Saturday, January 1, 2022

Szczerbiec (ceremonial sword) - legend, origin, size, symbolism

 A beautiful medieval Miecz, prawdopodobnie należący do księcia Bolesława Pobożnego, odziedziczyła jego córka, Jadwiga Kaliska i darowała go swojemu mężowi, Władysławowi Łokietkowi. Koronacja Łokietka na króla Polski w 1320 roku miała miejsce w Krakowie. Jan Długosz opisał ceremonię. Koronacji Łokietka i Jadwigi dokonał arcybiskup gnieźnieński, któremu asystowali biskupi i opaci. Insygnia koronacyjne zostały przeniesione do Krakowa z Gniezna. [Sobotka, 2005, s.182] Szczerbiec stał się jednym z regaliów, wykorzystywanych do koronacji polskich królów. sword, called the jagged sword, is the only memento of the Piast dynasty. From 1320, it was used during the coronation rituals of Polish rulers. The coronation insignia - the crown, scepter, royal apple, and the coronation sword - were served during the ceremony by the castellan of Kraków and the voivodes of Kraków, Poznań, and Sandomierz, because, according to Jan Długosz, these duties belonged to their dignities and offices. [Sobotka, 2005, p. 185] The fate of the fate was extremely turbulent. The sword was lost in 1795, and after many vicissitudes, it returned to Krakow in 1959. It is kept at Wawel, in the chamber of Jadwiga and Jagiełło.

There is a legend connected with the coronation sword of Polish kings, the origins of which are traced back to the entry of Bolesław the Brave into Kyiv in 1018. The chronicler Gall Anonim was the first to include information about Szczerbiec in his work Kronika Polska, written in the years 1112-1116:

  • Bolesław the Brave "... entered the great and wealthy city without resistance and, drawing his sword from its scabbards, hit the Golden Gate with it." [Anonymous, 1982, Fr. I, p. 22]
  • The theme of hitting the gate with a sword is also repeated later in the Chronicle, in the description of the deeds of Bolesław the Bold, who in 1069,
  • "... like the first Bolesław the Great, as a conqueror, he entered the capital of the Ruthenian kingdom, the illustrious city of Kyiv, and with the stroke of his sword left a memorable mark on the Golden Gate." [Anonymous, 1982, Fr. I, p. 46]
  • Wincenty Kadłubek, the chronicler of Kazimierz the Righteous, describing the conquests of Bolesław the Brave and Bolesław Szczodry, quoted anecdotes after Gallus about a sword strike at the Golden Gate:
  • Bolesław Chrobry "... after seizing the city with multiple swords, he forged a border sign on the Golden Gate of the city [also]." [Kadłubek, 1974, Rev. II, p. 106]
  • Bolesław Szczodry "... having imperiously crossed the lands of Ruthenia, he found it unworthy to be tempted by their riches, confining himself to the triumph of victory, until he would redefine the great-grandfather's borders with a sword strike at the Kyiv gate." [Kadłubek, 1974, Rev. II, p. 114]

The thirteenth-century Kronika Wielkopolska presents a much richer version of the legend:

“… King Bolesław's sword given to him by an angel is called Szczerbiec, because at the angel's call, arriving in Ruthenia, he first struck the Golden Gate with it, which closed the Kyiv stronghold in Ruthenia. From this blow, the sword suffered a small loss, which is called a gap in Polish, hence the name szczerbiec. " [Kronika Wielkopolska, 1965, p. 58] The sword, according to Kronika, is kept in the Crown Treasury, in the Wawel Cathedral. "Polish kings, when going to war, used to wear it and always triumphed with it over their enemies." [Kronika wielkopolska, 1965, p. 57]

In the Old Polish Illustrated Encyclopedia of Zygmunt Gloger, under the entry SZCZERBIEC, we can find, among other things, information about the name of the sword, which has been chipped against the Golden Gate. The entry 'Szczyrzbek' appears in records from 1250. [Gloger, 1972, p. 307]

Szczerbiec was subjected to weapons research, which allowed us to establish that it was probably built in the second half of the 13th century. This is indicated by the blade of the sword, made of semi-hard steel, treated with the heat method, i.e. in a way characteristic of combat swords, produced from the 13th century to the 14th century. Szczerbiec was created in several workshops. The head with the guard, decorated with the same methods and decorated with floral ornaments, indicates a different workshop from the one in which the cladding of the shaft was made, decorated with the images of the Evangelists.

The inscriptions on the plates placed on the handle (destroyed in the 19th century) proclaimed that the owner of the sword was prince Bolesław. The researchers selected a few potential first owners of the Sagittarius. The most likely first sword owner was the Duke of Greater Poland, Bolesław the Pious. Controversial research by Jan Sobolewski in 1998 confirmed the time of the sword's creation and referred to Hebrew inscriptions written in Latin. According to the researcher, the sword-amulet was ordered by Jews for Prince Bolesław the Pious, who on August 15, 1264, approved the privileges and obligations for the Jews of Greater Poland, included in the Statute of Kalisz. [Juszczak, 2018] The above findings have not been accepted by other historians. There are known hypotheses linking the sword's origin with the Templars or ascribing stylistics to French-Walloon-Lorraine art. The origin of the jagged tooth is still a subject of research. [Adamczuk, 2012, pp. 132-133]

The sword, probably belonging to prince Bolesław the Pious, was inherited by his daughter, Jadwiga Kaliska, and she gave it to her husband, Władysław Łokietkowo. The coronation of Łokietek as the king of Poland in 1320 took place in Kraków. Jan Długosz described the ceremony. The coronation of Łokietek and Jadwiga was performed by the archbishop of Gniezno, who was assisted by bishops and abbots. The coronation insignia were transferred to Kraków from Gniezno. [Sobotka, 2005, p.182] Szczerbiec became one of the regalia used for the coronation of Polish kings.

The legendary Bolesław's sword is 98.4 cm long, has a pommel 82 cm long, a handle 16.4 cm long, and across 20 cm long. Compared to combat swords, it is not distinguished by impressive dimensions. During the inspection of the treasury in 1676, the Szczerbiec was described as follows: Mieczyk Bolesława, alias szczerbik [Kraszewski, 1878, p. 8]

The construction of the sword:

  • The pommel and the guard (guard) were cast in silver and covered with a gold plate, 1 mm thick. They are decorated with floral and figural motifs as well as inscriptions.
  • The pommel of the sword is made of smoke steel with increased content of phosphorus and silicon. A wide ridge runs along the center of the blade. There is a hole in it, caused by corrosion. [Biborski, 2009]
  • The enameled shield, with the Piast eagle, was removed from the scabbard and mounted on the amphibian.

Decorations and the symbolism of the jagged:

  • The handle is decorated with the niello method. There are images of the Lamb of God Agnus Dei, the four Beasts of the Apocalypse, or the symbols of the Evangelists. They are repeated on the shaft of the hilt and on the ends of the handguard.
  • The Latin inscription on the crossguard says that those who bear the name of Jehovah with him will be protected from all dangers.

On the head there is:

  • Tau cross - a symbol of God's grace and promise of salvation,
  • a letter resembling "G" - this is how the Greek letter sigma was written in the Middle Ages, which started the word 'savior' and meant Christ,
  • cross in a halo. The alpha and omega letters (beginning and end) on their sides are crowned with crosses. According to the Latin inscription, the symbols used to influence the love of kings, princes, and the anger of judges.
  • The sword is decorated with floral ornaments.
  • It can be considered that the toothbrush is an amulet that protects the person wearing it from misfortunes.

Historians who study the purpose of the sword believe that the jagged blade is gladius material - the sword of justice used by kings and princes who were in charge of the law. The ruler on earth is Christ's representative and servant, and the sword was to remind him that he should carry out his ministry justly. Such an interpretation of the symbolism of the jagger is supported by, for example, the image of king Bolesław the Bold recorded on the royal denar. A ruler in a royal crown raises a sword - a sign of his power on earth. [Adamczuk, 2012, pp. 131 - 139]

Szczerbiec, after the crowning of Władysław Łokietek as the king of Poland in 1320, was placed in the cathedral treasury, from where it was transferred to Wawel, where it initiated the creation of the crown treasury. The further history of the most valuable monument for Poles, commemorating the greatness and sovereignty of the Kingdom of Poland, was as troubled as the fate of Poland was:

  • 1370 - the coronation regalia are taken from Krakow to Hungary by King Louis of Hungary, along with another regalia,
  • 1412 - Władysław Jagiełło regained the coronation regalia, among which there was also a jagged one. The sword, returned by Sigismund of Luxemburg, was officially transferred to Wawel.
  • 1655 - the coronation sword and other royal regalia were hidden from the Swedes in Lubowla, and then, in 1703, they came to Silesia, together with King John II Casimir Vasa.
  • 1795 - The Prussians break into the Crown Treasury and rob the stored regalia.
  • Until 1884, Szczerbiec appears in the private collections of Dymitr Łabanow-Rostowski (1810), General Wincenty Krasiński (1818), Prince Anatol Demidow - in Italy (around 1843), and Aleksander Piotrowicz Bazylewski - in Paris (1870).
  • 1884 - Szczerbiec goes to St. Petersburg as a museum exhibit in the Hermitage.
  • 1921 - under the provisions of the Treaty of Riga, looted monuments, including the coronation sword, were returned to Poland.
  • World War II - Szczerbiec, along with other treasures, was taken from Krakow to Romania, from where the sword was transported to France, then to England, and from there, in 1940 - to Canada.
  • 1959 - the coronation sword of Polish rulers returned to Wawel. [Kuczyński, 1961, pp. 575-576]

Bibliography:

  • Anonymous Gall, Polish Chronicle, Ossolineum, Wrocław 1982.
  • Wincenty Kadłubek, Kronika Polska, PWN, Warsaw 1974.
  • Kronika wielkopolska, UNIVERSITAS, Kraków 2010.

Literature:

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