The Image of Women in the Polish Chronicle of Master Vincent (called Kadlubek)

The Image of Women in the Polish Chronicle
of Master Vincent (called K adlubek)
EDWARD SKIBINSKI (POZNAN)
Master Vincent was born in c. 1154 and died in March 1223. 1208 to 1218
he was bishop of Cracow, afterwards he joint the Cistercian monastery at
J􀈍drzej6w, where he passed away.1
On the basis of traces of the works of John of Salisbury, Alan of Lilie,
Radulph Ardent and Placentinus to be found in his chronicle as weil as his
knowledge of Roman Law and classical Roman authors we can suppose that
he had studied in France in his youth. 2 The chronicle is written in Genus
Demonstrativum.
The chronicle belongs to the kind of Gesta Ducum in which the ruler
was the hero. The the first three books of the chronicle are written in form
of a dialogue between two men of Church, John archbishop of Gniezno and
Matthew the bishop of Cracow; Matthew is telling the history of Poland and
John comments the told history, starting from the legendary ruler Gracchus
up to the reign of Prince Boleslaw K􀄴dzierzawy. The first book describes
the prehistorical time of Poland up to the fall of Pompilius (Popiel) . Ths
second book describes the history of Poland from the first ruler of the
Piasts‘ dynasty Ziemowit up to the fall of Zbigniew brother of Boleslaw
Krzywousty. The third book describes the rule of Boleslaw Krzywousty and
ends with the rule of Boleslaw K􀄴dzierzawy. The fourth book is written in
1 The best monograph is the foreword to the latest Polish translation of Master Vincent’s
chronicle by Brygida Kürbis: Mi􀁲trz Wincenty (tzw. Kadlubek), Kronika Pol􀁲ka, translated
and prepared by B. Kürbis, (1992), p. IV – CXXXII, 1-322; there are two critical
editions of the text: ‚Magistri Vincentii Chronicon Polonorum‘, ed. August Bielowski, in
Monumenta Poloniae Hi􀁲torica, t.II, (Lw6w, 1872, reprint Warszawa, 1961), p. 193-453.
‚Magistri Vincentii dicti Kadlubek Chronica. Polonorum‘, edidit pra.efatione notiisque instruxit
Marianus Plezia, in Monumenta Poloniae Hi􀁲torica, Nova Series, t. XI, (Krak6w,
1994), p. XXXIV, 213.
2 See my sources of the erudition of Kadlubek in Roczniki Historyczne, LX, (1994), p.
163-172 (in Polish).
54
a monological way, starts with the rule of Mieszko the Old and ends in the
years 1201/1205.
The chronicle does not give any dates. The author’s narrativs is based
on an oral local tradition and on written sources preserved from antiquity
and viewed from the point of a medieval scholar. Although Master Vincent’s
chronicle is not the first Polish one, its author is Polish himself, while an
earlier chronicle was written by a Benedictine monk whose hypotethical
place of origin is supposed to have been in southern France.
The purpose of my treatise is not to describe the whole chronicle but
to find out the image of women on its basis. The prehistorical picture of
Poland is based mainly on oral sources although some reconstructions of
the historical past were made by the author in accordance with the method
used by historians in those days. These were mainly based upon his large
knowledge of ancient history. Each time when we analyze the ehronkle we
must remind those two kinds of knowledge.
The first queen who was described in the chronicle is Wanda, daughter
of the mythological King Cracus appearing under the narne Graccus. The
whole story of Wanda goes as follows: King Graccus had two sons. There
appeared a drake, called holophagus, which narne comes from Greek holos
( all, whole) and phagos ( eater). The king sent his two sons to fight the drake;
they killed it. After having killed the drake, one son murdered the other
and returned to his father telling him that the brother was killed during
the fight. After his father’s death the murderer became king himself, but
the crime was discovered and he was banished. The throne passed on to
queen Wanda, sister of the two brothers. The person of Wanda is mentioned
only at this point of the story. The kingdom of Wanda was invaded by the
Leman ruler ( Lemanorum tyrannus) , seen by him as a place without proper
ruler. The two armies of Wanda and the Leman ruler were facing each
other, when the soldiers of the dux refused to fight telling that they won’t
commit a sacrilege. The Leman ruler wanted to sacrifice hirnself to the
Gods and committed suicide, wishing his soldiers to get old under feminine
ruling. Wanda wanted to stay virgin, so she did not marry anybody, had
no children, and after her death there was a long period without ruler.
Wanda’s ruling should not be treated as the rest of matriarchy. After
the two brothers had died or left respectively, whole the society had entered
55
into a liminal state ( communitas in the sense of Victor Thrner3 ) . This
could also explain the Leman ruler’s suicide as a reaction of meeting a
society being in liminal state. We could suppose that the rule of Wanda
was understood as an exception connected with the rite of purification and
not a rule giving women the same rights as men.
Such is also the commentary of archbishop John who emphasizes that
it is not in accordance with good customs for a woman to rule over gentlemen.
4 Commenting this story, John explains the agreement to Wanda’s
reign by faithfulness to her late father. The author gives also examples of
other reigning women mainly Semirarnis, noting that such women must be
outstanding and surpass in their virtue not only other women but men as
well . This gradual vision of the author is due to his opinion that women
stand on a lower Ievel than men as far as virtues are concerned.
Virtues are easier to obtain by men because of their natural possibilities.
l.Jnvirtous men are often represented as being under feminine influence.
The author describes such men as viri uxorii or effeminei. 5 As an exarnple
of such a man Pompilius (Popiel) may be regarded. In the chronicle Pompilius
is represented as the son of Pompilius the Eider who was the son of
the Polish king Lestko and Julius Caesar’s sister Julia. Julia, as the Roman
Senate refused to give her Bavaria as a dowry, was sent back to her brother
leaving her son with her husband. Pompilius the Eider died after a short
time of rule leaving the throne to his son of the same narne. This son, after
a short time of virtuous ruling, got under his wife’s influence, poisoned his
uncles and led a sinful life. His wife is presented as a strong-willed person,
and she prepared the crime, leaving to her busband only the part of the
performer. Afterwards, Pompilius was devonred by mice. The ruler who
used to be virtuous before had becarne a murderer. Although he had done
all the evil under his wife’s influence, the chronicle describes him as the only
guilty person. Therefore, he was devoured by mice, and there is no trace
that the same punishment met his wife. The world of persons acting in the
chronicle is the world of men, and women can only influence this world. The
3 Victor W. Turner, The Ritual Process. Structure and Antistructure, (Chicago, 1969),
p. 131-165.
4 Cf. Licet namque bonis videatur moribus dissonum feminam principibus imperare . . . :
Magistri Vincenti dicti Kadlubek Cronica Polonorum, p. 13.
5 Cf. ibidem p. 28: Hic fructus uiros sequitur uxorios . . . .
56
punishment was right for the bad man under woman’s infiuence (feminea
prudentia). Feminine infiuence over men became often the cause of military
and political defeat. The Daci, e. g., who were defeated in their war with
the Poles, were punished in such a way that one obliged them to fulfill the
feminine duties in the intercourse with their wives, putting their feet at the
place of their heads (upside down) .6. The Polish were defeated as well later
on out of the same reason of getting weak under female infiuence.
The second book of the chronicle begins in pagan times with the description
of the Piast dynasty getting the throne. There is the description
of the married peasant couple Repice (Rzepica) and Past (Piast). In the
whole story the author does not make a difference between the husband
and the wife, presenting the only image of this kind in the whole chronicle.
The next married couple were the first Christian ruler of Poland, Mieszko
I, and his wife Dobrawa. In contrast to the previous description in Gall’s
Anonymous chronicle, Master Vincent tries to emphasize the outstanding
position of Mieszko during the Christianisation of Poland. Mieszko had
seven pagan wives who, after his marriage to Dobrawa, were sent away.
rviieszko decided to become Christian taking into account that the difference
of religion could be an obstacle in the marriage. That way, in Gall’s
Anonymous chronicle the story of persuading Mieszko to become Christian
is reduced to this short picture.
Boleslaw Chrobry was acknowledged by Master Vincent’s chronicle as
the first true and right Christian Polish king. The story about the person
of Boleslaw Chrobry’s wife Emnilda is reduced to one sentence, differently
from the work of Gall Anonymous. On the other hand, Vincent did not
mention the history of the violation of the Kievian princess by Boleslaw
Chrobry which was fully accepted by Gall Anonymous.
The picture of Repice and Dobrawa was very important for Master
Vincent for introducing the image of woman not merely as the king’s wives
but also as the mothers of kings.
After a brief summary of the rule of Boleslaw Chrobry’s son Mieszko
II, the author presents the lives of his wife and son. What seems to be
characteristic for the way of writing of Kadlubek, is the introduction of the
wife of the ruler after describing his death, without even mentioning her
first name. This is due to the specific understanding of the historical genre
6 Ibidem p. 7-8.
57
by 􀌽1aster Vincent whose topic were the rulers‘ good or bad deeds in the
field of politics or military achievements. The ruler’s private life was only
to be presented when it infiuenced the main subject. There are two versions
of the above mentioned story: According to the first one, after Mieszko ’s I I
death, his son not yet being o f full age, the ruler’s wife took over power; she
is presented as the sister of emperor Otto III. After her short rule she was
driven away because she had preferred Germans to the Polish nobles. Her
son was also banished according to this version because of the fear that he
might take revenge for his mother.
According to the second story, the wife of Mieszko I I and mother of
Kazimierz died during the birth of her son. The father married a second
time, although he did not stop loving his first wife, as the author says.
The face of the son was the refiection of his mother and the son always
reminded the king of his late wife. Therefore, the stepmother decided to
kill her stepson. In order to do this she bribed a servant to kill the boy.
The servant pretended to agree but in reality he hid the boy in a monastery.
And there he stayed and was educated. After Mieszko’s II death and his
second wife’s banishment, the country was left without any ruler. Then the
servant put the boy’s origin to light. With a group of faithful knights he
got the rule over the country that was in danger to fall apart.
After the story told by Matthew, John’s commentary of these happenings
follows. The stepmother is compared to the mythological Medea, but
this example does not give any further explanations. More interesting is the
second example of queen Tomyris. After her husband’s death she fights for
her sons‘ right to the crown. But it is a slave who got power by bribery. At
last Tomyris manages to win the fight against the slave by showing to her
citizens the humiliating position of her sons and of herself. lt is an important
fact that Tomyris is not an example to be compared to the stepmother
of Kazimierz, but the story only emphazizes that a servant helped him and
saved his life. The problern risen is the stepmother fighting for the crown
and a slave impostor who uses bribery for achieving the throne. Their enemies
are in the story about Kazimierz an honest servant, and in the second
story Tomyris herself. Both stories are corrrmented by Master Kadlubek:
The worst thing is when a person from lower classes gets power. From this
point of view it has to be stressed that everybody has one’s own place in life
and does not have the right to change it. The place in society can only be
changed by a person who had risen over his social dass due to his virtues.
58
The virtues are exactly defined by Vincent and are in accordance to the
stoic and Christian moral theories.
The next story about women in this part of the chronicle occurs during
the reign of Boleslaw Szczodry. It goes like that: The king often lead wars
abroad so that his knights could not be at home for a long time. In this
situation the wives and daughters of the knights were seduced by slaves and
lived with them as with their husbands. The reasons for that were tiredness
of waiting for their men, doubts if those would ever return, and in some
cases the women were seduced by force. When the men got those news,
they came back, killed the slaves and punished the unfaithful women.
V·/e got examples concerning this case in John’s commentary. The first
story concerns Scyts where in an analogical situation women were punished
so cruelly that some of them preffered suicide. In the second story the
husbands were afraid that not enough children would be born and, therefore,
conceded other men to fulfill the duties of husbands, in order to have enough
soldiers for the country in future. The last example is commented as both
a real virtue and a quasi virtue. A ruler deserted by his soldiers returns
home and takes revenge on his knights. He lets many of them be killed.
Vincent writes that Boleslaw also takes revenge on women unpunished by
their husbands making them feed young dogs after taking away their infants.
In this situation the Cracovian bishop Stanislaw threatens Boleslaw with
anathema. The ruler orders to kill Saint Stanislaw, and when the deed fails
he hirnself murders him. In this story, a severe punishment of women is
clone by the ruler Boleslaw, and their defender is the future Saint of Po land
Stanislaw. The Saint is accused by the king as being a protector of sinful
marital adultery.
In John’s commentary of these deeds we have a note that every sin can
be forgiven by its declaration and by penitance. As the ruler attacked the
Saint even after his death, his sin could not be forgiven.
The next ruler on the Polish throne was Boleslaw’s brother Wladyslaw
who was shown as an unhappy man because he did not have a son. Together
with his wife he sent a letter to St. Gilles Abbey in France asking for prayers
for thern to receive a son. I t is interesting that the mother was not said
to be unable to bear a son but it was a sorrow for which both parents
were responsible. It is important to emphasize that such situations dealing
with both parents were not common in the chronicle. This occurred only
in accordance with family life; outside of it, the family was represented
59
only by fathers and sons. Judith, wife of Wladyslaw, died after their son
was born. This event was commented by the author as follows: The father
could now learn from it, if he would prefer to be father or mother of the
infant.. The author shows this way the hard parts of woman’s life due to
which a woman could die in pains like men did on the battle field. In order
not to remain widower for too long, Wladyslaw I married the widow of the
Hungarian king Solomon who gave him only three daughters. In spite of
the fact that the author either doesn’t rnention the ruler’s wives at all or
gives only short notes concerning them in some places, he is clearly against
a ruler being single. It is a common custorn not to give the ruler’s wife’s
name and to mention her only as part of the family.
The following ruler described together with his wife was the son of
Boleslaw Krzywousty, Wladyslaw II, grandson of Wladyslaw I. Again an
example of bad influence of his wife upon him is given. The ruler hirnself
is described as a good person who was only too much under his wife’s
influence. It is interesting that this wife, Adeleide, was German, and that
the author did not put this against her. He treats this fact as an episode of
a !arger problern which was the break of the patriarchal order in the family
causing disaster. The author writes that it is difficult for a man to win with
his wife if he once had let her win.
The fernale danger is based on woman’s kindness. Due to his wife’s
persuasion Wladyslaw II tries to take over the heritage of his brothers, he
fails and is banished together with his wife. Before, during the fight, his wife
is being described as a tiger – a nickname which the author seldom gives
to male rulers. John’s commentary to this event mentions several stories
which may enable us to understand the author himself. We have one about
different birds which, despising the company of other ones, try to stay in
the highest regions and even sleep in the space above the clouds. The
author says that the wife made Wladyslaw a ruler being greedy of power.
The most important problern here is not the woman but the greediness of
power. Wladyslaw II is, after all, responsible for everything, as he allowed
his wife to influence him. The next story which puts light to the image
of women by Master Vincent is the banishment of Wlodzimierz, the ruler
of Halich. The action done by the Polish ruler Kazimierz Sprawiedliwy is
motivated as follows. Wlodzimerz invaded the bordershore of Poland and
captured and led away the wornen of noble families. The author makes a
difference between violated virgins, even not adult ones, violated rnarried
60
women, and he adds the profaning of places of worship, taking priests by
force and the profanation of the Holy Day of Assumption. Like in the story
of the intervention and death of Saint Stanislaw we have here the joining
of church problems with womens‘ problems. This joining, as it appears,
enforces the requirement of a decision taken by the ruler.
We see at this point the negative connotation of the author concerning
violation, profanation and other ignoble deeds. Such treatment of violation
clone during war is not at all typical and makes our author quite different
from other chronicles. We must remernher that, recognised as positive by
Gall Anonymous, the violation of the Kievian princess by Boleslaw Chrobry
was omitted by Master Vincent. In this story we again have motivation of
the omission of such a fact. The author wanted to describe the positive
deeds to be followed by the chronicle’s recipients. Bad deeds could be also
a part of the stories when they were judged and punished.
The last woman who appears in the chronicle is Helena, wife of Kazimierz
Sprawiedliwy. As before, she appears in the chronicle only after her
husband’s death, when she took over power. The motivation of the nobles
to accept a woman on the throne is their faithfulness to the ruler’s children.
A similar motivation of faithfulness to the late ruler was presented
during the ruling of Wanda, daughter of Krak. Helena appears another
time in the chronicle when she passes power to her husband’s unfaithful
brother Mieszko the Old. Describing this hapening, the author explains
the action of Helena by her female confidence. One must, all the same,
remernher that this is not mainly characteristic for women. In a similar
way, Boleslaw Krzywousty one of the greatest Polish rulers, was touched by
i t.
To conclude:
The image of the world in Vincent’s chronicle is entirely hierarchical. The
subject of the chronicle are first of all the rulers‘ actions. Everyone has his
and her place, women as well. The changing of places in hierarchy is treated
as something abnormal. Such a situation occurred through the lack of an
heir as in the example of J udith, wife of Wladyslaw Herman. Another case
is the necessity to provide the duration of the dynasty in a situation when
the only adult person in the line was a woman, like Wanda and Helena.
A womanfwife does not achieve acceptance if she tries to get infiuence
upon her husband’s political decisions. But even in such a case the busband
is guilty for the consequences of bis decisions. Effeminate husbands, viri
61
uxorii or effeminei, are from the beginning condemned to disaster; the
woman even does not share the punishment of her husband. A good example
is the fate of Popiel and his family: The ruler and his sons are eaten by
mice, and there is no notice about such punishent also concerning his wife. lt
happens, although his wife was responsible for whole the crime. In contrast
to his predecessor Gall Anonymous, Vincent is strongly against violation
or other cruelties against women. The author describes St. Stanislaw as
women’s defender, although he doesn’t deny their sins. He treats marital
unfaithfulness of women as a sin but, in some way, he makes the husbands
responsible for their behaviour and is against any cruel revenge.
Woman’s fate by its biological consequences (birth of children) is worse
than the fate of man. This is, maybe, the reason for the lighter treatment
of women. A women who wants to rule is supposed to be very dangerous.
The Leman ruler ( tyrannus Lemanorum) in the fight with Wanda is being
defeated and commits suicide not wishing to live under female rules. The
problern of men who submitted women comes over and over again. Woman
is dangerous for man’s virtue and as such she is compared to the drake or
the basiliscus. The way to avoid this danger is for men to remain in male
company, and its realization is the fall of male virtue which leads to military
defeats due to which women suffer as well. The presented world is lead by
knights and ethical rules, a defeat is mainly due to turning against them.
62
MED IUM AEVU M
QUOTIDIANUM
33
KREMS 1995
HERAUSGEGEBEN VON GERHARD JARITZ
GEDRUCKT MIT UNTERSTÜTZUNG DER KULTURABTEILUNG
DES AMTES DER NIEDERÖSTERREICHISCHEN LANDESREGIERUNG
Titelgraphik Stephan J. Ttamer
Herausgeber: Medium Aevum Quotidianum. Gesellschaft zur Erforschung der materiellen
Kultur des Mittelalters. Körnermarkt 13, A-3500 Krems, Österreich. – Für den Inhalt
verantwortlich zeichnen die Autoren, ohne deren ausdrückliche Zustimmung jeglicher
Nachdruck, auch in Auszügen, nicht gestattet ist. – Druck: KOPITU Ges. m. b. H.,
Wiedner Hauptstraße 8-10, A-1050 Wien.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Vorwort
􀁪ELITTA WEISS ADAMSON, „Unus theutonicus plus bibit
quam duo latini“: Food and Drink in Late Medieval Germany
G E RHARD J A RITZ, Spiritual Materiality or 􀃵aterial Spirituality.
Cistercian Inventories of the Late Middle Ages …. … …. .
SAXDOR PETENYI, Von den Dilgen ….. . … .. . . .. …….. . .. … . .
RYSZARD GRZESIK, The European 􀃵otifs in the Polish 􀈙edieval
Chronicles …… .. .. . .. .. . .. …. .. … . . . .. .. .. . .. … … … .
EDWARD SKIBIXSKI, The Image of Women in the Polish
Chronicle of Master Vincent ( called Kadlu bek) . . . . . . .. . . . … . … . .
PIOTR BERING, Das Publikum der Elegienkomödie und der
humanistischen Komödie im spätmittelalterlichen Polen …. .. . .. ..
RE ZEl\’SIONEN:
HELGA ScHÜPPERT, Aktuelles zum Hexenthema
Eine Stadt der Frauen. Studien und Quellen zur Geschichte
der Baslerinnen im späten Mittelalter und zu Beginn der
􀈚euzeit (13.-17. Jahrhundert), hg. von Heide Wunder in
Zusammenarbeit mit Susanna Burghartz, Dorothee Rippmann
und Katharina Simon-Muscheid. Basel 1995 (BRIGITTE
RATH) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Karl Brunner, Herzogtümer und Marken. Vom Ungarnsturm
bis ins 12. Jahrhundert (Österreichische Geschichte
907-115 6, hg. von Herwig Wolfram) Wien: Ueberreuter 199 4
(GERHARD JARITZ) ……………………………………… .
5
7
8
21
28
41
5 4
63
7 0
7 0
7 2
75
Vorwort
Durch den tragischen Tod von Harry Kühnel im August dieses Jahres hat
nicht nur Medium Aevum Quotidianum seinen Präsidenten verloren, sondern
auch die Erforschung von Alltag und materieller Kultur des Mittelalters
einen ihren herausragendsten Vertreter. Harry Kühnel hat in seinen
wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten sowohl in methodologischer als auch in inhaltlicher
Hinsicht Bedeutendes geleistet und als Direktor des Instituts für
Realienkunde des Mittelalters und der frühen Neuzeit der Österreichischen
Akademie der Wissenschaften vieles zur Intensivierung der Erforschung
mittelalterlichen Alltagslebens beigetragen. Wir werden ihm ein ehrendes
Angedenken bewahren.
Das vorliegende Heft von Medium Aevum Quotidianum bietet unterschiedliche
Beiträge aus unserem Forschungsbereich, die von Mitgliedern
und Freunden der Gesellschaft angeboten wurden. Das nächste Heft wird
als Sonderband IV im März erscheinen und unter dem Titel „Quotidianum
Estonicum“ unter der Herausgeberschaft von Jüri Kivimäe und Juhan Krem
(Tallinn) Beiträge aus der Estnischen Alltagsgeschichtsforschung des Mittelalters
beinhalten. Ein zweiter Sonderband des Jahres 199 6 wird sich
unter der Herausgeberschaft von Dorothe Rippmann (Basel) Schwerpunkten
Schweizer Forschung widmen. Zwei weitere Hefte werden unterschiedliche
Beiträge unserer Mitglieder und Freunde beinhalten, mit manchen Schwerpunkten
auf alltagshistorisch relevanten Papieren, die bei den Mittelalterkonferenzen
von Kalamazoo und Leeds 199 6 vorgelegt werden.
Wir wünschen Ihnen ein privat und wissenschaftlich erfolgreiches Jahr
199 6!
Gerhard Jaritz, Herausgeber
7