Princess Wanda
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Princess Wanda (; reputedly lived in 8th century
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
) was the daughter of the Lechitic King
Krakus Krakus, Krak or Grakch was a legendary Polish prince, ruler of the Vistulans (a Lechitic tribe), and the presumed founder of Kraków. Krakus is also credited with building Wawel Castle and slaying the Wawel Dragon by feeding it a dead sheep f ...
, legendary 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 ...
. Upon her father's death she became a ruler of the Poles, but committed suicide to avoid an unwanted marriage.


Legend

The first written record of the legend of Wanda was made by the Polish chronicler
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 ...
, which historians believe to be an invented legend.K. Kumaniecki, "Podanie o Wandzie w świetle źródeł starożytnych", 22–23 (1925–26). In this version of the story Wanda ruled Poland after her father, when her lands were invaded by an " Alamann tyrant". Wanda led her troops out to meet him. Seeing her beauty, the German troops refused to fight and their leader committed suicide. Towards the end of the story Kadłubek states that "the river Vandalus 'a name he used for the Vistula''">Vistula.html" ;"title="'a name he used for the Vistula">'a name he used for the Vistula''is named after" her and hence the people she ruled over were known as "Vandals". In this version Wanda remained unmarried and had a long life. Subsequent versions of the story differ significantly. In the version from the ''Wielkopolska Chronicle'', the Alemannic leader, Rytygier (Rüdiger), first wanted to marry Wanda and invaded her lands when she refused. Here, he died during the ensuing battle, while it was Wanda who committed suicide afterwards, as thanks and a sacrifice to the
pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...
gods who gave her victory. In yet other versions of the story, Wanda commits suicide by throwing herself into the
Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...
river, because she knows there will be future suitors who will use her refusal to marry as a pretext for an invasion. This variation was popularised by the 15th-century historian
Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...
.


Cultural influences

Wanda Mound () is assumed to be the burial place of the princess. Up until the 19th century, bonfires were lit at the mound on
Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...
. The nearby industrial district of
Nowa Huta Nowa Huta (, literally "The New Ironworks") is the easternmost district of Kraków, Poland. With more than 200,000 inhabitants, it is one of the most populous areas of the city. Until 1990, the neighbouring districts were considered expansions o ...
, established on 1949, began construction on the
name day In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, as well as Christian communities elsewhere. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively t ...
of Wanda (23 June). As such, Princess Wanda is a semi-official patron of the district, which contains a trade center, street, bridge, and stadium named after her. The German poet Zacharias Werner wrote a drama named ''Wanda'', which under Werner's friend
Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
was performed on stage in 1809. The story of Wanda is very popular in Polish art, culture and literature. For example, the Polish poet C.K. Norwid visited the Mound in 1840 and subsequently composed the epic narrative poem ''Wanda'' in honor of the ancient Polish princess and queen. Wanda (also spelled as Vanda) outside of Poland - Vanda the title and protagonist of the 1876
Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...
grand opera, ''Wanda''; the protagonist of the 1809 stage play ''Wanda'' written by German poet Zacharias Werner and directed by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; Wanda, heroine of the 1840 narrative poem "Wanda" by the Polish poet C. K. Norwid; Wanda, subject of the 1868 play ''Wanda, the Polish Queen'' by the Croatian dramatist Matija Ban; Wanda von Dunajew, protagonist of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's 1870 novel ''Venus in Furs''; Wanda von Chabert, the protagonist of the 1881
Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, celebrated as a master of the short story, as well as a representative of the naturalist school, depicting human lives, destinies and s ...
story "In Various Roles"; "Kinda Fonda Wanda" a song by
Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...
on his 1983 album Everybody's Rockin'.
Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...
composed the fifth of his 11 operas, the tragedy ''
Vanda ''Vanda'', abbreviated in the horticultural trade as ''V.,'' is a genus in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. There are 90 species, and the genus is commonly cultivated for the marketplace. This genus and its allies are considered to be among the ...
'' around this episode in Polish history legends. Writing in 1875, he cast the story as a struggle between the pagan
West Slavs The West Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak the West Slavic languages. They separated from the common Slavic group around the 7th century, and established independent polities in Central Europe by the 8th to 9th centuries. The West Slavic langu ...
and the Christian Teutons. Wanda
, Alkor.
In 1890, a statue designed by the Polish artist
Jan Matejko Jan Alojzy Matejko (; also known as Jan Mateyko; 24 June 1838 – 1 November 1893) was a Polish painter, a leading 19th-century exponent of history painting, known for depicting nodal events from Polish history. His works include large scale ...
depicting an eagle turning to the west was mounted on top of the mound. On the base of the statue the inscription ''WANDA'' was carved, together with two swords and a distaff.


References


Further reading

*Anstruther & Sekalski, ''Old Polish Legends,'' Hippocrene Books; 2nd edition, May, 1997. *Kraków District Guide, OAG Cities Guides, 2007. * Cabras, Francesco. 2016. “The Legend of Wanda in Jan Kochanowski’s Elegy I 15”. In: ''Studi Slavistici'' 12 (February), 59–77. https://doi.org/10.13128/Studi_Slavis-17969.


External links


''Wanda'': A Tragic Opera in Five Acts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wanda, Princess Legendary Polish monarchs Princesses of Poland Nobility from Kraków Queens regnant in Europe Fiction about suicide Mythological princesses Mythological queens Medieval suicides 8th-century queens regnant 8th-century Slavs Mythological city founders Royalty who died by suicide