Gallus Anonymus

"Gallus Anonymus" ( _pl. Gall Anonim – "the Anonymous Gaul"; 11th-12th centuries) was the author of "Cronicae et gesta ducum sive principum Polonorum" (Chronicles and Deeds of the Dukes or Princes of the Poles, written in Latin, ca. 1115). He is regarded as having been the first historian to describe Poland.

National origin

"Gallus"' national origin is unknown. While traditional scholarship has assumed that he was French (hence "Gallus"), the idea has been elaborated by Professor Tadeusz Jasiński of Poznań University that he was a Benedictine monk from Venice – an idea that has gained currency since an interview that he gave to the Polish daily, "Gazeta Wyborcza".

A similar conclusion was originally reached in the 1960s by Professor Danuta Borawska. [Danuta Borawska, "Mała Historia Literatury Polskiej" (A Brief History of Polish Literature), Warsaw, PWN, 2005, pp. 52-53.] (She had also mentioned that "Anonymus" may have been of Le Mans origin.) She concluded that "Gallus Anonymus" was probably a monk from St. Gilles' Monastery in the Lido, Venice, Italy, and Professor Marian Plezia later concurred. [Marian Plezia, "Nowe studia nad Gallem-Anonimem" ("New Studies on "Gallus Anonimus") in "Mente et litteris. O kulturze i społeczeństwie wieków średnich" ("Mente et litteris": On the Culture and Society of the Middle Ages), Poznań, 1984, pp. 111-20.] ["Anonim tzw. Gall, Kronika polska" ("Anonymous", called the Gaul, "The Polish Chronicle"), edited by Marian Plezia, translated by Roman Grodecki, Wrocław, 1996.]

"Gallus"' writing style resembles that of Hildebert of Lavardin, and "Gallus" was thought to have been educated at Le Mans or, according to Zathey, [J. Zathey, "W jakich szkołach uczył się Gall Anonim?" ("What Schools Did "Gallus Anonimus" Attend?"), "Sprawozdania Polskiej Akademii Umiejętności" (Proceedings of the Polish Academy of Learning), 1952, "z." 7-10, p. 555.] at Chartres or Bec in Normandy. The "clericus de penna vivens" ("cleric living by the pen") is suspected by Borawska [Danuta Borawska, "Gallus Anonim czy Italus Anonim?" ("Gallus Anonimus" or "Italus Anonimus"?"), "Przegląd Historyczny" (Historical Review), 1965.] to also have written the "Gesta Hungarorum" (Deeds of the Hungarians) or "Translatio Sti Nicolai".

According to Jasiński, he came to Poland over the Via Egnatia across the Slavic-speaking countries of "Epirus, Thrace, Dalmatia, Croatia, Istria." Jasiński found over 100 similarities when he compared the "Chronicle" with the "Translatio Sti Nicolai". He concluded that "Gallus" had a native knowledge of the Italian and Slovenian languages, like many Venetian clergy of the time.

"Anonymus cursus velox" is also in accord with a Venetian origin. Feliks Pohorecki had in 1930 formulated the hypothesis that, if one finds an author using "cursus spondiacus" simultaneously with "cursus velox", this fact may identify "Anonymus". The Swedish Latinist Tore Janson found "cursus spondiacus" in Hildebert's school, and the author wrote in the "Translation" about a stay at Tours and the celebration of a mass in the Lido.

"There is no reason, therefore, to doubt that "Gallus Anonymous" [the Anonymous Gaul] was "Monachus Littorensis" [the Littoral Monk] ." [Tomasz Jasiński, "Was "Gallus Anonymous Monachus Littorensis"?" Summaries, "Kwartalnik Historyczny" (Historical Quarterly), CXII, 2005, 3. ( [http://cejsh.icm.edu.pl/cejsh/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?06PLAAAA01593485 abstract 1] , [http://semper.rubikon.pl/kh/3_05str.htm abstract 2] )]

Gallus' influence

"Gallus" influenced the subsequent course of Polish history, in that his version of early Polish history emphasized that the ruler's authority was inferior to that of God, as expressed by the voice of the assembled people (as in the Latin proverb, "Vox populi, vox Dei" — "The voice of the people is the voice of God"). This reinforced Poles' electoral traditions and their tendency to disobey unwanted authority. The concept, via the "Chronicles" of Wincenty Kadłubek and the "Sermons" of Stanisław of Skarbimierz, contributed to the development of the unique "Golden Liberty" that would characterize the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, whose kings were elected and were obliged to obey the "Sejm" (parliament).

Notes

External links

* [http://monika.univ.gda.pl/~literat/autors/gal.htm Edmund Kotarski: "Gall Anonim"] (English/Polish)
* [http://serwisy.gazeta.pl/nauka/1,34148,3161923.html Gazeta Wyborcza article about Gallus Anonymus Venetian origins] (in Polish)
* [http://wiadomosci.wp.pl/kat,28434,wid,8198996,wiadomosc.html?P%5Bpage%5D=4 Kim naprawdę był Gall Anonim?] (in Polish)