Daniel, forgetting the king’s opposition, and remembering only his
personal kindness, did no harm to Prince Bela, who was Mystislav’s
son-in-law. He allowed him to go back to Hungary, and even went with
him to the Dniester. The intriguing boyars bowed now before Daniel, and
only one of them, Sudislav the Traitor, went with the king’s son. The
people threw stones at this boyar, and shouted: “Be off, thou
disturber, thou traitor!”
The next year, however, a new plot was formed against Daniel, and
during the decade setting in with 1230 conspiracies and disturbances
did not cease throughout Galitch. The boyars called Daniel prince, but
seized for themselves everything in the country. A dissolution of all
social bonds and a general decay of loyalty spread with rising
rapidity. Formerly only boyars such as Sudislav or Volodislav, called
Red Hair, were exalted, but now a great host broke in, boyars of whom
no man had heard until that day; notorious were Voldrys and Klimyata,
but no one knew of what stock they were. One Dobruslav seized the whole
lower country, though he had no more right to it than a robber. At the
same time a certain Grigory Vassilevitch took the upper part of
Peremysl. A priest’s grandson, one Suditch, plundered actively on every
side. Famous also were Lazar Domajiritch and Ivor Molibojitch, two
lawless men of low origin. Such boyars “made great disturbance and
robbed much,” says the chronicler. And these men were managing the
fortunes of Galitch, treating now with Hungarians, now with Poles, and
now with Russian princes. From one side they rushed to another, and
again turned from that one with offers of service to him who could
promise the profit at which they were grasping. In such a condition of
Galitch Daniel now lost his heritage, not preserving one foot of land
for himself in all that great region, and then again he returned to the
throne of his father with apparent security.
The Hungarian king, at the advice of boyars, came sometimes himself,
and sometimes he sent his sons thither. Bailski, with his brethren,
took the side of the boyars and rose up in arms against Daniel. Finally
Michael of Chernigoff appeared to take vengeance on Daniel for
harassing his land, but, besides this, Michael remembered the offense
against his own kinsmen in Galitch, the vile death inflicted by boyars
on Igor’s sons. There, on the spot where their blood had been shed in
the city of Galitch, he felt it his duty to win back the honor of his
family. Hence Galitch was torn into bits and was ruled at short
intervals, now by its own men, and now by outsiders. More than once
intriguing boyars fell at Daniel’s feet and begged mercy, for the
common people adhered to him firmly at all times. At last Bailski
ceased his scheming: “I see myself,” said he to Daniel, “that I can be
with no one but thee.” And then the Poles made peace with Daniel. Next
the Hungarian king, Bela IV, made peace.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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