Princess Wanda (reputedly lived in 8th century

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 populou ...

) was the daughter of

Krakus Krakus, Krak or Grakch was a legendary Polish prince, king and founder of Kraków, the ruler of the Lechitic tribe of Vistulans. Krakus is also credited with building Wawel Castle and slaying the Wawel Dragon by feeding it a dead sheep full ...

, legendary founder of

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

. Upon her father's death, she became queen of the Poles, but committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

to avoid an unwanted marriage to a German.

Wanda legend first told by Kadłubek

The first written record of the legend of Wanda was by the Polish chronicler Wincenty Kadłubek. In this version of the story Wanda ruled Poland after the legendary Polish king

. When her lands were invaded by an " Alamann tyrant", who sought to take advantage of the previous ruler's death, 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 is named after" her and hence the people she ruled over were known as "

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...

". In this version Wanda remained unmarried and had a long life.

Later versions of the legend

Subsequent versions of the story differ significantly. In the version from the ''

Wielkopolska Chronicle The ''Wielkopolska Chronicle'' (or ''Chronicle of Greater Poland'', pl, Kronika wielkopolska) is an anonymous medieval chronicle describing supposed history of Poland from legendary times up to the year 1273. It was written in Latin at the end o ...

'', the German leader, Rytygier (Rüdiger), first wanted to marry Wanda and invaded her lands only when she refused. Here, he died during the ensuing battle, while it was Wanda who afterward committed suicide, as a thanks and a sacrifice to 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. I ...

gods who gave her victory. In yet other versions of the story, Wanda commits suicide, by throwing herself into the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

river, because she knows that as long as she is alive, there will be future potential suitors who will use her refusal to marry as a pretext for an invasion.

Historiography

The story of princess Wanda was first described by medieval (12th and 13th centuries) Polish bishop and historian, Wincenty Kadłubek, and it is assumed by most historians that it was invented by him, possibly based on Slavic myths and legends,K. Kumaniecki, "Podanie o Wandzie w świetle źródeł starożytnych", 22–23 (1925–26). although some historians see the legend rooted in Scandinavian or

Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–50 ...

(or Greek) traditions. POL Warsaw Pałac Ursynów8

The Kadłubek version has the German prince, not princess Wanda, committing suicide: according to Kadłubek, the princess lived a long and happy life, forever remaining a virgin. It was only in the 13–14th century ''Wielkopolska Chronicle'' that the variant with Wanda committing suicide was popularized 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

Tradition has it that she is buried in the large Wanda Mound ( pl, Kopiec Wandy). A custom observed up to the 19th century was that at

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers ...

bonfires were lit on this mound, located on the outskirts of

in Nowa Huta, the industrial district established in 1949. Nowa Huta construction begun on the

name day In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, among other parts of Christendom. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively that of a ...

of Wanda (23 June), and she is a semi-official patron of that district, which has a trade center, street, bridge and stadium bearing her name. The German poet

Zacharias Werner Friedrich Ludwig Zacharias Werner (November 18, 1768 – January 17, 1823) was a German poet, dramatist, and preacher. As a dramatist, he is known mainly for inaugurating the era of the so-called "tragedies of fate". Biography Werner was born at ...

wrote a drama named ''Wanda'', which under Werner's friend

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

was performed on stage in 1809. In Polish literature, the story of Wanda has served as inspiration of several works, often stressing the themes of Polish independence and victorious conflict with Germany. The Polish poet

C.K. Norwid Cyprian Kamil Norwid, a.k.a. Cyprian Konstanty Norwid (; 24 September 1821 – 23 May 1883), was a nationally esteemed Polish poet, dramatist, painter, and sculptor. He was born in the Masovian village of Laskowo-Głuchy near Warsaw. One of h ...

visited the Mound in 1840. He subsequently composed the narrative poem ''Wanda'' in honor of the ancient princess. KopiecWandy-Mogiła-POL, Kraków

The Serbian dramatist Matija Ban made Wanda the symbol of Poland in his 1868 play, ''Wanda, the Polish Queen.''

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example ...

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 about 87 species, and the genus is commonly cultivated for the marketplace. This genus and its allies are considered to be among ...

'' around this episode in Polish history legends. Writing in 1875, he cast the story as a struggle between the pagan

Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...

and the Christian Germans. 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. Scholars Albina Kruszewska and Marion Coleman described Queen Wanda as having "the pure white chastity of Elaine, the filial devotion of Cordelia, and the iron will of

Boadicea Boudica or Boudicca (, known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh as ()), was a queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe, who led a failed uprising against the conquering forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61. She ...

References

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