Społeczeństwo trwogi? Zachowania niezgodne z ethosem rycerskim w najstarszych kronikach polskich
Society of Fear? The Conduct at Variance with the Chivalric Ethos in the Oldest Polish Chronicles

Author(s): Agnieszka Klawinowska
Subject(s): History, Language and Literature Studies, Studies of Literature, Philology
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: anti-standard of behavior; ruler; deceit; vile; justice
Summary/Abstract: The article presents portrayals of conduct at variance with the chivalric ethos, which are found in the oldest narrative sources that were produced in Poland, namely PolishChronicle recorded by Gallus Anonymous in the early 12th century, the chronicle authoredby the Bishop of Kraków Master Vincentius in the early 13th century and Kronikawielkopolska (The Chronicle of Greater Poland) from the late 13th or early 14thcentury, the authorship of which has not been generally accepted yet. The author of thearticle performs an analysis of anti-knightly behavior, separately with regard to foreign enemyand domestic rulers. She shows under what circumstances the chroniclers used examplesof contemptible conduct, which was detrimental to the conventional perceptionof magnates at that time. Presenting the chroniclers’ interpretation, she also points to thecontext in which they mentioned those anti-standards of behavior. She argues that therhetoric and style used by medieval chroniclers in the creation of characters had didacticsignificance.

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