New Versions of the Tales of Gallus Anonymus in the Chronicle of Master Vincentius

Abstract

Using chosen examples, the author analyses the meaning of the changes made by Vincent (Wincenty) Kadłubek also known as Master Vincentius, to the tales found in the chronicle of Gallus Anonymus. Nothing much can be said of the literary or oral sources which may have served as a basis for Vincentius’s reworking of these stories. A detailed comparison of the corresponding fragments in both chronicles leads us to an understanding of how Vincent understood Gallus’s text. Vincent reinforced some meanings gleaned from Gallus, and eliminated others. However, even when building an alternate tale of the childhood of Kazimierz Odnowiciel (Casimir I the Restorer), Vincent always respects the structure of Gallus’s account.