List of abbreviations of institutions, journals, publications, series and source publications used by the authors in this volume

Over the last several dozen years, the issue of assumed presence of Óláfr Tryggvason in the battle of Maldon has been discussed repeatedly, predominantly by the British and Scandinavian researchers. However, it should be noted that the analyses were usually perfunctory, or even marginal, and thus they functioned merely as a more or less essential supplement to the subject matter discussed in a particular publication. Among the assumed participants of events from August 991, except for the future ruler of Norway, there is a mention of King of Denmark Sweyn Forkbeard and otherwise unknown Jóstein and Guðmund. Since the presence of Sweyn in the battle of Maldon has been disputed by the vast majority of historians, Óláfr remains the only historical figure among the assumed leaders of the Scandinavian invaders, which unfortunately is the reason why some historians – and also researchers in literature of the Middle Ages following them – see in him, though quite unreasonably, a leading Viking figure. The present paper therefore attempts to provide a comparison of the sources (apart from the Old English alliterative poem known as “The Battle of Maldon,” those are mainly different versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, as well as various historical or hagiographic works), and their critical confrontation with the above opinion.

The article examines the interpolations in Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta (the greatest saga of Óláfr Tryggvason) in the Flateyjarbók manuscript, concerning those men in the King Óláfr Tryggvason’s who fought in the sea battle of Svǫlðr. The article first presents the sources and various editions of the saga. The point of departure in the analysis is the list of Óláfr’s entourage of the royal ship Ormrinn langi in the older edition of the saga. Only some of those men appear also in other parts of the saga. Modifications in the Flateyjarbók manuscript encompass both the interpolations of names on the list of the entourage and additional stories in the narrative before the battle. In this way, the modifications intensify coherence and narrative multilayered structure of the saga of Óláfr Tryggvason.

The article analyzes a fragment of the 12th-century account of the miracles of Henry II, created for the purposes of promoting the cult of this Holy German Emperor. The article, therefore, discusses the narrative threads regarding the perception of the Slavic peoples by 12th-century Bamberg clergy, the collective authors of Miracula Sancti Heinrici, with particular emphasis placed upon the conception of promoting the cult of Henry II beyond the boundaries of the Reich and transplanting it to Poland. To that end, the article analyzes two excerpts from the manuscript, which document the intentions of transplanting the cult of the Holy Emperor to the territory of the Slavic lands, and Poland in particular. The first of those excerpts concerns an account of the miraculous healing of a Slavic man in Merseburg, while the second recounts a vision of Werner, the Bishop of Płock. Therefore, the article considers first and foremost the ideological meaning of the discussed examples excerpted from the source text, including the historical context of its creation. 

Hungarian chronicles contain accounts regarding a duel between a Duke of Pomerania and the Hungarian Prince Béla, who, alongside his brothers, was at the time a guest of the Polish King Mieszko II. Polish historiography questions the identity of the Polish ruler, situa- ting the events during the reign of Casimir I the Restorer, while Hungarian historiography doubts the opponent’s connections with Pomerania or even the very fact of the duel. Thus, the following article shows that, in the context of anachronistic political data included in the Hun‑ garian sources, the Pomeranian ancestry of the defeated duke is not sufficiently substantiated and cannot be the basis of a chronological correction. On the other hand, when it comes to the identity of the Polish ruler, a careful analysis of both the relationship between the Piast and the Arpad dynasty, as well as the last years of the rule of Mieszko II substantiates the hypothesis that it was indeed him who took in the exiled princes. The information included in the Hun‑ garian chronicles possibly describes the situation after the Congress of Merseburg (1032): the dethroning of Theoderick, which could occur as a result of a trial by combat, practiced at that time in this cultural sphere. Moreover, if one were to treat the mention of the Duke of Pomera‑ nia as credible, it could be regarded as clue regarding Theoderick’s province, which presumably could be Pomerania.

The article is an attempt to verify the circumstances concerning the founding of the town of Częstochowa, in particular the person of the initiator of the location. Historiographers have argued about the identity of the town’s founder for years, with some favoring Duke Vladi‑ slaus II of Opole and others King Casimir III the Great. In the most recent monograph of Częstochowa (2002), the assumption has been made that the founder of the city was indeed the Duke of Opole, even though there are not many grounds to make such claim. The main prem‑ ise seems to be the oldest mention of the city, dating back to the rule of Vladislaus II (1377). However, there exists significantly more proof that points to a pre-planned and executed over time expansion strategy initiated by Casimir III, which was preceded by the location of villages and crowned with the founding of the city itself. The foundation of Częstochowa can be, then, regarded as part of Casimir’s modernization effort in the Kingdom of Poland, since, in order to build a new route connecting Cracow with Greater Poland and Silesia, it was crucial to build a crossing over the river Warta in the vicinity of the Częstochowa village and the subsequent location of the city.

The aim of the following article is to present the attitudes of Jan Długosz towards the issue of crowning the representatives of foreign dynasties as kings of Poland. Thus, the article focus‑ es on Długosz’s opinions regarding the following rulers of Poland: Wenceslaus II of Bohemia, Louis I of Hungary and Władysław II Jagiełło, who all came to Poland from the neighboring countries and who represented dynasties other than the Piast dynasty. To this end, the article presents Długosz’s opinions regarding the ascensions of foreign monarchs to the throne in the Kingdom of Poland, as well as discusses both the benefits and the disadvantages of having a foreign ruler on the throne, included in his Annales. In the last section of the article, refer‑ ring to the descriptions of the monarchs’ reigns found in Długosz’s opus magnum, attempts to ascertain the influence of their foreign (ethnically, religiously or culturally) ancestry on the subject matter of Długosz’s comments.

The aim of the article is to discuss the phenomenon of breaking the legal and social rules by peasant women in the late Middle Ages. The analysis of the problematic was conducted on the example of the historical province of the Lesser Poland, on the basis of preserved court records from the 15th and 16th century. The nature of the sources, in turn, has uncovered a hith‑ erto unexploited research potential, concerning in particular the gender studies approach to the criminality of peasant women as well as their place in society. The article, therefore, discusses numerous important issues connected with the phenomenon, such as the scale and character of the offences, the reasons for their conflicts with the law as well as the local customs, the social reaction to their crimes and the consequences of breaking the law. It should be also emphasized that in all those respects, it is possible to notice particular differences attributed to the gender of the criminal offender. It is significant that the majority of women’s criminal activity concen‑ trated on their own domestic sphere or outside of their social group, which could be accounted for by marital conflicts as well as the act of leaving the safety of the woman’s familial and social sphere. However, it should be noted that the supposed fragility of the female sex did not automatically assume peasant women to be the victims of male criminality. Instead, it should be assumed that they committed offences equally frequently. The relatively small number of mentions regarding peasant women in court documents, on the other hand, can be attributed to the rates of detection on the one hand, and on the other hand to the tendency to mete out justice in the privacy of the home or neighborhood. Thus, medieval courts tried only the most egregious and socially disturbing cases.

The analysis of primary sources concerning the Opava-Ratibor Přemyslid family in the context of their familial relationships with the representatives of the Polish magnates in the 15th and the beginning of the 16th century has allowed to issue significant corrections regard‑ ing the previous state of genealogical knowledge regarding several generations of the dynas‑ ty, namely: Wenceslaus II, Duke of Opava-Ratibor (died 1456), who married Małgorzata of Szamotuły and their progeny: Jan (died 1493), Anna, and most importantly: Helena, who mar‑ ried Jan Ostroróg; Katarzyna, who married Włodko of Danabórz, the Castellan of Nakło; and Mikołaj of Ratibor (died 1506), the son of Jan, who married Anna of Tęczyn. Moreover, it has become possible to organize the data concerning the history of the estates in the Greater Poland, Ruthenia and the Duchy of Ratibor, which were given as dowry. In addition, the above analysis allows to form more general conclusions, namely, that the magnate families achieved prestige by marrying into ducal families, while the latter were given the means to increase their wealth due to the large dowries bequeathed by the wives. Thus, both sides benefited politically. Noble women, on the other hand, by marrying dukes were given the opportunity to become and be regarded as duchesses, even after they returned to their families as widows.

Herb rodowy Herburtów od połowy XIII do początku XVII wieku przedstawiał się na‑ stępująco: na tarczy jabłko przebite trzema mieczami. Jednak od przełomu XVI—XVII wieku poszczególni przedstawiciele rodu uzupełniali tę kompozycję figurą krzyża umieszczoną nad jabłkiem. Jednocześnie możemy zaobserwować znaczną kolorystyczną odmienność różnych figur herbu, głównie w zawartości emblematów hełmów. Pomimo faktu, że w klejnotach her‑ bów rodu Herburtów znajdujemy zwykle pawie lub strusie pióra, różnica w ich liczbie i ko‑ lorze (wraz ze zmianą koloru labr i figur na tarczy) natychmiast umożliwia rozpoznanie 19 odmian herbu używanego przez różnych przedstawicieli rodu. Taka zmienność drugorzędnych elementów ogólnego emblematu była charakterystyczna zarówno dla czesko-morawskich, jak i ruskich gałęzi rodu. W tym drugim przypadku obserwowana zmienność była swoistą kon‑ tynuacją tradycji charakterystycznych dla herbów szlacheckich na ziemiach Korony Czeskiej.

The geopolitical changes in Central and Eastern Europe which began in 1989 influenced also changes in the status of the field of history. In an attempt to change the perception of the field, a turn to the Middle Ages could be observed, as the times of prosperity in the Kingdoms of Bohemia, Hungary and Poland could serve as an excellent foundation for building a national identity. Thus, the authors propose a complex picture of historically and artistically oriented Medieval Studies in Poland against the backdrop of the situation in Central and Eastern Eu‑ rope, trying to ascertain how and to what extent the events of 1989 influenced the status and development of the discipline. Thirty years after the Yalta Conference, what can be observed is a gradual process of opening the discipline onto new methodologies and technological changes, as well as realizing its capabilities, which were hitherto suppressed by the oppressive political system. The natural generational change contributes to solidifying practices which the youngest generation of art historians takes for granted. However, the influences of inertia, deeply-rooted complexes and post-mortem victory of communist propaganda cannot be omitted. For the ma‑ jority of academic centers in Poland, it is virtually paradigmatic to talk about art in a very nar‑ row geographical context, accompanied by the tendency to isolate phenomena with clear ties to the European context. Too often is art in Poland seen as an expression and a consequence of its peripheral status, while almost overlooking the uniqueness and originality of many artistic phenomena. Moreover, a vision of Poland as a homogenous entity in its contemporary borders persists in the subconscious of the society, which constitutes a serious hindrance in the spread‑ ing of knowledge and is often used as a tool in historical politics. In addition, it should be noted that, unfortunately, many good practices, such as the obligation of familiarity with the entirety of the literature on the subject, begin to disappear, perhaps in connection with the “publish or perish” mentality and the need to fulfill the obligations towards the academic institution. Para‑ doxically, then, the political upheaval of 1989 brought in the discipline of art history, as well as the field of humanities as a whole, both positive as well as detrimental changes.

The following article concerns the Prague studies of Bolko V, Duke of Opole (died 1460), also known as the Hussite, the Heretic or Wołoszek. To be more precise, the article returns to the hypothesis concerning his studies in Prague, which were supposed to end with obtain‑ ing the bachelor degree (bachelor of liberal arts). To this end, the article focuses on the earlier findings of historians and enters a polemic with those sources (particularly the works of Maciej Woźny), which leads the author to completely new conclusions and allows him to disprove the earlier findings. The article establishes that the primary sources as well as Polish literature on the subject contributed to the creation of a historiographical myth (particularly due to the information included in Annales Glogovienses) regarding Duke Bolko V and his education, which stemmed from insufficiently critical approach to the source material and its selective use. Primarily, the issue concerns incorrect analysis of a writ of the Papal office, dating May 7, 1413, which was, according to Woźny, supposed to shed new light onto the subject, and which has been reinterpreted in the present article. Moreover, the confrontation of the earlier research findings with the source documents as well as Czech literature (particularly hitherto unused stu‑ dent registers and dean’s records of the Prague universities) did not allow to consider the Duke a student of a university in Prague. In light of the repeated analysis of the issue of the Prague studies of Bolko V, Duke of Opole and an interpretation of the archived primary sources,
the author argues that it is impossible to substantiate the claim that Bolko V ever studied in Prague and obtained a bachelor’s degree (at least until new sources emerge).

The following article returns to the difficulties in identifying the Duke of Opole, the culprit in the attack on a student from Prague, Henryk Stange. To this end, the article refers to an article by Robert T. Tomczak, agreeing with the suggestion that there exists no sufficient evidence that Bolko V obtained a bachelor degree at the university in Prague. However, the article disagrees with the further claims made in Tomczak’s article, who argues that the culprit in the attack could be, in fact, Bolko IV, Duke of Opole. To support this dissent, the article proves that, contrary to Tomczak’s claims, the oldest son of Bolko IV was also identified in foreign sources as the Duke of Opole, even after he was given his own province (Głogówek). Moreover, the emphasis on the young age of Bolko V, which supposedly rules him out as a suspect, appears to be misleading. In addition, the author doubts the correctness of identifying the rambunctious duke as Bolko IV, considering the political situation at that time as well as later historical records. The author also points to the similarities between the description of Bolko V in the Annales Glogovienses — concerning multiple instances of reproof which ended with excommunication — and the actual excommunication of Bolko V’s father in the beginning of the 15th century.