Rytuał i polityka : opowieść Galla Anonima o konflikcie Bolesława Krzywoustego ze Zbigniewem

Dalewski, Zbigniew (1962– )

doi:ISBN 83-88909-36-3

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Rytuał i polityka : opowieść Galla Anonima o konflikcie Bolesława Krzywoustego ze Zbigniewem

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Tytuł: Rytuał i polityka : opowieść Galla Anonima o konflikcie Bolesława Krzywoustego ze Zbigniewem

Abstrakt:

In Gallus Anonymous’ Chronicle we find a relatively comprehensive account of the dramatic events that in all probability took place in 1111, when Zbigniew, older half-brother of Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth of Poland, expelled by the latter from the country some years earlier, returned home. From the chronicler’s narrative, written almost simultaneously with the described events, we find out that the duke yielding to the humble requests of his brother decided to pardon his previous wrongdoings and consented to take him back. Zbigniew, however, did not show any gratitude and began to devise plans to return to power and remove his brother from the throne. In these circumstances Bolesław had to take drastic actions in the aftermath of which Zbigniew suffered – as Gallus put it – irreparable detriment. Yet in his justification of Bolesław’s actions against Zbigniew Gallus admitted that the duke turning against his brother committed a sin that had to be expiated through a ceremony of public penance. Further in his story he devoted much attention to depicting of the atoning duke who with great zeal engaged in penitential practices of strict fasting and generous almsgiving, culminating at Easter in the ceremony of reconciliation with God by the Grave of St. Adalbert at Gniezno. Bolesław’s decision to perform a ritual of public penance after having crushed his brother indicates that Zbigniew’s execution did not meet with general approval and undermined the duke’s authority. Thus the narrative written at the court of Bolesław III Wrymouth, explicitly shifting the responsibility for the tragedy from the culprit onto victim, could be seen as an official version of the dispute between the brothers, propagated by the entourage of the duke. This peculiar embroilment of the Gallus’ text in propaganda needs of the ducal court offers an opportunity to go beyond a purely informative (if we can use the term) layer of this account and make an attempt to examine the chronicler’s ways of constructing images, tailored to his needs, of the events accompanying Bolesław’s dispute with Zbigniew. As it seems, in order to rightly understand thepolitical reality of the earlier Middle Ages we have to consider both the means of exercising political influence used in political undertakings, and the ways in which they were reflected in narratives. The realities of practical activities and narrative intermingled, determining the frames within which political activity developed. [...]