Krakus, Krak or Grakch was a legendary

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

prince, ruler of the

Vistulans The Vistulans, or Vistulanians (), were an early medieval Lechitic tribe inhabiting the western part of modern Lesser Poland. Etymology Their name derives from the hydronym of the river Vistula, meaning "inhabitants of Vistula"; the region is m ...

(a Lechitic tribe), and the presumed founder of

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. Krakus is also credited with building

Wawel Castle The Wawel Royal Castle (; ''Zamek Królewski na Wawelu'') and the Wawel Hill on which it sits constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in Poland. A fortified residency on the Vistula River in Kraków, it was established o ...

and slaying the

Wawel Dragon The Wawel Dragon (), also known as the Dragon of Wawel Hill, is a famous dragon in Polish legend. According to the earliest account (13th century), a dragon (, "one who swallows whole") plagued the capital city of Kraków established by legend ...

by feeding it a dead sheep full of

sulfur Sulfur ( American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur ( Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms ...

. The latter is how Krak the cobbler became Krakus the prince, and later king. The first recorded mention of Krakus, then spelled ''Grakch'', is in the

Chronica seu originale regum et principum Poloniae 200px, ''Historia Polonica'', Vincenti Kadłubkonis Episcopi Cracoviensis, 1612 ''Chronica seu originale regum et principum Poloniae'', short name ''Chronica Polonorum'', is a Latin history of Poland written by Wincenty Kadłubek between 1190 a ...

from 1190. Historian attributes Krak's name to a pre-Slavic word "krakula", meaning 'judge's staff' or 'scepter', which also signified judicial authority among the pagan

Balts The Balts or Baltic peoples (, ) are a group of peoples inhabiting the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea who speak Baltic languages. Among the Baltic peoples are modern-day Lithuanians (including Samogitians) and Latvians (including Latgalians ...

. Historians Cetwiński and Derwich suggest a different

etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

, which seems more probable to some, with Krak, meaning simply an

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

, a sacred tree, most often associated with the concept of

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

. Moreover, the name of the city of Kraków is believed to be derived from the word , which translates to 'crow' or 'raven'.

Krakus Mound Krakus Mound or Kopiec Krakusa in Polish language, Polish, also called the Krak Mound, is a tumulus located in the Podgórze Districts of Kraków, district of Kraków, Poland; thought to be the resting place of Kraków's mythical founder, the leg ...

, which exists to this day, was previously believed to contain Krakus' remains. It has been the subject of thorough archeological research from 1934–38, however, no grave has ever been found in it. The mound has a diameter of over 50 meters. According to research, it was erected between the 8th and 10th centuries as a central element of an ancient grave site, which does not exist today. The Krak and

Princess Wanda Princess Wanda (; reputedly lived in 8th century Poland) was the daughter of the Lechitic King Krakus, legendary founder of Kraków. Upon her father's death she became a ruler of the Poles, but committed suicide to avoid an unwanted marriage. ...

legend appeared in the early Polish history written by

Wincenty Kadłubek Wincenty Kadłubek (; 1150 – 8 March 1223) was a Polish Catholic prelate and professed Cistercian who served as the Bishop of Kraków from 1208 until his resignation in 1218. His episcopal mission was to reform the diocesan priests to ens ...

(); a similar legend, that of Krok and Libussa, appeared in the early Czech history by

Cosmas of Prague Cosmas of Prague (; ; – 21 October 1125) was a Czech priest, writer and historian. Life Between 1075 and 1081, he studied in Liège. After his return to Bohemia, he married Božetěcha with whom he had a son, named Jindřich Zdík, and remai ...

References

External links

Krak or Krakus?
at historycy.org (''Polish'')
'Krakus and the Dragon'. A puppet re-telling by the pupils of St. Mary's Primary, Gorleston
{{authority control Nobility from Kraków History of Kraków Legendary Polish monarchs Polish princes Mythological city founders

See also

References

External links