev, who, till he was imprisoned and blinded, involved Boleslav in fre quent contests with Bohemia and the emperor Henry V. The first of the German wars began in I log, when Henry, materially assisted by the Bohemians, invaded Silesia. The Poles avoided an encounter in the open field, but harried the Germans so suc cessfully around Breslau that the plain was covered with corpses. The chief political result of this great disaster was the com plete independence of Poland for the next quarter of a century. It was during this respite that Boleslav devoted himself to the main business of his life—the subjugation of Pomerania (i.e., the maritime province) with the view of gaining access to the sea. The struggle began in mg, when Boleslav inflicted a ter rible defeat on the Pomeranians at Nackel which compelled their temporary submission. In 112o-24 the rebellion of his vassal Prince Warceslav of Stettin again brought Boleslav into the country, but the resistance was as stout as ever, and only after 18,000 of his followers had fallen and 8,000 more had been expatriated did Warceslav submit to his conqueror. The obstinacy of the resistance convinced Boleslav that Pomerania must be Christianized before it could be completely subdued; and this important work was partially accomplished by St. Otto, bishop of Bamberg, an old friend of Boleslav's father, who knew the Slav onic languages. In his later years Boleslav waged an unsuccess ful war with Hungary and Bohemia. He died in 113g, leaving four sons, between whom the kingdom was to be divided, the eldest son having overlordship of the whole.