Misplaced Pages

#972027

140-629: With time, the two swords became treated as royal insignia, symbolising the monarch's reign over two nations: the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. They were probably used in coronations of most Polish kings from the 16th to the 18th centuries. In private hands after the partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth at the end of the 18th century, they were lost without a trace in 1853. They have remained, however,

280-526: A Ukrainian Cossack and peasant rebellion in the east ( Koliyivshchyna ), which erupted in 1768 and resulted in massacres of Polish noblemen ( szlachta ), Jews, Uniates , ethnic minorities and Catholic priests, before it was put down by Russian and governmental Polish troops. This uprising led to the intervention of the Ottoman Empire, supported by Roman Catholic France and Austria. Bar confederation and France promised Podolia and Volhynia and

420-491: A vassal state , with Polish kings effectively chosen in diplomatic maneuvers between the great powers Prussia, Austria, Russia, and France. This applies particularly to the last Commonwealth King Stanisław August Poniatowski , who for some time had been a lover of Russian Empress Catherine the Great . In 1730, the neighbors of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ( Rzeczpospolita ), namely Prussia, Austria and Russia, signed

560-458: A black, nielloed background. On the obverse side of the hilt, the pommel bears a large stylized letter T on top of a letter C or G (the latter could be just a decorative element of the letter T ) between the Greek letters Α and ω ( alpha and omega ) surmounted with little crosses . Below the letter T , there is another cross placed within a cloud or flower with twelve petals. On

700-460: A cautionary tale for the writers of the U.S. Constitution . Szczerbiec Szczerbiec ( Polish pronunciation: [ˈʂt͡ʂɛr.bʲɛt͡s] ) is the ceremonial sword used in the coronations of most Polish monarchs from 1320 to 1764. It now is displayed in the treasure vault of the royal Wawel Castle in Kraków , as the only preserved part of the medieval Polish crown jewels . The sword

840-471: A consequence, Krasiński declined Lobanov-Rostovsky's offer. Lobanov-Rostovsky ultimately sold Szczerbiec to Prince Anatoly Demidov , who kept it together with the rest of the Demidov collection in his Villa San Donato near Florence . In 1870, the sword was bought for 20,000 French francs by Alexander Basilevsky , Russian ambassador to France and great art collector. In 1878, he displayed Szczerbiec at

980-663: A detailed description of a sword decorated with symbols of the Evangelists and inscriptions identical to those on Szczerbiec. According to the inventory, it was a gift from Crown Prince Jakub Sobieski to Prince Michał Radziwiłł , but the original source of the supposed replica was not given. An inventory made in 1738 of the treasure vault of the Sobieski family 's Żółkiew Castle (now Zhovkva in Ukraine) mentions "an estoc ( koncerz ) covered with golden plates bearing images of

1120-461: A formal diplomatic protest of Nazi Germany. In the interest of "maintaining good neighborhood", Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked the Polish Post to withdraw the stamp from circulation; on the 1939 version of the stamp, the swords were replaced by a heraldic ornament. In 1943, Gwardia Ludowa , a communist resistance movement in occupied Poland introduced its own military decoration ,

1260-536: A large portion had not been ethnically Polish. By seizing northwestern Poland, Prussia instantly gained control over 80% of the Commonwealth's total foreign trade. Through levying enormous customs duties, Prussia accelerated the collapse of the Commonwealth. After having occupied their respective territories, the three partitioning powers demanded that King Stanisław and the Sejm approve their action. When no help

1400-539: A result the symbol is still listed in the catalog of extreme-right symbols banned at Polish football stadiums. It was also banned by UEFA during Euro 2008 and 2012. The symbolic use of Szczerbiec became a bone of contention again in 2009. After a monument to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army ( Ukrayins'ka Povstans'ka Armiya ) on the Chryszczata  [ pl ] Mountain in southeastern Poland

1540-557: A secret agreement to maintain the status quo : specifically, to ensure that the Commonwealth laws would not change. Their alliance later became known in Poland as the " Alliance of the Three Black Eagles " (or Löwenwolde 's Treaty ), because all three states used a black eagle as a state symbol (in contrast to the white eagle , a symbol of Poland). The Commonwealth had been forced to rely on Russia for protection against

SECTION 10

#1732776591973

1680-541: A souvenir of past victories venerated by Boleslaus the Brave's successors. According to Wincenty Kadłubek 's Chronicle , Boleslaus Wrymouth ( r. 1107–1138 ) had a favorite sword he called Żuraw or Grus ("Crane"). A scribe who copied the chronicle in 1450 added the word Szczurbycz above the word Żuraw , but whether these two swords were one and the same is uncertain. According to the Chronicle of Greater Poland ,

1820-646: A successor of the ancient and glorious legacy of the first king of the House of Piast . Accordingly, the coronation sword took over the name and the legend of the original Szczerbiec. The corrosion-induced slit in the blade became associated with the fabled szczerba , or notch that Boleslaus had purportedly made on his sword in Kiev. The power of tradition was so strong that when Stanislaus Augustus's court painter, Marcello Bacciarelli , who had made detailed studies of Polish crown jewels, painted an imaginary portrait of Boleslaus

1960-531: A symbol of victory and Poland's and Lithuania's past, and an important part of national identity of the two nations. The battle of Grunwald was part of the Great War fought during 1409–1411 between a Polish–Lithuanian coalition led by King Władysław II and Grand Duke Vytautas (Alexander) on one side and the Teutonic Order aided by West European knights and led by Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen on

2100-498: A type XII sword with a type I pommel and a type 6 crossguard according to the Oakeshott typology , although the blade may have changed its shape due to centuries of corrosion and intensive cleaning before every coronation. The hilt consists of a round pommel, a flat grip and an arched crossguard. The grip is 10.1 cm (4.0 in) long, 1.2 cm (0.5 in) thick, and from 2 to 3 cm (0.8 to 1.2 in) wide. It

2240-564: A weapon of war. The surface of the blade is covered with deep scratches along its length, a result of intensive cleaning from rust before every coronation, probably with sand or brick powder. Inactive spots of corrosion may be also found on the entire surface. Just below the hilt, there are three perforations in the fuller of the blade. The largest is a rectangular slot that is 64 mm (2.5 in) long and 8.5 mm (0.33 in) wide. This opening, known in Polish as szczyrba or szczerba ,

2380-582: A white-and-red ribbon was adopted as a symbol of Polish nationalist organizations led by Roman Dmowski – the Camp of Great Poland ( Obóz Wielkiej Polski ), the National Party ( Stronnictwo Narodowe ), and the All-Polish Youth ( Młodzież Wszechpolska ). Their members wore it as a badge called Mieczyk Chrobrego  [ pl ] , or "Little Sword of [Boleslaus] the Brave ". The symbol

2520-565: A wide-scale social reform, virtually impossible. Solovyov specified the cultural, language and religious break between the supreme and lowest layers of the society in the east regions of the Commonwealth, where the Belarusian and Ukrainian serf peasantry was Orthodox. Russian authors emphasized the historical connections between Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, as former parts of the medieval old Russian state where dynasty of Rurikids reigned ( Kievan Rus' ). Thus, Nikolay Karamzin wrote: "Let

2660-417: Is 1 cm (0.4 in) thick near the grip and measures 20 cm (8 in) in length along its upper edge. The pommel and the crossguard are made of silver. The core of the grip is a brass chest encasing the tang of the blade. It was probably made in the 19th century to replace an original organic core, which had decomposed. At the same time the tang was riveted to the top of the pommel. The head of

2800-520: Is a prominent part of the museum's Treasury and Armory permanent exhibition. The sword is suspended horizontally inside a glass case in the middle of the Jagiełło and Hedwig Vault located on the ground floor in the northeastern corner of the Wawel Castle . Historical accounts related to the early history of the Polish coronation sword are scant and often mixed with legend. The earliest known use of

2940-475: Is damaged, maintain what is rebuilt, avenge what is unjust, reinforce what is well managed," etc. Then, the king handed the sword to the Crown sword-bearer ( miecznik koronny ), who slid it into the scabbard and passed on to the primate. The primate, aided by the Crown and Lithuanian sword-bearers, fastened the scabbard to the king's belt. The king stood up and, facing onlookers, withdrew Szczerbiec, made three times

SECTION 20

#1732776591973

3080-426: Is doubtful, its legend had a great impact on Polish historical memory and the treatment of its successor, the modern Szczerbiec. The sword currently known as Szczerbiec was forged and decorated in a style characteristic of the late 12th and 13th centuries, so it could not have belonged to any of the three great Boleslauses of the 11th and early 12th centuries. Additionally, it is a purely ceremonial sword which, unlike

3220-586: Is noted for its hilt, decorated with magical formulae, Christian symbols , and floral patterns, as well as for the narrow slit in the blade which holds a small shield with the coat of arms of Poland . The name of the sword is derived from the Polish word szczerba ("gap", "notch", or "chip"), and its meaning is incorrectly perceived as "the Notched Sword" or "the Jagged Sword" (which is included in

3360-467: Is rectangular in cross-section and its hard edges make it difficult to handle and impractical for fighting, which is indicative of the sword's purely ceremonial usage. The pommel is 4.5 cm (1.8 in) in diameter and 2.6 cm (1.0 in) thick, with a chamfered outer ring that is 1.3 cm (0.5 in) wide. The crossguard forms an arch that is 1.8 cm (0.7 in) wide in the middle and widens up to 3.4 cm (1.3 in) at both ends. It

3500-612: Is sometimes used geographically as toponymy , to mean the three parts that the partitioning powers divided the Commonwealth into, namely: the Austrian Partition , the Prussian Partition and the Russian Partition . In Polish, there are two separate words for the two meanings. The consecutive acts of dividing and annexation of Poland are referred to as rozbiór (plural: rozbiory ), while

3640-619: Is the title of a periodical published since 1991 by a minor radical nationalist party, the National Revival of Poland ( Narodowe Odrodzenie Polski ). In 2005, the Polish Football Association , in an attempt to fight racism among Polish football fans, prepared a blacklist of most common racist and fascist symbols to be banned from Polish football stadiums. The catalog, co-authored by independent anti-fascist organization Never Again ( Nigdy Więcej ), listed

3780-743: The Cross of Grunwald , featuring the Grunwald Swords on its obverse. It was later adopted by the People's Republic of Poland as the second highest military award. The cross ceased to be awarded in 1987 and was formally discontinued in 1992. The swords featured in the Polish Navy Jack in the years 1946–1955. In modern Poland, the Grunwald Swords remain a popular military symbol, especially in Warmia and Masuria . The commune of Grunwald uses

3920-706: The Habsburg monarchy , the Kingdom of Prussia , and the Russian Empire , which divided up the Commonwealth lands among themselves progressively in the process of territorial seizures and annexations. The First Partition was decided on August 5, 1772, after the Bar Confederation lost the war with Russia. The Second Partition occurred in the aftermath of the Polish–Russian War of 1792 and

4060-758: The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 ). Poland would be briefly resurrected—if in a smaller frame—in 1807, when Napoleon set up the Duchy of Warsaw . After his defeat and the implementation of the Congress of Vienna treaty in 1815, the Russian-dominated Congress Kingdom of Poland was created in its place. After the Congress, Russia gained a larger share of Poland (with Warsaw ) and, after crushing an insurrection in 1831 ,

4200-710: The Jagiellonian University of Kraków. The university lost it during the German occupation in World War II. After the war, the replica found itself in the hands of Tadeusz Janowski who smuggled it to the United States in 1947. At around that time, the short stiletto blade was replaced with a long blade of a 16th-century German sword. To imitate Szczerbiec, a slit was cut in the blade and small heraldic shields were attached to it on both sides. During

4340-536: The Kościuszko Uprising began. Kosciuszko's ragtag insurgent armies won some initial successes, but they eventually fell before the superior forces of the Russian Empire. The partitioning powers, seeing the increasing unrest in the remaining Commonwealth, decided to solve the problem by erasing any independent Polish state from the map. On October 24, 1795, their representatives signed a treaty, dividing

Grunwald Swords - Misplaced Pages Continue

4480-705: The Mieczyk Chrobrego as one of the extreme right symbols that are often displayed at the Polish stadiums. The catalog listed other racist and fascist symbols like the Nazi swastika , the Celtic cross , and the Confederate Flag . After a protest by MEP Sylwester Chruszcz of the League of Polish Families, additional consultations were held with historians, academic researchers and other experts and as

4620-577: The National Armed Forces ( Narodowe Siły Zbrojne ) and the National Military Organization ( Narodowa Organizacja Wojskowa ). After the fall of communism in Poland , the Mieczyk Chrobrego symbol was readopted by new or reactivated nationalist and far-right organizations, including League of Polish Families ( Liga Polskich Rodzin ), All-Polish Youth and the Camp of Great Poland . Additionally, Szczerbiec

4760-610: The Persian Empire ), and reserved a place in its diplomatic corps for an Ambassador of Lehistan (Poland). Several scholars focused on the economic motivations of the partitioning powers. Hajo Holborn noted that Prussia aimed to take control of the lucrative Baltic grain trade through Gdańsk . In the 18th century the Russian peasants were escaping from Russia to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (where

4900-535: The Polish-Soviet war . During the Second World War , Szczerbiec was evacuated to Canada and did not return to Kraków until 1959. In the 20th century, an image of the sword was adopted as a symbol by Polish nationalist and far-right movements. Szczerbiec is a 98 cm-long (39 in) ceremonial sword bearing rich Gothic ornamentation, dated to the mid-13th century. It is classified as

5040-603: The Russian Enlightenment , as Russian writers such as Gavrila Derzhavin , Denis Fonvizin , and Alexander Pushkin stressed degeneration of Catholic Poland and the need to "civilize" it by its neighbors. Nonetheless, other 19th century contemporaries were much more skeptical; for example, British jurist Sir Robert Phillimore discussed the partition as a violation of international law ; German jurist Heinrich Bernhard Oppenheim presented similar views. Other older historians who challenged such justifications for

5180-632: The Russian Revolution and the Treaty of Versailles finally allowed and helped the restoration of Poland's full independence after 123 years. The term "Fourth Partition of Poland" may refer to any subsequent division of Polish lands, including: If one accepts more than one of those events as partitions, fifth, sixth, and even seventh partitions can be counted, but these terms are very rare. (For example, Norman Davies in God's Playground refers to

5320-559: The Targowica Confederation when Russian and Prussian troops entered the Commonwealth and the partition treaty was signed during the Grodno Sejm on January 23, 1793 (without Austria). The Third Partition took place on October 24, 1795, in reaction to the unsuccessful Polish Kościuszko Uprising the previous year. With this partition, the Commonwealth ceased to exist . In English, the term "Partitions of Poland"

5460-854: The Temple of the Sibyl , her private museum established in the garden of the Czartoryski Palace in Puławy . The palace was seized by the Russian government during the November Uprising of 1830–1831. Most of the collection from the Temple of the Sybil had been evacuated to France shortly before the uprising broke out, but the Grunwald Swords were hidden in a parish priest's house in the nearby village of Włostowice (now part of Puławy). In 1853, after

5600-526: The War of the Polish Succession , supporters of King Stanislaus I concealed the jewels in a Warsaw church for three years to prevent Augustus III from using them in his coronation. In 1764, they were sent to Warsaw again, to be used in a coronation for the last time – that of Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski . They were returned to Kraków afterwards. During a typical Polish coronation ceremony in

5740-644: The World's Fair in Paris . By that time, the scabbard had been lost and the sword itself was presented as of Teutonic origin. It was seen by several Polish visitors who speculated whether it could be the Polish coronation sword. In 1884, the entire Basilevsky collection was purchased by Emperor Alexander III of Russia for the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg . Both Polish and other experts at

Grunwald Swords - Misplaced Pages Continue

5880-569: The communist rule in Poland , the Polish American community of Chicago treated the replica as a symbol of Poland's independence. In 1968, it was demonstrated to U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy while he was meeting with Polish Americans during his presidential campaign . Janowski returned the sword to the Jagiellonian University in 2003. In the interwar period, a simplified image of Szczerbiec wrapped three times in

6020-543: The once dire conditions had improved, unlike in Russia ) in significant enough numbers to become a major concern for the Russian Government sufficient to play a role in its decision to partition the Commonwealth (one of the reasons Catherine II gave for the partition of Poland was that thousands of peasants escaped from Russia to Poland to seek a better fate"). Jerzy Czajewski and Piotr Kimla assert that in

6160-491: The sign of the cross with it, and wiped it against his left arm before replacing it in the scabbard. The king's sword-wielding abilities were closely watched by his new subjects during this part of the ritual. When Augustus III betrayed his poor fencing skills at his coronation, nobles joked that they were going to have "a peaceful lord". After Szczerbiec, a bishop handed the sovereign the Grunwald Swords symbolizing

6300-424: The 1772 population remained in Poland. Prussia named its newly gained province South Prussia , with Poznań (and later Warsaw) as the capital of the new province. Targowica confederates, who did not expect another partition, and the king, Stanisław August Poniatowski , who joined them near the end, both lost much prestige and support. The reformers, on the other hand, were attracting increasing support, and in 1794

6440-576: The 1807 creation of the Duchy of Warsaw as the fourth partition, the 1815 Treaty of Vienna as the fifth, the 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk as the sixth, and the 1939 division of Poland between Nazi Germany and the USSR as the seventh.) However, in recent times, the 1815 division of the Duchy of Warsaw at the Congress of Vienna and the 1939 division of Poland have been sometimes called the fourth and fifth partitions, respectively. The term "Fourth Partition"

6580-405: The 18th century until the partitions solved this problem, Russian armies increasingly raided territories of the Commonwealth, officially to recover the escapees, but in fact kidnapping many locals; Piotr Kimla noted that the Russian government spread international propaganda, mainly in France, which falsely exaggerated serfdom conditions in Poland, while ignoring worse conditions in Russia, as one of

6720-401: The Austrian 47,000 km (18,147 sq mi) with 1.2 million and Lublin and Kraków. The King of Poland , Stanisław August Poniatowski , under Russian military escort left for Grodno where he abdicated on November 25, 1795; next he left for Saint Petersburg , Russia, where he would spend his remaining days. This act ensured that Russia would be seen as the most important of

6860-411: The Bohemian religious reformer praised the Polish–Lithuanian victory at Grunwald as a triumph of humility over pride. Where, then, are the two swords of the enemies? They were indeed cut down with those swords with which they tried to terrify the humble! Behold, they sent you two swords, the swords of violence and of pride, and have lost many thousands of them, having been utterly defeated. The king sent

7000-410: The Brave, he chose to depict Szczerbiec so that its appearance agreed with legend rather than reality. The images of the coronation crown and sword are overall meticulously accurate, but Bacciarelli's Szczerbiec lacks the slit and has a chipped edge instead. In 1794, during the failed Kościuszko Uprising which led to the final partition of Poland a year later, Prussian troops captured Kraków. In

7140-424: The Commonwealth had been showing the beginning signs of a slow recovery and see the last two partitions as an answer to strengthening reforms in the Commonwealth and the potential threat they represented to its power-hungry neighbours. As historian Norman Davies stated, because the balance of power equilibrium was observed, many contemporary observers accepted explanations of the "enlightened apologists" of

SECTION 50

#1732776591973

7280-425: The Commonwealth's population, Austria with 32%, and Russia with 45%. (Wandycz also offers slightly different total annexed territory estimates, with 18% for Austria, 20% for Prussia and 62% for Russia.) During the Napoleonic Wars and in their immediate aftermath the borders between partitioning powers shifted several times, changing the numbers seen in the preceding table. Ultimately, Russia ended up with most of

7420-579: The Congress Kingdom's autonomy was abolished and Poles faced confiscation of property, deportation, forced military service, and the closure of their own universities. After the uprising of 1863 , Russification of Polish secondary schools was imposed and the literacy rate dropped dramatically. In the Austrian sector which now was called Galicia , Poles fared better and were allowed to have representation in Parliament and to form their own universities, and Kraków with Lemberg (Lwów/Lviv) became centers of Polish culture and education. Meanwhile, Prussia Germanized

7560-442: The Four Evangelists; Skanderbek's." Based on this record, historian Aleksander Czołowski hypothesized that a replica of Szczerbiec was forged as early as 1457 and awarded to George Kastrioti Skanderbeg , the national leader of Albania, in recognition of his victory over the Ottoman forces (see Battle of Ujëbardha ). After King John III Sobieski defeated the Ottomans in the Battle of Vienna in 1683, Albanians presumably returned

7700-466: The Golden Gate was only constructed in 1037 and the sword is actually dated to the late 12th or 13th century. It was first used as a coronation sword by Ladislaus the Short in 1320. Looted by Prussian troops in 1795, it changed hands several times during the 19th century until it was purchased in 1884 for the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg . The Soviet Union returned it to Poland in 1928 as part of war reparations for their loss against Poland in

7840-437: The Grunwald Swords behind. After Prussia ceded Kraków, by the terms of the Third Partition of Poland , to the Habsburg Empire in 1796, the swords were retrieved from the devastated treasury by historian Tadeusz Czacki who handed them over to Princess Izabela Czartoryska . The princess was an art collector known for her interest in Polish national memorabilia. The Grunwald Swords were placed among other patriotic souvenirs in

7980-455: The Grunwald Swords. During the War of the Polish Succession , Leszczyński's supporters sequestered the Polish Crown Jewels from Wawel and hid them at the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa to prevent Stanislaus's rival Frederick Augustus Wettin from using them for his coronation. Hence, Augustus III used his own set of crown jewels for his 1734 coronation. His set included two sheathless ceremonial swords, described by an anonymous witness of

8120-439: The Hermitage. Some experts suspected that the sword possessed by the Russian imperial museum was in fact the Nieśwież replica, not part of the original royal insignia. Another historically notable replica of Szczerbiec was produced probably in Dresden , Saxony , at the time when the original was in Prussian hands. It is modest and inexact; the handle is carved in bovine bone and the niello is imitated with black paint. Designs on

8260-404: The Partitions included French historian Jules Michelet , British historian and politician Thomas Babington Macaulay , and Edmund Burke , who criticized the immorality of the partitions. Nonetheless, most governments accepted the event as a fait acompli . The Ottoman Empire was either the only, or one of only two countries in the world that refused to accept the partitions, (the other being

8400-579: The Pious, then he could have inherited it. If it had belonged to any of the two Boleslauses who had ruled from Kraków as high dukes of all Poland, then Ladislaus could have simply found it in the Wawel Cathedral . Thereafter, Szczerbiec became an integral part of the Polish Crown Jewels , shared their fate, and was the principal ceremonial sword used in coronations of all Polish kings until 1764, except Jogaila (1386), Stephen Báthory (1576), Stanislaus I Leszczyński (1705), and Augustus III Wettin (1734). Szczerbiec, together with other crown jewels,

8540-433: The Polish core at the expense of Prussia and Austria. Following the Congress of Vienna , Russia controlled 82% of the pre-1772 Commonwealth's territory (this includes its puppet state of Congress Poland ), Austria 11%, and Prussia 7%. As a result of the Partitions, Poles were forced to seek a change of status quo in Europe. Polish poets, politicians, noblemen, writers, artists, many of whom were forced to emigrate (thus

SECTION 60

#1732776591973

8680-510: The Polish economy. Through the Polish nobles whom Russia controlled and the Russian Minister to Warsaw, ambassador and Prince Nicholas Repnin , Empress Catherine the Great forced a constitution on the Commonwealth at the so-called Repnin Sejm of 1767, named after ambassador Repnin, who effectively dictated the terms of that Sejm (and ordered the capture and exile to Kaluga of some vocal opponents of his policies, including bishop Józef Andrzej Załuski and others). This new constitution undid

8820-461: The Polish sovereign state after 1918. During the reign of Władysław IV (1632–1648), the liberum veto was developed, a policy of parliamentary procedure based on the assumption of the political equality of every " gentleman/Polish nobleman ", with the corollary that unanimous consent was needed for all measures. A single member of parliament's belief that a measure was injurious to his own constituency (usually simply his own estate), even after

8960-417: The Prussian master Ulryk, to entice you to battle, will withdraw from the plain which he took for his army, as far as you want, or you may instead choose any field of battle so that you do not postpone the battle any longer. As they spoke, Teutonic forces did, in fact, withdraw from previously occupied positions. The king accepted the swords and, according to the letter he later wrote to his wife, responded with

9100-454: The Romans , and a red griffin in a silver field of Duke Casimir V of Pomerania . The heralds had been sent by the grand master to Władysław II and Vytautas, but since the latter was busy making his troops ready for the battle, it was only the king, accompanied by his closest aides, who received the envoys. The heralds spoke in German while the royal secretary, Jan Mężyk of Dąbrowa, served as an interpreter. They delivered, according to Długosz,

9240-449: The Russian partition. In Polish historiography, the term "Fourth Partition of Poland" has also been used, in reference to any subsequent annexation of Polish lands by foreign invaders. Depending on source and historical period, this could mean the events of 1815 , or 1832 and 1846 , or 1939 . The term "Fourth Partition" in a temporal sense can also mean the diaspora communities that played an important political role in re-establishing

9380-437: The act had been approved, became enough to strike the act. Thus it became increasingly difficult to undertake action. The liberum veto also provided openings for foreign diplomats to get their ways, through bribing nobles to exercise it. Thus, one could characterise Poland–Lithuania in its final period (mid-18th century) before the partitions as already in a state of disorder and not a completely sovereign state, and almost as

9520-403: The actual construction of the Golden Gate in 1037. It is plausible, though, that Boleslaus did chip his sword by striking it against an earlier gate in Kiev. His great-grandson, Boleslaus the Bold ( r. 1058–1079 ), hit the Golden Gate with a sword in 1069, which would indicate that it was a customary gesture of gaining control over a city. It is also possible that this sword was preserved as

9660-434: The agreement of partition was signed in Vienna . Early in August, Russian, Prussian and Austrian troops occupied the provinces agreed upon among themselves. However, fighting continued as Bar confederation troops and French volunteers refused to lay down their arms (most notably, in Tyniec , Częstochowa and Kraków ). On August 5, 1772, the occupation manifesto was issued, to the dismay of the weak and exhausted Polish state;

9800-400: The aid of Great Britain. As Russia moved into the Crimea and the Danubian Principalities (which the Habsburg monarchy long coveted), King Frederick II of Prussia and Maria Theresa were worried that the defeat of the Ottoman Empire would severely upset the balance of power in Eastern Europe. Frederick II began to construct the partition to rebalance the power in Eastern Europe. In February 1772,

9940-404: The bishops assisting in the ceremony handed the Grunwald Swords to the king who in turn passed them on to the Crown (i.e., Polish) and Lithuanian sword-bearers ( miecznicy ). After the coronation, the king returned from the cathedral where the ceremony had taken place to the royal castle, preceded, among others, by the two sword-bearers carrying the Grunwald Swords as symbols of the king's reign in

10080-527: The blade an armorial shield of Lithuania below a grand-ducal hat. Those two swords were used again in a mourning ceremony on the third anniversary of the death of King Augustus II , Augustus III's father, in 1736. Afterwards, they were moved to the Armory ( Rüstkammer ) in Dresden where they could still be seen at the end of the 19th century. Their current location is unknown. The Grunwald Swords were used for

10220-581: The blade of one sword and, analogically, a similar shield with the Lithuanian Pursuer was fastened to the other one. Two of the elective kings of Poland–Lithuania were crowned without the use of the Grunwald Swords. King Stanislaus I Leszczyński was crowned in Warsaw in 1705 with a makeshift set of royal insignia given to him by King Charles XII of Sweden and quickly destroyed after the ceremony. The set probably did not include an equivalent of

10360-439: The blade was forged from unevenly carburized semi-hard bloomery steel. Apart from iron , the material contains, by weight, 0.6 percent of carbon , 0.153 percent of silicon , 0.092 percent of phosphorus , and other elements. Numerous slag inclusions found in the steel are typical for medieval iron smelting technology. Part of the blade was hardened by quenching . Unlike the hilt, the blade would have been fully functional as

10500-412: The ceremony as "two huge épées ", that were meant to replace the Grunwald Swords as symbols of Poland and Lithuania. The Polish sword had a pommel in the shape of an eagle's head, a cross-guard in the form of an eagle's talons, and a little crowned heraldic shield with the arms of Poland on the blade. Its Lithuanian counterpart had a pommel shaped like a lion's head, a lion's paws as the cross-guard, and on

10640-483: The chamfered edge around this design runs a circular Latin inscription in two rings which reads: Rec figura talet ad amorem regum / et principum iras iudicum ("This sign rouses the love of kings and princes, the wrath of judges"). The grip bears the symbols of two of the Four Evangelists : the lion of Saint Mark and the ox of Saint Luke , as well as an Agnus Dei ( Lamb of God ). The crossguard bears

10780-402: The city of Toruń ). Despite token criticism of the partition from Empress Maria Theresa , Austrian statesman Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg , was proud of wresting as large a share as he did, with the rich salt mines of Bochnia and Wieliczka . To Austria fell Zator and Auschwitz ( Oświęcim ), part of Lesser Poland embracing parts of the counties of Kraków and Sandomir and

10920-456: The city. It was the notch that appeared on the edge of the blade which gave the sword its name. This account, written three centuries after the events it describes, is implausible not only because of the customary reference to the sword's supernatural origin (compare Excalibur ), but also because Boleslaus's intervention in the Kievan succession crisis took place in 1018, or about 19 years before

11060-525: The committee's efforts resulted in the return to Poland of, among other national treasures, Szczerbiec, which, after 133 years, was deposited back in the Wawel Castle. On 3 September 1939, two days after Germany invaded Poland triggering the Second World War , began the evacuation of the most precious national treasures, including Szczerbiec, from the Wawel Castle. The cargo was transported on barges, wagons, buses and trucks to Romania. From there, it

11200-402: The decorative plates were several times dismounted and placed again on the hilt in variable configurations. The current composition, with the symbols of the Evangelists duplicated on each side of the hilt, matches that known from the earliest preserved depiction drafted by Johann Christoph Werner in 1794. It is possible, though, that the original placement of the golden plates was different, with

11340-579: The duke's identity: "Boleslaus, Duke of Poland, Masovia , and Łęczyca " – except that no duke of this name and titles ever existed. Historians have variously identified the duke in question as Boleslaus the Curly ( r. 1146–1173 ), Boleslaus the Chaste ( r. 1226–1279 ), Boleslaus I of Masovia ( r. 1229–1248 ) or Boleslaus the Pious of Greater Poland ( r. 1239–1247 ). As a coronation sword, Szczerbiec

11480-470: The dynastic union of the two nations under the House of Jagiellon . Since the pair of swords had been given to two rulers – of Poland and Lithuania – each of the weapons was associated with one of the two constituent nations of the Commonwealth. During a coronation ceremony, the king-elect made a sign of the Cross three times with Szczerbiec , or the principal coronation sword. Immediately afterwards, one of

11620-716: The entire school system of its Polish subjects, and had no more respect for Polish culture and institutions than the Russian Empire. In 1915 a client state of the German Empire and Austria-Hungary was proposed and accepted by the Central Powers of World War I: the Regency Kingdom of Poland . After the end of World War I, the Central Powers' surrender to the Western Allies , the chaos of

11760-675: The exile to Russia of the top Roman Catholic bishops, the members of the Polish Senate, led to the War of the Confederation of Bar of 1768–1772, formed in Bar , where the Poles tried to expel Russian forces from Commonwealth territory. The irregular and poorly commanded Polish forces had little chance in the face of the regular Russian army and suffered a major defeat. Adding to the chaos was

11900-503: The first inscription is only known from an old replica of Szczerbiec which once belonged to the Radziwiłł family (see Historical replicas below) . The full inscription read: Iste est gladius Principis et haeredis Boleslai Ducis Poloniae et Masoviae, Lanciciae ("This is a sword of Hereditary Prince Boleslaus, Duke of Poland, Masovia , and Łęczyca "). The identity of this Duke Boleslaus is uncertain. Use-wear analysis indicates that

12040-643: The following Latin inscription: Quicumque hec / nomina Deii secum tu/lerit nullum periculum / ei omnino nocebit ("Whoever will carry these names of God with him, no danger will harm him"). The reverse side of the pommel is decorated with a vine bush surrounded by a wreath of vine leaves. On the reverse of the grip, there are the eagle of Saint John and the angel of Saint Matthew , and another Agnus Dei . The crossguard bears, above another pattern of vine leaves, an inscription in corrupted Hebrew in Latin script: Con citomon Eeve Sedalai Ebrebel ("Fervent faith incite

12180-437: The following message: Your Majesty! The Grand Master Ulryk sends you and your brother (...) through us, the deputies standing here, two swords for help so that you, with him and his army, may delay less and may fight more boldly than you have shown, and also that you will not continue hiding and staying in the forest and groves, and will not postpone the battle. And if you believe that you have too little space to form your ranks,

12320-419: The following words: We accept the swords you send us, and in the name of Christ, before whom all stiff-necked pride must bow, we shall do battle. While sending swords as a formal gesture challenging the enemy to battle was customary at that time, adding insults was not. Hence the envoys' speech was considered grossly boastful and impudent, as can be seen from a letter sent by Jan Hus to King Władysław II where

12460-507: The following year, on King Frederick William II 's orders, the treasure vault of the Wawel Castle was looted and the crown jewels taken to Breslau (now Wrocław in Poland), then to Berlin , and finally to Königsberg (now Kaliningrad in Russia). Between 1809 and 1811 most of the jewels were melted down, but some, including Szczerbiec, were put up for sale. The coronation sword was acquired by

12600-645: The following year. From 1919 to 1921, the two states fought the Polish–Soviet War which was concluded with the Peace of Riga . Article 11 of the peace treaty required that the Soviet side return all culturally significant collections and items that had been removed from Poland since the First Partition in 1772. A special bilateral committee was set up to carry out the restitution of cultural goods. In 1928,

12740-421: The foreigners denounce the partition of Poland: we took what was ours." Russian historians often stressed that Russia annexed primarily Ukrainian and Belarusian provinces with Eastern Slavic inhabitants, although many Ruthenians were no more enthusiastic about Russia than about Poland, and ignoring ethnically Polish and Lithuanian territories also being annexed later. A new justification for partitions arose with

12880-456: The future Russian minister of justice, Prince Dmitry Lobanov-Rostovsky , who probably hoped to resell it to one of Polish aristocrats. In 1819, he approached General Wincenty Krasiński , speaker of the Sejm (parliament) of the "Congress" Kingdom of Poland . The prince did not disclose the actual source of the sword and claimed to have bought it in Moscow from an Armenian merchant who had found

13020-462: The handle are patterned on those of the genuine Szczerbiec, except that the crosses and letters on the pommel were replaced with the coat of arms of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . The blade was initially shorter than that of the original, actually typical for a stiletto . It was purchased in Dresden by art historian Edward Rastawiecki , who in 1869 donated it to the archeological collection of

13160-574: The justification for the partitions. Il Canto degli Italiani , the Italian national anthem, contains a reference to the partition. The ongoing partitions of Poland were a major topic of discourse in The Federalist Papers , where the structure of the government of Poland, and of foreign influence over it, is used in several papers ( Federalist No. 14 , Federalist No. 19 , Federalist No. 22 , Federalist No. 39 for examples) as

13300-655: The last time in a coronation of a Polish king – that of Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski – in 1764 in Warsaw. They are mentioned in the last inventory of the royal treasury of 1792. During the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794, Kraków was captured by the Prussian army, which occupied the Wawel Castle and looted its treasure vault. However, the Prussians, probably uninterested in the material value of two simple iron swords and unaware of their historical and symbolic significance, left

13440-418: The monarch's reign over the two constituent nations of the Commonwealth. Throughout the period from Casimir the Great ( r. 1333–1370 ) to Stanislaus Augustus, Polish crown jewels were commonly believed to date back to the times of Boleslaus the Brave. This conviction helped maintain a sense of continuity of Polish statehood and provide legitimacy for the nation's kings, implicitly making each Polish monarch

13580-519: The name "Szczerbiec" appeared in the Chronicle of Greater Poland at the turn of the 14th century. According to this source, the sword was given to King Boleslaus the Brave (reigned 992–1025) by an angel; Polish kings were supposed to always carry it in battle to triumph over their enemies. During Boleslaus's invasion of Kievan Rus' , he hit it against the Golden Gate of Kyiv while capturing

13720-613: The names of God: Sedalai and Ebrehel"). On the opposite ends of the crossguard, there are again the symbols of Saints John and Matthew. The circumference of the pommel is decorated with a rhombic pattern, while the upper side of the crossguard – with a similar triangular pattern. The narrow sides of the grip used to be embellished with inscribed silver plates, which, however, were lost in the 19th century. These lost inscriptions are partly known from graphical documentation made by King Stanislaus Augustus's court painter, Johann Christoph Werner , in 1764 and by Jacek Przybylski in 1792. One of

13860-538: The original Szczerbiec, was never used in combat. It was originally used as a sword of justice ( gladius iustitiae ), or insignia of the sovereign's judicial power, by one of the many local dukes during Poland's Age of Fragmentation . A silver plate, now lost, on the sword's grip bore an inscription which indicated a duke by the name Boleslaus as its original owner. An inscription on the Radziwiłłs' replica of Szczerbiec, now also lost, could provide an additional hint as to

14000-406: The other side. It was the decisive battle of the war and one of the largest in medieval Europe. As both sides were preparing for the battle in the morning of 15 July 1410, two heralds carrying two unsheathed swords were announced to King Władysław II. According to Jan Długosz 's chronicle, they bore the coats of arms of their respective masters: a black eagle in a golden field of King Sigismund of

14140-646: The partition treaty was ratified by its signatories on September 22, 1772. Frederick II of Prussia was elated with his success; Prussia took most of Royal Prussia (except Gdańsk ) that stood between its possessions in Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg , as well as Ermland ( Warmia ), northern areas of Greater Poland along the Noteć River (the Netze District ), and parts of Kuyavia (but not

14280-647: The partitioning powers. With regard to population, in the First Partition, Poland lost over four to five million citizens (about a third of its population of 14 million before the partitions). Only about 4 million people remained in Poland after the Second Partition which makes for a loss of another third of its original population, about a half of the remaining population. By the Third Partition, Prussia ended up with about 23% of

14420-428: The partitioning state. 19th-century historians from countries that carried out the partitions, such as 19th-century Russian scholar Sergey Solovyov , and their 20th century followers, argued that partitions were justified, as the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth had degenerated to the point of being partitioned because the counterproductive principle of liberum veto made decision-making on divisive issues, such as

14560-497: The plates had already been broken by that time with only part of the inscription preserved: Liste est glaud... h Bolezlai Duc... ("This is a sword of... Duke Boleslaus..."); the inscription on the other plate continued: Cum quo ei D[omi]n[us] SOS [ Salvator Omnipotens Salvator ] auxiletur ad[ver]sus partes amen ("With whom is the Omnipotent Lord and Savior, to help him against his enemies. Amen"). The missing part of

14700-461: The plates on the pommel and the crossguard were made by the same artist, while the plates on the grip were added later. The latter – obverse and reverse – were probably decorated in the same workshop and using the same tools, but by two different craftsmen. Moreover, a side plate with a rhombic pattern was added in the 19th century to replace one of the lost inscribed side plates. Preserved images of Szczerbiec from various points in time indicate that

14840-424: The political freedoms for Protestants, Orthodox Christians and Eastern Catholics (Uniates), including their right to occupy all state positions, including a royal one. The next king could be a member of the Russian ruling dynasty now. The Sejm approved this. Resulting reaction among some of Poland's Roman Catholics, as well as the deep resentment of Russian intervention in the Commonwealth's domestic affairs including

14980-471: The priest's death, the house was searched by Russian gendarmes , or security police, who confiscated the swords as illegal weapons and took them to the fortress of Zamość . Their subsequent fate is unknown. Being reminded of Polish military victories over the Teutonic Order used to stir German sensibilities to such an extent, that the inclusion of the Grunwald Swords on a 1938 postage stamp commemorating King Vladislaus Jagiełło and Queen Jadwiga resulted in

15120-646: The protectorate over the Commonwealth to the Ottoman Empire for armed support. In 1769, the Habsburg monarchy annexed a small territory of Spisz and in 1770 it annexed Nowy Sącz and Nowy Targ . These territories had been a bone of contention between Poland and Hungary , which was a part of the Monarchy. Nevertheless, the Ottoman Empire, the Bar confederation and its French and European volunteers were defeated by Russian forces and Polish governmental ones with

15260-686: The radical Jacobinism then at high tide in France, Russian forces invaded the Commonwealth in 1792. In the War in Defense of the Constitution , pro-Russian conservative Polish magnates , the Confederation of Targowica , fought against Polish forces supporting the constitution, believing that Russians would help them restore the Golden Liberty . Abandoned by their Prussian allies, Polish pro-constitution forces, faced with Targowica units and

15400-480: The reforms made in 1764 under Stanisław II . The liberum veto and all the old abuses of the last one and a half centuries were guaranteed as unalterable parts of this new constitution (in the so-called Cardinal Laws ). Repnin also demanded the Russian protection of the rights of peasants in private estates of Polish and Lithuanian noblemen, religious freedom for the Protestant and Orthodox Christians and

15540-443: The regular Russian army, were defeated. Prussia signed a treaty with Russia, agreeing that Polish reforms would be revoked, and both countries would receive chunks of Commonwealth territory. In 1793, deputies to the Grodno Sejm , last Sejm of the Commonwealth, in the presence of the Russian forces, agreed to Russian territorial demands. In the Second Partition, Russia and Prussia helped themselves to enough land so that only one-third of

15680-597: The remaining territories of the Commonwealth between their three countries. One of Russia's chief foreign policy authors, Alexander Bezborodko , advised Catherine II on the Second and Third Partitions of Poland. The Russian part included 120,000 km (46,332 sq mi) and 1.2 million people with Vilnius , the Prussian part (new provinces of New East Prussia and New Silesia ) 55,000 km (21,236 sq mi) and 1 million people with Warsaw, and

15820-765: The rising Kingdom of Prussia , which demanded a slice of the northwest in order to unite its Western and Eastern portions; this would leave the Commonwealth with a Baltic coast only in Latvia and Lithuania . Catherine had to use diplomacy to win Austria to her side. The Commonwealth had remained neutral in the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), yet it sympathized with the alliance of France, Austria , and Russia, and allowed Russian troops access to its western lands as bases against Prussia. Frederick II retaliated by ordering enough Polish currency counterfeited to severely affect

15960-674: The rivet, which is 0.5 cm (0.2 in) in diameter, rests atop a rectangular washer measuring 1.1 cm × 1.4 cm (0.43 in × 0.55 in). All parts of the hilt are covered with golden plates, which are engraved with sharp or rounded styli and decorated with niello , or black metallic inlay that contrasts against the golden background. Each plate is 1 mm (0.04 in) thick and made of about 18- carat gold. The niello designs include inscriptions written in late Romanesque majuscule (with some uncial additions ), Christian symbols , and floral patterns. The floral ornaments are in negative, that is, golden against

16100-638: The ship was sunk, at least the coronation sword could be salvaged. When the German bombing of Britain began in July 1940, the valuables were transported aboard the Polish ocean liner MS Batory to Canada and finally deposited at the Polish consulate and then other locations in Ottawa . After the war, one of the custodians of the national treasures, who remained loyal to the London -based Polish government-in-exile ,

16240-512: The slot, is 28 mm (1.1 in) in diameter, while the other measures only 1.4 mm (0.055 in). They were probably punched in the 19th century to fasten the heraldic shield to the blade. Szczerbiec is owned by the Wawel Royal Castle National Art Collection (inventory number 137) in Kraków , the former capital city of Poland. As the only preserved of Polish medieval coronation insignia, it

16380-436: The sword to him. His son, Jakub, possibly passed it on to Michał Radziwiłł as a present. There are doubts, however, whether the swords known to have been at Żółkiew in 1738 and at Nieśwież two years later, were in fact the same sword. The Radziwiłłs' castle was plundered by the Russian army in 1812 and the subsequent fate of their replica of Szczerbiec is unknown. This fact cast doubts over the authenticity of Szczerbiec held in

16520-565: The sword was kept in the treasury of the Wawel Cathedral . The ultimate fate of the original Szczerbiec is unknown. It may have been taken to Prague , together with other royal insignia, by King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia after his coronation as king of Poland in Gniezno in 1300. What happened with these insignia thereafter remains a mystery. Although Boleslaus the Brave's notched sword has not been preserved and even its very existence

16660-516: The sword's legend), though the edges of its blade are straight and smooth. Proper meaning and rendering into English would be "the Notching/Jagging Sword" — as "a sword that is meant to notch/jag other weapons". The legend links Szczerbiec with King Boleslaus I the Brave who was said to have chipped the sword by hitting it against the Golden Gate of Kiev during his intervention in the Kievan succession crisis in 1018. However,

16800-443: The symbols of Saints John and Matthew on the obverse of the grip, so that each side of the hilt displayed the symbols of all four of the Evangelists. The blade is 82 cm (32 in) long, up to 5 cm (2 in) wide (about 5 cm from the crossguard) and 3 mm (0.1 in) thick. The fuller is about 74 cm (29 in) long and, on average, 2 cm (0.8 in) wide. Metallographic analysis has shown that

16940-624: The term zabór (plural: zabory ) refers to parts of the Commonwealth that were annexed in 1772–1795 and which became part of Imperial Russia, Prussia, or Austria. Following the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the borders of the three partitioned sectors were redrawn; the Austrians established Galicia in the Austrian partition, whereas the Russians gained Warsaw from Prussia and formed an autonomous polity known as Congress Poland in

17080-548: The term Great Emigration ), became the revolutionaries of the 19th century, as desire for freedom became one of the defining parts of Polish romanticism . Polish revolutionaries participated in uprisings in Prussia , the Austrian Empire and Imperial Russia . Polish legions fought alongside Napoleon and, under the slogan of For our freedom and yours , participated widely in the Spring of Nations (particularly

17220-544: The time expressed doubts as to the authenticity of Szczerbiec held in Russia's largest museum (see Historical replicas below) . An international museum congress held in Saint Petersburg in 1913 pronounced the sword a 17th-century replica. In 1917, as a result of the October Revolution , Russia became a communist state. In the aftermath of World War I , Poland reemerged as an independent country in

17360-523: The times of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , the king-elect received Szczerbiec after his anointment and before being crowned and enthroned . The primate of Poland , that is the archbishop of Gniezno , picked up the unsheathed sword from the altar and handed it to the kneeling king. At the same time, he recited a formula which asked the monarch to use the sword to rule justly, defend the Church, fight evil, protect widows and orphans, and to "rebuild what

17500-461: The two nations. Unlike Szczerbiec and other ceremonial swords stored in the royal treasury, the Grunwald Swords were simple battle swords that would have been typical for armament of early 15th-century European knights. At some point in time they were embellished with hilts made from gilded silver. Additionally a little shield with the coat of arms of Poland , the White Eagle, was attached to

17640-446: The two swords in its coat of arms. [REDACTED] Media related to Grunwald Swords at Wikimedia Commons Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 123 years. The partitions were conducted by

17780-528: The two swords to Kraków and deposited them, together with Teutonic army banners and other war trophies, in the treasure vault of the Royal Wawel Castle . Eventually, the "two Prussian swords", as they were described in a treasury inventory in 1633, became treated as part of Polish-Lithuanian crown jewels. They were used in royal coronations throughout the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795) and possibly also earlier, during

17920-542: The weapon somewhere between Belgrade and Rusçuk (now Ruse in Bulgaria) during the recent Russo-Turkish War . Krasiński, who was a known antique weapon collector, suspected it could be Szczerbiec, but asked Prof. Sebastiano Ciampi , a historian of the Warsaw University , for opinion. Ciampi examined the lithography Krasiński had had made of the sword, but was unsure whether it was the actual Szczerbiec. As

18060-520: The whole of Galicia , less the city of Kraków . Empress Catherine II of Russia was also satisfied despite the loss of Galicia to the Habsburg monarchy. By this "diplomatic document" Russia gained Polish Livonia , and lands in eastern Belarus embracing the counties of Vitebsk , Polotsk and Mstislavl . By this partition, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth lost about 30% of its territory and half of its population (four million people), of which

18200-492: Was also sewn onto the left sleeve of the sand shirt which was part of the Camp of Great Poland uniform. Among the politicians who wore the badge before World War II were Roman Dmowski, Władysław Grabski , Wojciech Korfanty , Roman Rybarski , and Wojciech Jaruzelski . It was banned in 1938 during the " Sanation " period. During World War II, the badge was used by right-wing anti- Nazi and anti-Soviet military resistance groups,

18340-492: Was also used in the 19th and 20th centuries to refer to diaspora communities who maintained a close interest in the project of regaining Polish independence. Sometimes termed Polonia , these expatriate communities often contributed funding and military support to the project of regaining the Polish nation-state. Diaspora politics were deeply affected by developments in and around the homeland, and vice versa, for many decades. More recent studies claim that partitions happened when

18480-462: Was first specifically mentioned by Jan Długosz in his account of the crowning of King Casimir IV ( r. 1447–1492 ), but it was probably first used in a coronation ceremony by King Ladislaus the Short ( r. 1288–1333 ) in 1320, by which time he had reunited most of the core territories of Poland. If Szczerbiec had previously belonged to his uncle, Boleslaus I of Masovia, or his father-in-law, Boleslaus

18620-432: Was forthcoming and the armies of the combined nations occupied Warsaw to compel by force of arms the calling of the assembly, the only alternative was passive submission to their will. The so-called Partition Sejm , with Russian military forces threatening the opposition, on September 18, 1773, signed the treaty of cession, renouncing all claims of the Commonwealth to the occupied territories. In 1772, Jean-Jacques Rousseau

18760-526: Was invited to present recommendations for a new constitution for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , resulting in the Considerations on the Government of Poland (1782), which was to be his last major political work. By 1790, the Commonwealth had been weakened to such a degree that it was forced into an unnatural and terminal alliance with its enemy, Prussia. The Polish–Prussian Pact of 1790

18900-493: Was originally caused by rust and, in the 19th century, polished into a regular shape. A small heraldic shield colored with oil paint is fastened to the slot. It is roughly triangular in shape, with the sides measuring from 4 to 4.5 cm (1.6 to 1.8 in). The shield, bearing the White Eagle of Poland, was originally attached to the scabbard , or sheath. The Gothic scabbard, with a golden or silver locket and chape,

19040-498: Was probably created in 1320 and lost between 1819 and 1874. The shield is the only preserved element of the sheath. It was tilted to the left – from the onlooker's point of view – while it was fastened to the scabbard's locket, but today it is aligned with the blade. The eagle on the red field of the shield is white, with a golden crown, bands across the wings, ring on the tail, and talons. The two other perforations are round holes, 24 mm (0.94 in) apart. The upper one, just below

19180-544: Was reluctant to return them to Poland, which had fallen under communist rule and Soviet influence. After lengthy negotiations, the first batch of the most important objects, including Szczerbiec, was ultimately returned in 1959; the rest followed in 1961. Since then, the Polish coronation sword has been on permanent display in the treasure vault of the Wawel Castle. A treasury inventory of the Radziwiłł family 's Nieśwież Castle (now Nesvizh in Belarus) made in 1740 includes

19320-558: Was removed from the Wawel Hill on several occasions during that period. After his Polish coronation in 1370, King Louis I of Hungary took the crown jewels with him to Buda ; his successor on the Hungarian throne, Emperor Sigismund , rendered them to Poland in 1412. On two occasions, in mid-17th and early 18th centuries, they were evacuated across Poland's southern border to protect them from invading Swedish armies. In 1733, during

19460-457: Was shipped by sea to France and later to Britain. On the way from Bordeaux to Falmouth , the ship carrying Polish national treasures came under fire from the Luftwaffe . Karol Estreicher , who oversaw the evacuation, decided then to remove Szczerbiec from a chest and sandwich it between two wooden planks, and to attach to them an explanatory message in a bottle – so that in the event that

19600-562: Was signed. The conditions of the Pact contributed to the subsequent final two partitions of Poland–Lithuania. The May Constitution of 1791 enfranchised the bourgeoisie, established the separation of the three branches of government, and eliminated the abuses of the Repnin Sejm . Those reforms prompted aggressive actions on the part of its neighbours, wary of the potential renaissance of the Commonwealth. Arguing that Poland had fallen prey to

#972027