Gesta principum Polonorum

2 Author

Chronica Polonorum redirects here. For other uses,

see Chronica Polonorum (disambiguation).

Main article: Gallus Anonymous

The Gesta principum Polonorum (English: Deeds of the

Princes of the Poles) is a medieval gesta, or deeds narrative, concerned with Duke Bolesaw III Wrymouth, his
ancestors, and the Polish principality during and before
his reign. Probably completed between 1112 and 1118,
the extant text is present in three manuscripts with two
distinct traditions. Its author, though anonymous, is traditionally called Gallus, probably a non-Pole connected
with the monastery of Saint-Gilles or somewhere else in
western Europe.

The author of the Gesta is unknown, but is referred to by

historigraphic convention as Gallus, a Latin word for a
person from France or Gaul (though also, potentially, a
forename). The only source for Gallus existence comes
not from the text but rather from a note made by historian
and Bishop of Warmia Martin Kromer (151289) in the
margin of folio 119 of the Heilsberg manuscript.[5] It
is not known why Bishop Kromer called the author Gallus.[6]

The book is one of the earliest written documents on

the history of Poland, but also gives a unique Eastern
European perspective on the general history of Europe,
supplementing what has been handed down by Western
and Southern European historians. It pre-dates the Gesta
Danorum and the next major source on early history of
Poland, the Chronica seu originale regum et principum
Poloniae, by roughly a century.

In Gottfried Lengnichs printed edition, Lengnich named

the author as Martin Gallus based on a misreading of
Jan Dugosz, where Gallus was conated with Martin
of Opava.[6] Martin Gallus became the standard name
in German scholarship for some time to come, though
this identication is now rejected by most historians.[6]
Historian Maximilian Gumplowicz identied the author
as Baldwin Gallus,[7] allegedly Bishop of Kruszwica,
though likewise this theory has failed to gain general
acceptance.[6]
There have been frequent attempts to identify Gallus
origins from clues in the text . Marian Plezia and
Pierre David both argued that Gallus came from Provence
in what is now southern France, and was closely connected with the Benedictine monastery of Saint-Gilles.[8]
Another historian, Karol Maleczyski, argued that the
evidence suggests a connection with Flanders,[9] while
Danuta Borawska and Tomasz Jasiski have argued based
on stylistic evidence that he was connected with Venice
and that he authored an anonymous translatio of St
Nicholas.[10] Marian Plezia argued in 1984 that his writing style suggests an education in one of the schools of
central France, likely Tours or Orlans.[11]

Title

The title intended for or originally given to the work is

not clear. In the initial capital of the text in the Zamoyski
Codex, a rubric styles the work the Cronica Polonorum,
while in the same manuscript the preface of Book I
opens with Incipiunt Cronice et gesta ducum sive principum
Polonorum ("[Here] begins the chronicles and deeds of
the dukes or princes of the Poles).[1] The incipit for
Book II entitles the work Liber Tertii Bolezlaui (Book
of Bolesaw III), and that for Book III Liber de Gestis
Boleslaui III (Book of the Deeds of Bolesaw III).[2]
These however are not reliable as such things are often
added later.[3]

Plezia and others further argue that Gallus extensive

knowledge of Hungary testify to connections there, postulating a connection to the Benedictine monastery of
Somogyvr in Hungary, a daughter-house of St Gilles.[12]
He appears to have been closely connected to the Awdacy clan, a kindred of Norse or Rus origin who had
been successful under Boleslaw II, and who had been exiled to Hungary but returned to prominence in Polish affairs during the reign of Boleslaw III.[13] As he stated
that the city of Gniezno ... means nest in Slavic, it
is thought that the author may have known the language
of the country.[14] All that is certain is that he was a

The latest editors and only English translators of the text

style it Gesta principum Polonorum (the deeds of the
princes of the Poles), primarily to acknowledge its faith
with the gesta genre (and the likely authenticity of this
part of the title) and to avoid confusion with the later work
known as the Chronica principum Poloniae (chronicle of
the princes of Poland).[4]
1

5 PRINTED EDITIONS

monk and a non-Slav living in Poland, perhaps on a Polish 4.3 Heilsberg Codex
benece.[15]
The third and latest witness to the text is the version in
the so-called Heilsberg Codex.[19] This version was written down between 1469 and 1471, based on an earlier
3 Date
version.[19] The latter had been written at Krakw around
1330, was in ekno monastery (Greater Poland) in 1378,
Generally, it is thought that the original text was com- and had been transferred to the monastery at Trzemeszno
posed at some point between 1112 and 1117.[16] The before coming into the hands of Martin Kromer, Bishop
dedicatory letter on the preface of the Gesta xes com- of Warmia (15791589).[20]
pletion of the origin text between 1112 and 1118.[17]
The last event mentioned in the work is the pilgrimage Between the mid-16th century and the 18th century, the
of Boleslaw III to Szkesfehrvr in Hungary, which oc- manuscript was located in the German-speaking Prussian
curred in either 1112 or 1113.[17] The work was almost town of Heilsberg (today the[19]Polish town of Lidzbark
certainly completed before the revolt of Skarbimir in Warmiski), hence the name. Unlike the version in the
111718.[17] There is some evidence that several inter- Codex Czartoryscianus, this is an independent witness to
National Library in
polations were added subsequently. For instance, there the original text. It is currently in the [19]
Warsaw
as
Ms.
8006,
fols.
119247.
is reference to the descendants of Duke Swietobor of
Pomerania (ii.29).[18]
The Heilsberg text omits large sections of text present in
the other two manuscripts, for instance omitting several
chapters like 27 and 28 in Book I.[21]

Manuscripts and prints

The Gesta is not extant in the original, but instead survives

in three dierent manuscripts representing two dierent traditions. The Codex Zamoyscianus (Z) and Codex
Czartoryscianus (S) represent the rst, and earliest documented tradition, the latter being derived from the former. The Heilsberg codex, though later and surviving in
less detail, is an independent witness to the text and constitutes the second distinct tradition.

4.1

Codex Zamoyscianus

The earliest version lies in the manuscript known as

the Codex Zamoyscianus or Zamoyski Codex.[19] This
was written down in the late 14th-century, probably in
Krakow between 1380 and 1392.[19] It was located in
the library of the aski family until the 15th century.[19]
Thereabouts Sandivogius (Sdziwj) of Czechoj (d.
1476), a canon of Gniezno Cathedral and friend of the
historian Jan Dugosz, came into possession of it.[19] It
was later in the library of the counts of Zamo, but is
now in the National Library in Warsaw as Ms. BOZ cim.
28.[19]

4.2

Codex Czartoryscianus

A second version of the Gesta lies in the Codex Czartoryscianus, also called the Sdziwj Codex.[19] Between
1434 and 1439 Sandivogius of Czecho had a second
copy made for him, produced from the version in the
Codex Zamoyscianus.[19] As it is a direct copy, its usefulness is limited in reconstructing the original text.[19]
This version currently lies in the Czartoryski Museum of
Krakw, Ms. 1310, fols. 242307.[19]

5 Printed editions
The text of the Gesta was printed for the rst time in 1749,
when an edition based on the Heilsberg Codex was published by Gottfried Lengnich, reprinted two decades later
by Laurence Mizler de Kolof, and has since been printed
in many editions.[22]
Gottfried Lengnich (ed.), Vincentius Kadlubko et
Martinus Gallus scriptores historiae Polonae vetustissimi cum duobus anonymis ex ms. bibliothecae episcopalis Heilsbergensis edititi, (Danzig, 1749)
Laurence Mizler de Kolof (ed.), Historiarum
Poloniae et Magni Ducatus Lithuaniae Scriptorum
Quotquot Ab Initio Reipublicae Polonae Ad Nostra
Usque Temporar Extant Omnium Collectio Magna,
(Warsaw, 1769)
Jan Wincenty Bandtkie (ed.), Martini Galli Chronicon Ad Fidem Codicum: Qui Servantur In Pulaviensi
Tabulario Celsissimi Adami Princpis Czartoryscii,
Palatini Regni Poloniarum/ Denuo Recensuit ...,
(Warsaw, 1824)
J. Szlachtowski and P. Koepke, Chronica et
Annales Aevi Salici, in Georg Henirich Pertz
(ed.), Monumenta Germaniae Historica, (Hannover,
1851), SS IX, pp. 41478
A. Bielowski (ed.), Monumenta Poloniae Historica,
(Lemberg, 1864) pp. 379484
Ludwig Finkel & Stanisaw Ktrzyski (eds.), Galli
Anonymi Chronicon, (Lemberg, 1898)

3
Julian Krzyanowski (ed.), Galla Anonima Kronika : Podobizna Fotograczna Rekopisu Zamoyskich z Wieku XIV. Wyda i Wstepem Opatrzy Julian Krzyzanowski./ Galli anonymi Chronicon codicis
saeculi XIV Zamoscianus appellati reproductio paleographica, (Warsaw, 1946)
Karol Maleczyski (ed.), Galli Anonymi Cronica et
Gesta Ducum sive Principum Polonorum/ Anonima
tzw. Galla Kronika Czyli Dzieje Ksit i Wadcw
Polskich, (Krakw, 1952)
Ljudmila Mikhailovna Popova (ed.), Gall Anonim,
Khronika u Deianiia Kniazei ili Pravitelei Polskikh,
(Moscow, 1961)
Josef Bujnoch, Polens Anfnge: Gallus Anonymus,
Chronik und Taten de Herzge und Frsten von
Polen, (Graz, Styria, 1978)
Knoll & Schaer (eds.), Gesta Principum Polonorum:
The Deeds of the Princes of the Poles, (Budapest,
2003)

The rst Book claims to rely on oral tradition, and is

largely legendary in character until the reign of Mieszko
I.[27] The earlier material tells of the rises of the Piasts
from peasants to ruler, a tale common in early Slavonic
folk-myth.[28]
Book two, of 50 chapters, traces the birth of Boleslaw,
his boyhood deeds and documents the wars waged
by himself and count palatine Skarbimir against the
Pomeranians.[29] Book three, of 26 chapters, continues
the story of the wars waged by Boleslaw and the Poles
against the Pomeranians, the war against the German emperor Heinrich V and the Bohemians, and against the
Baltic Prussians.[30]

7 Notes
[1] Knoll & Schaer (eds.), Gesta Principum Polonorum, p.
xxiv; p. 10.
[2] Knoll & Schaer (eds.), Gesta Principum Polonorum, pp.
116, 210

Jan Wincenty Bandtkie, who also used Heilsberg, was the

rst to utilise the Codex Zamoyscianus tradition.[22] As
the Heilsberg Codex was lost between the 1830s and
the 1890s, texts in this period make no original use of
it.[22] Finkel & Ktrzyskis 1898 edition likewise makes
no use of Heilsberg.[23] Julian Krzyanowski produced
the rst facsimile in the 1940s, while in the 1950s Karol
Maleczyskis edition was the rst to collate all three
manuscripts.[23]

[3] Knoll & Schaer (eds.), Gesta Principum Polonorum, p.

xxiv.

The text has been fully translated several times. It was

translated into Polish by Roman Grodescki by 1923,
though this was not published until 1965.[3] There was a
Russian translation in 1961, a German translation in 1978
and an English translation in 2003.[3]

[7] Glumpowicz, Bischof Balduin, passim

[4] Knoll & Schaer (eds.), Gesta Principum Polonorum, p.

xxiv, & n. 20.
[5] Dalewski, Ritual and Politics, pp. 23, n. 3; Knoll and
Schaer (eds.), Gesta Principum Polonorum, pp. xxivv
[6] Knoll and Schaer (eds.), Gesta Principum Polonorum, p.
xxv

[8] Dalewski, Ritual and Politics, p. 3, n. 5 for references

[9] Dalewski, Ritual and Politics, p. 3, n. 6 for references
[10] Dalewski, Ritual and Politics, p. 3, n. 7 for detail and
references

The narrative

The work begins with an address and dedication to

Martin, Archbishop of Gniezno, and to the bishops of
Polands regions, Simon (Bishop of Plock, c. 110229),
Paul (Bishop of Pozna, 1098c. 1112), Maurus (Bishop
of Krakw, 111018) and Zyroslaw (Bishop of Wroclaw,
111220).[24] Thomas Bisson argued that the text was primarily written in the gesta genre of Latin literature as a
celebration of Duke Boleslaw III Wrymouth, defending
his actions and legimizing his dynasty (compare the nearcontemporary Deeds of Louis the Fat).[25]

[11] Dalewski, Ritual and Politics, p. 3, n. 8 for reference;

Plezia, Nowe Studia, pp. 11120
[12] Dalewski, Ritual and Politics, pp. 34, n. 9 for references
[13] Knoll & Schaer (eds.), Gesta Principum Polonorum, p.
xxxiixxxiii
[14] Knoll & Schaer (eds.), Gesta Principum Polonorum, p. 16,
n. 2
[15] Bisson, On Not Eating Polish Bread in Vain, pp. 275
89; Knoll & Schaer (eds.), Gesta Principum Polonorum, p.
xxvi

The work is divided into three books, focused on geneal- [16] Tymowski, Oral Tradition, p. 243
ogy, politics and warfare. Book one, of 31 chapters, treats
[17] Knoll & Schaer (eds.), Gesta Principum Polonorum, p.
the deeds of the ancestors of Boleslaw III (beginning
xxxi
with the legendary Piast the Wheelwright), and their wars
against the Germans and Slavic peoples such as the Rus, [18] Knoll & Schaer (eds.), Gesta Principum Polonorum, p.
the Bohemians, the Pomeranians and the Mazovians.[26]
xxxi, n. 41

[19] Knoll & Schaer (eds.), Gesta Principum Polonorum, p. xx

[20] Knoll & Schaer (eds.), Gesta Principum Polonorum, pp.
xxxxi.
[21] Knoll & Schaer (eds.), Gesta Principum Polonorum, p.
xxi.
[22] Knoll & Schaer (eds.), Gesta Principum Polonorum, p.
xxii.
[23] Knoll & Schaer (eds.), Gesta Principum Polonorum, p.
xxiii
[24] Knoll & Schaer (eds.), Gesta Principum Polonorum, pp.
23, and ns. 24
[25] See Bisson, On Not Eating Polish Bread in Vain, pp.
27589
[26] Knoll & Schaer (eds.), Gesta Principum Polonorum, pp.
3115
[27] Tymowski, Oral Tradition, pp. 24345
[28] Tymowski, Oral Tradition, pp. 25152
[29] Knoll & Schaer (eds.), Gesta Principum Polonorum, pp.
117209
[30] Knoll & Schaer (eds.), Gesta Principum Polonorum, pp.
21187

References
Bisson, Thomas N. (1998), On Not Eating Polish
Bread in Vain : Resonance and Conjuncture in the
Deeds of the Princes of Poland, Viator: Medieval
and Renaissance Studies 29: 27589, ISSN 00835897
Dalewski, Zbigniew (2008), Ritual and Politics:
Writing the History of a Dynastic Conict in Medieval Poland, East Central and Eastern Europe in
the Middle Ages, 4501450, Volume 3, Leiden:
Brill, ISBN 978-90-04-16657-8, ISSN 1872-8103
Gumplowicz, Maximilian (1895), Bischof Balduin
Gallus von Kruszwica, Vienna: Tempsky
Knoll, Paul W.; Schaer, Frank, eds. (2003), Gesta
Principum Polonorum / The Deeds of the Princes of
the Poles, Central European Medieval Texts, General Editors Jnos M. Bak, Urszula Borkowska,
Giles Constable & Gbor Klaniczay, Volume 3, Budapest/ New York: Central European University
Press, ISBN 963-9241-40-7
Plezia, Marian (1984), Nowe Studia nad Gallem
Anonimem, in Chopocka, Helena, Mente et Litteris: O Kulturze i Spoeczestwie Wiekw rednich,
Pozan: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im.
Adama Mickiewicza, pp. 11120

REFERENCES

Tymowski, Michal (1996), Oral Tradition, Dynastic Legend and Legitimation of Ducal Power in the
Process of the Formation of the Polish State, in
Claessen, Henri J. M.; Oosten, Jarich G., Ideology
and the Formation of Early States, Studies in Human Society, Leiden: E. J. Brill, pp. 24255, ISBN
90-04-10470-4, ISSN 0920-6221

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1

Text

Gesta principum Polonorum Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gesta_principum_Polonorum?oldid=664625544 Contributors: Llywrch, Halibutt, Matthead, Piotrus, Aecis, Logologist, Aegis Maelstrom, Deacon of Pndapetzim, G.W., BD2412, Lendorien, Intgr, YurikBot,
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Images

9.3

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