Juraj Janosik is a Tatra robber, created by writers to be a Slovak national hero. The character is associated in Poland with the role of Marek Perepeczka in Jerzy Passendorfer's 1974 film. The name of Janosik and his legend is known in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
According to various sources, Juraj Janosik was born on January 25 or February 25, 1688, in the village of Terchova in northern Slovakia. According to Martin Votruby, a Slovak researcher of the history of Janosik, the date of February 25, 1688, is more probable (he thinks so due to the fact that the date of his birth and his parents' names are linked to the documents of the buyout of Janosik from military service in 1710 and his trial in 1713). . He was the son of Martin Janosik and Anna Cesnekova (aka Czisznikova, Cisnikova). He had three brothers: Jan, Martin, and Adam, and a sister Barbara. According to historians, Janosik took part in the anti-Habsburg uprising led by the Hungarian magnate Franciszek II Rakoczy. Five years later he returned to the village to take care of the family farm. He later joined the Austrian army and was assigned to a detachment stationed at a castle in the city of Bytca in central Slovakia. The castle was also a prison for common and dangerous criminals. In prison, he met Tomas Uhorcik (died 1713), a Carpathian Harnas, active in 1702-1711, of Slovak origin. In October 1710, Janosik helped Uhorcik to escape from prison, a month later deserted (or was bought by his father) from the army and joined a gang of robbers. A year later, in 1711, when Tomas Uhorcik left the gang under the assumed name of Martin Mravec, Juraj Janosik became the new harnas of Carpathian robbers. The place of his subordinates' activities was the then Hungarian-Polish borderland. He mainly robbed merchants, but vicars, messengers, and other wealthier people also fell victim to him. Interestingly, Janosik was supported by various local notables. In return for sharing the spoils, he could count on a rescue. For example, the vice-district of the Liptov county provided Janosik with an alibi, thanks to which he led to the release of Harnas from the dungeon after his first imprisonment.
After changing his name and settling in the village of Klenovec, Tomas Uhorcik became a haiduk. Why is it worth returning to this character? As it was in his house, probably at the beginning of March 1713, about 30 members of the Liptov Saltworks Court under the command of a nobleman Andreański arrested Janosik and his farmer. The Hajducy people did not even suspect that the captured farmer was hiding under the new name Tomas Uhorcik. After being arrested, Janosik was imprisoned in the Vranovo castle, located in the village of Paludzka near Liptowski Mikułasz. On March 16 and 17, 1713, the trial of Janosik took place. The composition of the county court was composed of Ladislav Okolicanyi, the prosecutor, Aleksander Cemnicky, and the lawyer, Baltazar Palugay. Representatives of the Liptov and Trenčín Saltworks played the role of lay judges. Janosik was charged with raids in the Trenčín, Nitra, Liptov, and Orava Saltworks, connections with the insurgents against Rakoczy, and the murder of the parish priest in Domanicza. On the first day of the trial, Janosik gave evasive and unclear answers to questions from representatives of the Liptov and Trenčín courts. After the hearing, the prosecutor made an accusatory speech and demanded the death penalty. Then the defense lawyer made his speech, pointing to the young age of the accused, not committing any murder or injury, and Uhorcik's persuasion of robbery as extenuating circumstances, and demanded Janosik's pardon. On the second day of the trial, Janosik was subjected to torture: gradual burning of the skin, sticking red-hot needles under his nails, crushing his limbs, and pulling him onto a wheel. Ultimately he was sentenced to death by hanging on a hook by the left rib. According to tradition, the sentence was carried out on March 17, 1713, in Liptovsky Mikulas. Little more than a month after Janosik's death, on April 19, 1713, Tomas Uhorcik was tried by the saltworks court.
On the second day of the trial, his true identity was discovered. Uhorcik was accused of robbing a chestnut, persuading Juraj Janosik to commit robbery, and other threats to public order. On the first day, he was interrogated, and on the second day, he was tortured. He was sentenced to death for breaking the wheel. On April 21, 1713, in the same place where Janosik was executed, also Tomas Uhorcik was. According to some legends, Uhorcik is credited with betraying Janosik. According to other stories, Janosik was betrayed by his lover ("nerd" in highlander).
Prof. Joanna Goszczyńska from the University of Warsaw drew attention to the fact that the legend of Janosik in Slovakia was revealed to its fullest extent and became (next to the myth of Great Moravia and the beginnings of statehood) the second myth of the greatest importance. In the article entitled "Transformations of the myth of Janosik in the Slovak literature of the 19th century" the author analyzes the gradual emergence and development of the myth of Janosik. It indicates that:
The myth of Janosik, the righteous robber, who made the world equal by stealing from the rich and distributing what he had won among the poor, was born in folk literature in a spontaneous way, satisfying the desires, expectations and dreams of the members of the community that brought him to life. It grew out of a legend, which the collective folk imagination constantly enriched with new elements, creating a model of the protagonist, although it differed more and more from the historical prototype, but still closer to the current social needs. In the process of mythologization, the image of a hero who began to live the lives of other robbers was formed. Events related to other robbers were transferred to his figure, features that aroused admiration and social approval were hyperbolized, he was more and more often attributed to the attitude of the spokesman for social justice. Janosik's legend was also enriched by non-folklore sources. According to the author, the legend was inspired by biblical motives, moralizing tales, mischievous literature, and - what is worth emphasizing - oral tradition, through which it is difficult to reach the sources of the Janosik myth. The beginning of the 19th century became a turning point in the formation of the legend of the robber. It was then that his character began to appear in literature, which was also one of the elements of Slovak national consciousness in the 1830s and 1840s. Based on this myth, the Slovak national movement began to spread its idea. It is worth noting that literature played an ambiguous role: on the one hand, it showed the cultural complexity of the era in which Janosik lived, but on the other, it created the myth of his person.
This myth became not only an expression of the national worldview and an element of the Slovak national consciousness that was shaping at that time, but also reflected the changing artistic tendencies among Slovak artists: classicism, romanticism, and messianism. Before the Spring of Nations, the Janosik myth became a catalyst for the independence aspirations of the young Slovak nation, which was being formed in a modern way. Until now, the figure of Janosik had - according to the poet Jozef Safarik, who made his debut in 1814 - a character and was the embodiment of the ideology of Slavic unity. In later years, starting with the poetry of Sam Chalupka, the famous robber became the exponent of the idea of independence. However, after the Spring of Nations, the Janosik myth became another motive, which this time was used to settle accounts with the past and verify the awareness of the generation of young Slovaks, disappointed by their disappointed hopes. Updating and creating new content within the framework of Janosik's myth depended on the cultural situation of Slovakia and the pan-European interest in folklore. Prof. Describing the past and further fate of Janosik's myth, Goszczyńska points out that:
As can be seen from the considerations so far, the range of meanings contained in the figure of Janosik was constantly changing, in line with the process of political and cultural changes taking place in the nineteenth century. One aspect of the myth, however, remained unchanged. The figure of the legendary robber has always been a reflection of national aspirations. Initially defined by the Slavic ideology, on the eve of the Spring of Nations, they were taking on a more and more distinct revolutionary face (Tyritic poetry by S. Chalupky and J. Kral), after 1849 associated with messianic ideology (poetry by M. M. Hodza and S. B. Hrobonia, partly by J. Botty). The integrative function of the myth did not diminish either. Nineteenth-century popular literature closes a certain stage in the process of transforming a myth. This myth created by the Romantic literature functions and affects, above all, high circulation, and copied and disseminated by popular literature, it extends the scope of its impact to wider social circles. Therefore, we observe a phenomenon known from the fate of Polish romantic myths, which after the heroic period changed their status in social communication, losing much of their "charismatic", but expanding the field of social influence. Janosik, which, metaphorically speaking, during the Romantic period was primarily the property of the elite, becomes the property of the masses. It is worth noting that the literary creation of Janosik's myth in the later decades will become an element of the then mass culture, traces of which have remained to this day. In addition to literary texts, it also took the form of pictures, figurines, souvenirs of various kinds, and monuments. Later, Janosik became a hero of films, theater, and fine arts.
The first films dedicated to Janosik were produced in Czechoslovakia in 1921 (director: Jaroslav Jerry Siakel ') and 1935 (director Martin Fric). The 1921 film was even inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The first Polish film about the Carpathian robber was the animated film "Janosik" (directed by Włodzimierz Haupe and Halina Bielińska). Then, in 1963, a two-part film about Janosik (directed by Pal'o Bielik) was released in Czechoslovakia. Eleven years later, the Polish TV series "Janosik" was released, containing thirteen episodes, and the film of the same title (directed by Jerzy Passendorfer, starring Marek Perepeczka) was its cinematic version. In 1976, the Czechoslovak animated film directed by Viktor Kubal was entitled "Zbojnik Jurko". In the years 1991-1993 and 2010-2011, a 50-episode animated series about Janosik directed by Jaroslav Baran was released. In 2009, the film entitled "Janosik. A True Story ” was directed by Agnieszka Holland and Katarzyna Adamik. Four years later, a Polish-Slovak animated series for children was released. "Janosik". Until today, the film entitled "On the feet of Janosik", was to be the first document about the most famous robber.
Bibliography:
Joanna Goszczyńska, The Janosik Myth in Folklore and Slovak Literature of the 19th Century, ed. The University of Warsaw, Institute of Slavic Philology, Warsaw 2001. "jurojanosik.com": jurojanosik.com - Slovak website devoted to Janosik, [accessed: 23 December 2019]. Kościelak Lech, Historia Słowacji, publ. Ossolineum, Wrocław 2010. Nacher Anna, Styczyński Marek, Cisowski Bartłomiej, Klimek Paweł, Slovakia. The Carpathian heart of Europe, ed. Bezdroża, Kraków 2007.Piasecki Zdzisław, Former boys, there were ... Carpathian robbery - historical truth, folklore, and Polish literature, ed. Wydawnictwo Literackie, Krakow 1973. Przerwa-Tetmajer Kazimierz, Legenda of the Tatras, publishing house Wydawnictwo Literackie, Krakow 1972. Radwańska-Paryska Zofia, Great Tatra Encyclopedia, publ. Górskie, Poronin 1995 Sroka Stanisław, Janosik. The real story of a Carpathian robber, ed. Avalon, Kraków 2009. Votruba Martin, Highwayman's Life: Extant Documents about Janosik, "Slovakia" 1972-1973, No. 39, pp. 61-86. Myths and the reality of robbery on the Polish-Slovak border in history, literature, and culture. Materials from the international scientific conference, Kraków - Bukowina Tatrzańska, October 18-22, 2006, edited by Maria Madejowa, Anna Mlekodaj and Maciej Rak, ed. Podhale State Higher Vocational School in Nowy Targ, Nowy Targ 2007.
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