PL Józef Ignacy Kraszewski-Stara baśń tom 1 005

''An Ancient Tale. Novel of Polish history'' (in Polish Stara baśń. Powieść z dziejów Polski) - is a

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

by popular 19th-century Polish writer

Józef Ignacy Kraszewski Józef Ignacy Kraszewski (28 July 1812 – 19 March 1887) was a Polish writer, publisher, historian, journalist, scholar, painter, and author who produced more than 200 novels and 150 novellas, short stories, and art reviews, which makes him the ...

published by ''Gebethner i Wolff'' (Gebethner & Wolff Publishers) in 1876 in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. This work was the first novel in Kraszewski's long series of historical novels dealing with various periods in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

's history. The second edition was published in 1879, in a lavishly illustrated form, with the plates done by then popular

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

Michał Elwiro Andriolli. The manuscript of the novel was destroyed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The content of the novel refers to old Polish stories and legends, including one about a cruel ruler prince,

Popiel Prince Popiel ІІ (or Duke Popiel) was a legendary 9th-century ruler of two proto-Polish tribes, the Goplans and West Polans. He was the last member of the Popielids, a mythical dynasty before the Piasts. According to the chroniclers Gallus A ...

. He is one of the novel's main characters, though the author calls him "Chwostek". The story takes place during the dimly known times of pre-Christian Poland, in the lands of the

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", 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 Judaism. ...

Polans Polans may refer to two Slavic tribes: * Polans (eastern) The Polans (, ''Poliany'', ''Polyane'', pl, Polanie), also Polianians, were an East Slavic tribe between the 6th and the 9th century, which inhabited both sides of the Dnieper river ...

tribe. The first theme of the novel is the political struggle between Chwostek, his wife Brunhilda and their court, as against the

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

s and free farmers. The Prince wants to introduce an

absolute rule Autocracy is a system of government in which absolute power over a state is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject neither to external legal restraints nor to regularized mechanisms of popular control (except perh ...

modeled on that of the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

, while his subjects want to preserve their freedoms. As the struggle intensifies, The Prince commits ever more cruel acts (mutilations, murders etc.), causing his subjects to openly rebel against his rule. Weaker in warriors and support, the Prince calls for help from his German allies and a civil war rages. Finally Chwostek and his allies are defeated, he and his family die during the siege of his keep, and the clans and free farmers elect a new ruler,

Piast the Wheelwright Piast the Wheelwright ( 740/741? – 861 AD; Latin: ''Past Ckosisconis'', ''Pazt filius Chosisconisu''; Polish: ''Piast Chościskowic'', ''Piast Kołodziej'' , ''Piast Oracz'' or ''Piast'') was a semi-legendary figure in medieval Poland (9th cent ...

. The second theme of the novel, in addition to political, is the thread of love. Doman, a young but wealthy farmer and warrior, falls in love with beautiful Dziwa. She, however, believes that her calling is to serve the pagan gods, and therefore refuses to become his wife. Doman decides to do anything to win her love.

Adaptations

The novel has been a subject of many adaptions: * In 1891 Alfred Szczepański published a drama in five parts based on the themes of ''Stara baśn'' titled ''Piast Pierwszy'' (''Piast I'') in Vienna, Austria, * In 1900 Julian Baczyński published, in

Chełmno Chełmno (; older en, Culm; formerly ) is a town in northern Poland near the Vistula river with 18,915 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the seat of the Chełmno County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Due to its regional importan ...

, his book ''Królewna Hoża'' (''Princess Buxom'') inspired by the Kraszewski's novel. * In 1907 Władysław Żeleński brought to the

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

's stage his opera titled ''Stara baśń'' (''An Ancient Tale'') based on Kraszewski's work. * In 2003 story was adapted for the screen by the film director

Jerzy Hoffman Jerzy Julian Hoffman (; born 15 March 1932) is a Polish director, screenwriter, and producer. He received the Polish Academy Life Achievement Award in February 2006. Hoffman is best known for his works in '' The Deluge'' (1974) and ''With Fire a ...

as '' An Ancient Tale: When the Sun Was a God''.

Sources

Polish novels 1876 novels Polish historical novels 19th-century Polish novels {{1870s-novel-stub

Adaptations

See also

Sources