Page "Mieszko I of Poland" Paragraph 13

The third theory links the name of Mieszko with his other name, Dagome, as it appeared in the document called Dagome iudex.

We know this document only from a copy prepared by an anonymous monk who was not familiar with Polish language or Polish names.

It is possible that while copying the document he made a mistake and wrote down Dagome instead of Dagomer or even Dagomir.

The name Dagomir is used to this day and its construction is similar to other Polish names like for example: Władimir / Włodzimierz or Casimir / Kazimierz.

The evolution of the “- mir ” element to “- mierz ” is due to two separate developments: first, the regular change of the vowel " i " to "( i ) e " before " r ", and second, the modification of the nominative case by the vocative for certain names ( hence, Kazimierz replaced Kazimier based on the vocative Kazimierze ).

It is debatable whether the name Mieszko is a nickname formed from the second part of the name * Dago-mierz, since the merger in pronunciation of " sz " with the devoiced " rz " which would appear in this position is quite recent.

The word mir can be translated as peace.

However, some historians believe that the word " Dagome " is a melding of two names: the Christian " Dago ," for " Dagobert " ( Mieszko's hypothetical baptismal name ), and the Slavic " Me ," for " Mieszko.

" The Latin word " iudex " (" judge ") would be used in the meaning of " prince.

" Another interpretation is that " Dagome iudex " is a corruption of " Ego Mesco dux " (" I, Prince Mieszko ").