archbishop of Gniezno, Hipolit, in the Gniezno Cathedral. Mieszko's reign was short-lived: in 1031, the invasion of both German and Kievan troops forced him to escape to Bohemia, where he was imprisoned and castrated by orders of Duke Oldrich. Mieszko II's half-brother Bezprym took the government of Poland and began a cruel persecution of the followers of the former king. The Brauweiler Chronicle indicated that soon after the escape of her husband, Richeza and her children fled to Germany with the Polish regalia, which were given to Emperor Conrad II. She subsequently played an important role in mediating a peace settlement between Poland and the Holy Roman Empire. However, modern historians discount this account. Richeza and Mieszko II never reunited; according to some sources, they were either officially divorced or separated. After Bezprym was murdered in 1032, Mieszko II was released from captivity and returned to Poland, but was forced to divide the country between himself, his brother Otto and their cousin Dytryk. One year later (1033), after Otto was killed and Dytryk expelled from the country, Mieszko II reunited Poland under his domain. However, his rule lasted only one year: on 10 or 11 July 1034, Mieszko II died suddenly, probably killed as a result of a conspiracy. Richeza's son Casimir was at that time at the court of her brother Archbishop Hermann II of Cologne. In 1037 Casimir returned to Poland in order to claim the throne; apparently, Richeza also returned with him, although this is disputed. Soon after, a barons' rebellion — coupled with the so-called "Pagan Reaction" of the commoners — forced both Casimir and Richeza to flee to Germany again. She never returned. Return to Germany The return of Richeza to Germany forced a redistribution of her father's inheritance, because at the previous arrangement it was not contemplated that Richeza would need a place to live. She received Saalfeld, a possession that did not belong to the Lower Rhine area in which the Ezzonen dynasty tried to build a coherent dominion. Richeza still called herself queen of Poland, a privilege that was given to her by the emperor. In Saalfeld she led the Polish opposition that supported her son Casimir, who in 1039, with the help of Conrad II, finally obtained the Polish throne. During the years 1040–1047, Richeza lived in Klotten in the Moselle region. On 7 September 1047 Richeza's brother Duke Otto II