http://en.posztukiwania.pl/wp-content/themes/special-theme
Navigation Menu
  • Blog
  • News
  • About me
  • Media
  • Lectures
Home » Blog » Hidden king
Mon09

Hidden king

Magdalena Łanuszka :: in Jun 9, 2014 :: in Blog :: 0 comments

Among the chapels in Cracow’s cathedral there is a gothic one: a Chapel of Holy Cross. Inside you will find (aside from a famous tomb of Polish king Kazimierz Jagiellończyk, sculpted by Veit Stoss) two gothic triptychs. One of them, a Triptych of Our Lady of Sorrows, contains a depiction of the Epiphany. One of the Three Kings in this panel looks quite familiar!

Jan Długosz described him: “His hight was poor, his face was narrow, thin, tapering by the chin. His head was small, long, completely bald […] His eyes were small and black.” Who is it? It is a progenitor of the Jagiellonian dynasty, Władysław Jagiełło. We can compare the face of a king from the altar and the face from Jagiełło’s tomb and the resemblance is quite obvious.

Screen Shot 2014-06-09 at 22.03.37

The triptych of Our Lady of Sorrows is an altarpiece created in Cracow around 1470. It was founded to the Holy Cross Chapel (where it still is) by the king Kazimierz Jagiellończyk and his wife Elżbieta Rakuszanka. Probably that was king Kazimierz who decided that one of the Three Kings in the altar should have a face of Kazimierz’s father, Władysław Jagiełło. Such hidden portraits were actually quite popular in Middle Ages: a very good example is the Epiphany in Saint Columba Altarpiece by Rogier van der Weyden (ca 1455, Munich, Alte Pinakothek). The youngest king in that painting looks like Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy (1467-77), whose face we know from his portrait (shown below).

Screen Shot 2014-06-09 at 22.12.09

And what do we know about Władyslaw Jagiełło besides how he looked? The story of his life is actually quite interesting. As a king of Poland he had four wives, and each marriage had its own scandal (even his first, holy wife – saint Hedwig – was once accused of cheating on him). Unfortunately, usually when we learn history we focus on the battles and statistics, and we do not search for the real human face of the people who lived in the past.

19_wj

Getting back to Jagiełło: we actually know quite much about him thanks to the Chronicles by Jan Długosz. In spite of being baptized, Jagiełło kept some strange pagan habits, for example, as Długosz wrote, he used to throw hairs from his beard and he placed them between his fingers and then washed his hands. Also, any time he left his home he turned around three times and thrown a straw in three pieces on the ground. Długosz also seemed to be taken aback by the fact that Jagiełło used to bath “every third day or even more often”! Actually, such often (as for Middle Ages) bathing could indicate obsessive–compulsive disorder, especially as Jagiełło, according to Długosz, “didn’t like anyone to touch his clothes, his bed, his horse, his napkin, his chalice and other things he used”. Can you imagine Polish king like a dwarf from the fairy tale Snow White, asking “Who has been drinking from my cup?”

On the other hand, Jagiełło had his little pleasures. He liked to watch a swing swinging, and according to Długosz, he used to secretly eat sweet pears. Well, it looks like already in Middle Ages eating sweets was considered a weakness, even for a king. On the other hand, Jagiełło used to do other things on plain sight. As Długosz wrote: “he used to get up late and after leaving his bed he went straightly to the toilet, where he used to spent a long time, dealing with many affairs. He was never as accessible as at that moment, so everyone tried to use it to get what they wanted from him”. It looks like he considered a toilet seat quite a good throne.

Picture 3

If you ever have a chance to visit Cracow’s cathedral, take a look at the old altar in the Holy Cross Chapel. Look at one of the Three Kings, who has a face of a Polish king. You might think of a man who used to turn around three times before he left the house, or about a guy who ate the pears when no-one looked, but who enabled others talk to him while he sits on a toilet. One thing is sure: you will think of that first, before you remember his victories or political affairs. Those details show us a real human being living centuries ago, and that is how we should learn history. Because history is built by people, not by monuments.



Post a Reply Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • Patron saints of mice, cats and thunderstorms
  • Polish version of ICONCLASS
  • Crypto-dildo?
  • Copy, imitation or forgery?
  • Talk in Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague

Recent Comments

  • Magdalena Łanuszka on Late-gothic panels in York Art Gallery – part 1.
  • Paul Pfisterer on Late-gothic panels in York Art Gallery – part 1.
  • SmyD on Transsexualism?
  • Magdalena Łanuszka on Lascivious “Lascivie”
  • Michael Guest on Lascivious “Lascivie”

Archives

  • July 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014

Categories

  • Blog
  • Lectures
  • Media
  • News

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.org

Tags

19th century 20th century animals Antiquity architecture art market Bible carnival Central Europe Christ customs death devil Early-modern fresco history Holy Spirit legend literature manuscripts Middle Ages mosaics Muse mythology Old Masters painting photography portrait prints relics Religious art Saints sculpture sex sexuality still life Virgin Mary wine

Designed by Fragrance Design © 2013 | Powered by WordPress

×

By using this website you allow us to place cookies on your computer for analytics.

However, if you would like to, you can change your cookie settings at any time.