![An artist's impression of Gallus Anonymus' portrait by Henryk Piatkowski [pl]], 1898. Album pisarzy polskich page011 - Gallus.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/Album_pisarzy_polskich_page011_-_Gallus.jpg/220px-Album_pisarzy_polskich_page011_-_Gallus.jpg)
Gallus Anonymus, also known by his Polonized variant Gall Anonim, is the name traditionally given to the anonymous author of Gesta principum Polonorum (Deeds of the Princes of the Poles), composed in Latin between 1112 and 1118. Gallus is generally regarded as the first historian to have described the history of Poland. His Chronicles are an obligatory text for university courses in Polish history. Very little is known of the author himself and it is widely believed that he was a foreigner.
The only source for Gallus' real name is a note made by Prince-Bishop of Warmia Marcin Kromer (1512–89) in the margin of folio 119 of the "Heilsberg manuscript." [1] It reads: Gallus hanc historiam scripsit, monachus, opinor, aliquis, ut ex proemiis coniicere licet qui Boleslai tertii tempore vixit (Gallus wrote this history, some monk, in my opinion, who lived in the time of Boleslaus III Wrymouth, as can be conjectured from the preface.') It is not known whether Kromer intended the word "Gallus" as a proper name or as a reference to the author's nationality (Gallus in this period normally means "a Frenchman"), nor what he based his identification on. [1]
The Heilsberg manuscript, one of three extant witnesses of the Gesta, was written between 1469 and 1471. From the mid-16th to 18th centuries, it was kept in the town of Heilsberg (today Lidzbark Warmiński, Poland). It was later published at the behest of Prince-Bishop of Warmia Adam Stanisław Grabowski (1698–1766). [1]
The author of the Gesta wrote little about himself and was not written about in contemporary sources. What Gallus did write about himself may be summed up as follows: Before going to Poland, he likely spent some time in Hungary, where he met Polish duke Boleslaus III Wrymouth; he was a pilgrim; he revered Saint Giles; and he knew little about Scandinavia.
Historians agree that Gallus' writing style indicates a substantial education, available only to nobles and monks; and that he was an experienced writer, thus likely also to have authored earlier works. The clericus de penna vivens ("cleric living by his pen") is suspected by Danuta Borawska [2] and Marian Plezia [3] to have earlier penned the Gesta Hungarorum (Deeds of the Hungarians) and the Translatio Sancti Nicolai (The Transfer of St. Nicholas); and his writing style is thought to have been influenced by recent literary developments that were then common only in northern France and the Netherlands.
Budapest's Vajdahunyad Castle features an evocative bronze statue of a seated Anonymus in monk's habit, the cowl obscuring his face.
Gallus' place of origin is unknown. Several theories have been advanced. Traditional scholarship has assumed that he was French (hence Gallus), perhaps from France or Flanders. [4] Plezia has suggested that he was a monk from Saint Giles' Monastery in Provence, France. [3]
Some scholars have pointed out that Gallus' writing style resembles that of Hildebert of Lavardin (aka Hildebert of Tours) and have thought that Gallus had been educated at Le Mans or, according to Zathey, [5] at Chartres or Bec in Normandy.
Before World War II, French historian Pierre David advanced a theory that Gallus might have been a Hungarian monk from Saint Giles' Monastery in Somogyvár who accompanied Boleslaus in his return from Hungary to Poland. This theory enjoys little support. [6]
Another theory has been gaining ground in Poland. Professors Danuta Borawska and Tomasz Jasiński of Poznań University have presented a case for a Venetian origin. [7] [8] It has been argued that Gallus may have been a monk from St. Giles' Monastery at the Lido, Venice, Italy, [9] and Professor Plezia has subsequently concurred. [10]
The Venetian theory was first broached in 1904 by Polish historian Tadeusz Wojciechowski. [8] In 1965 it was proposed again by Borawska but did not win acceptance. [8] In recent years, however, it has been revisited and has now gained positive reviews from several Polish medievalists. It has been supported by Professors Janusz Bieniak, Roman Michałowski and Wojciech Fałkowski. [8] [11] Fałkowski has noted that the two theories—French and Italian—may be less mutually exclusive than some think, as Gallus might have been born in Italy, been a monk at the Lido, and have later traveled to France and Hungary. [11]
According to Tomasz Jasiński, who in 2008 published a book on Gallus, [12] the chronicler came to Poland over the Via Egnatia across the Slavic-speaking countries of "Epirus, Thrace, Dalmatia, Croatia, Istria." When Jasiński compared the Chronicle with the Transfer of St. Nicholas, he found over 100 similarities. Jasiński has concluded that Gallus, like many Venetian clergymen of the time, had a native knowledge of both Italian and Slavic languages. [13]
However, Paul W. Knoll and Frank Schaer regard the Venetian suggestion as "too weak to be considered seriously." [14] In Poland, medievalist Professor Jacek Banaszkiewicz supports a French over an Italian origin for Gallus Anonymus. [11]
The anonymous author of the Gesta influenced the subsequent course of Poland's history, in that his version of early Polish history held the ruler's authority to be inferior to that of God, as expressed by the voice of the people (as in the Latin proverb, " Vox populi, vox Dei ").
This concept reinforced Poles' electoral traditions and their tendency to disobey and question authority. Via the Chronicles of Wincenty Kadłubek and the Sermons of Stanisław of Skarbimierz, it contributed to the development of the unique "Golden Liberty" that would characterize the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, whose kings were elected and were obliged to obey the Sejm (parliament).
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Bolesław III Wrymouth, also known as Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed, was the duke of Lesser Poland, Silesia and Sandomierz between 1102 and 1107 and over the whole of Poland between 1107 and 1138. He was the only child of Duke Władysław I Herman and his first wife, Judith of Bohemia.
Lestek was the second duke of Polans, and son of Siemowit, born c. 870–880, mentioned in the oldest Polish chronicle, Gesta principum Polonorum by Gallus Anonimus. The dukes of Polans were the foundation of the Piast dynasty, the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland.
Siemomysł or Ziemomysł was the third duke of Polans of the Piast dynasty, and the father of Poland's first Christian ruler, Mieszko I. He was listed by Gallus Anonymous in his Gesta principum Polonorum and was the son of Lestek, the second known Duke of the Polans. According to Gallus' account and historical research, Siemomysł has been credited with leaving the lands of the Polans, Goplans and Masovians to his son Mieszko I, who further expanded them during his reign.
Miecław was a cup-bearer of king Mieszko II Lambert, who in c. 1038 had proclaimed independence of the state that he ruled, from the Duchy of Poland, beginning the rebellion that lasted until his death in 1047.
Bezprym was the duke of Poland from 1031 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Bolesław the Brave, but was deprived of the succession by his father, who around 1001 sent him to Italy in order to become a monk at one of Saint Romuald's hermitages in Ravenna.
Chościsko is a legendary figure in Polish prehistory, father of Piast the Wheelwright, the founder of the Piast dynasty. His name occurs in the first Polish chronicle, Cronicae et gesta ducum sive principum Polonorum by Gallus Anonymus, where the author refers three times to Piast as the son of Chościsko.
The Gesta principum Polonorum is the oldest known medieval chronicle documenting the history of Poland from the legendary times until 1113. Written in Latin by an anonymous author, it was most likely completed between 1112 and 1118, and its extant text is present in three manuscripts with two distinct traditions. Its anonymous author is traditionally called Gallus, a foreigner and outcast from an unknown country, who travelled to the Kingdom of Poland via Hungary. Gesta was commissioned by Poland's then ruler, Boleslaus III Wrymouth; Gallus expected a prize for his work, which he most likely received and of which he lived the rest of his life.
The Popielids were a legendary ruling dynasty of either the Polans, Goplans or both tribes, founded by Leszko II. They supposedly ruled the lands of Poland prior to the start of the Piast dynasty. Two Polish families claim descent from the Popielids: the Pobog-Pobodze clan is a junior branch of the Popielid dynasty, rulers of Poland from the 7th through 9th centuries, before the era of Bolescic-Piast dynasty another junioral branch of the Popielid dynasty.
Adelaide of Hungary was the only daughter of King Andrew I of Hungary. It has generally been assumed that her mother was Anastasia of Kiev, but it has been hypothesised that Adelaide could be the result of Andrew I and a different wife, due to the idea that Yaroslav the Wise wouldn't marry his daughter to an exiled dynast, who didn't appear to have a strong claim to the throne, for which he wouldn't gain serious support for until 1045, five years after Adelaide is thought to be born.
Lechites, also known as the Lechitic tribes, is a name given to certain West Slavic tribes who inhabited modern-day Poland and eastern Germany, and were speakers of the Lechitic languages. Distinct from the Czech–Slovak subgroup, they are the closest ancestors of ethnic Poles and of Pomeranians, Lusatians and Polabians.
Sieciech was a medieval Polish magnate and statesman.
Świętosława of Poland was the third wife of Duke Vratislaus II of Bohemia and the first Queen of Bohemia as of 1085.
Mieszko Kazimierzowic was a Polish prince member of the House of Piast. According to some scholars, he was probably Duke of Kuyavia since 1058 until his death.
Martin or Martin of Gniezno was a medieval prelate based in Principality of Poland. He was Archbishop of Gniezno, head of the Polish church, from ca. 1092/99 until 1112/27. The preface of the Gesta principum Polonorum, the anonymous historical narrative whose author is usually referred to as Gallus Anonymus, begins with an address to Archbishop Martin.
Chronica principum Poloniae is a historiographical work written in Silesia, ca, 1382–1386. Its authorship is ascribed to Canon Peter of Byczyna (1328–1389).
Bolesław II the Bold, also known as the Generous was Duke of Poland from 1058 to 1076 and third King of Poland from 1076 to 1079. He was the eldest son of Duke Casimir I the Restorer and Maria Dobroniega of Kiev.
Selencia was an early 12th-century entity at or near the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, mentioned only in the chronicles of Gallus Anonymus, who listed it as one of three northern neighbors of Piast Poland around 1115 (the other ones being "Pomorania" and "Pruzia." It has been proposed that Selencia was a misspelling of Luticia, or that Selencia was a short-lived state centered on the Oder estuary, probably destroyed when in 1122 Boleslaw III Wrymouth of Poland defeated, according to the annals of Cracow, a "Zuetopolc dux Odrensis."
Chronica Polonorum or Cronica Polonorum may refer to:
Battle of Casimir I with Miecław was a battle fought in 1047, during the Miecław's Rebellion, between the Duchy of Poland led by Casimir I the Restorer and its ally, Kievan Rus' led by Yaroslav the Wise, against the forces of Miecław, the self-proclaimed leader of his state, with his ally, the Duchy of Pomerelia. The battle was fought near an unknown river in Masovia.
Miecław's Rebellion was a military conflict fought from c. 1037 to 1047 between the Duchy of Poland under Casimir I the Restorer and its ally, Kievan Rus', led by Yaroslav the Wise, against the forces of Miecław, the self-proclaimed leader of a breakaway state, who was allied with the Duchy of Pomerelia and the Yotvingians. The war began with the declaration of independence of Miecław's State in Masovia from the Duchy of Poland in c. 1037. It ended in 1047 with Miecław's death and the state being reconquered by Poland.
