Piast the Wheelwright
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Piast Kołodziej (kołodziej means wheelwright) is a legendary figure from the prehistory of Poland (8th or 9th century AD), founder of the Piast dynasty that would rule the early Kingdom of Poland.
According to the allegorical Polish Chronicle of Gallus Anonymus, he was once surprised by two unexpected foreign guests. They asked to stay with Piast and his family in order to celebrate the seventh birthday of Piast’s son, Siemowit. In return for his hospitality, the guests made a special blessing, which ensured that Piast’s cellar never ran out of food. Seeing this blessing, Piast’s compatriots decided that he would be their new prince. Because the current Prince Popiel was gone, Piast became the country's new leader. He is also believed to be the great-great-grandfather of Mieszko I, the first ruler of Poland and father of the first Polish king, Bolesław Chrobry.
The genitive plural of the name Kołodziej is Kołodziejów, which allegorically means "wheel of time". The genitive form of the name Piast is Piasta, which also means "the hub of the wheel". Gallus Anonymus reports an invocation stating that his successors' eyes would shine like stars.
The term "Piast Dynasty", referring to the early rulers of the Polans and Poland, was introduced by historian Adam Naruszewicz (1733-1796). Descendants of the line who governed duchies in Silesia, such as the last Piast George IV William of Legnica, duke of Legnica and Brzeg, who died in 1675, also referred to themselves as Piasts.
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