The Annals of Jan Dlugosz


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A.D. 1241

God, the most merciful and most excellent, angered by the manifold sins of the Poles, inflicts upon them not the plague, nor famine, nor the enmity of their Catholic neighbours as in previous years, but the savagery and fury of the heathen. Batu, third of the Tatar khans since the foundation of their state, having conquered many eastern kingdoms and overthrown their kings and rulers, and grown enormously in power and beyond all belief in riches, thanks to the number and wealth of the peoples beneath his yoke, now, as if their abodes in the East were too cramped for the Tatar people, sends his armies into the West and North, hoping to conquer them as he has the East. Having crossed the four great rivers: Don, Volga, Dniepr and Dniestr, and the mountains of Sarmatia, which we also call the Great Forests, he easily defeats those of the Ruthenian princes who dare to fight, and pressing on with unusual speed reaches Poland and plunders and devastates two of its populous cities, Lublin and Zawichost, and the country surrounding them, before returning to Ruthenia by the route of his advance, encumbered with booty and a large number of Polish and Ruthenian captives of both sexes. Having placed his captives in secure places, he swiftly returns and, crossing the frozen rivers Bug and Vistula on the ice, reaches Sandomierz, where he closely invests both the castle and the town. In the end he captures them both and kills the abbot of Koprzywnica and all the brethren in the monastery there, as well as a large number of priests and laymen, who have gathered there in the hope of defending the town and saving their lives. Of these the Tatars slaughter the old and the very young, only a few youths being granted their lives, though they are shackled like slaves. This slaughter is repeated in Wislica and Skarbimierz. The Tatars then head for Cracow, none dares stand up to them, and while their captives show them the way but after reaching Skarbimierz on Ash Wednesday, they turn and start to withdraw, intending to get their captives, many of whom are of the nobility, across the border.

Because of his youth and feebleness, Boleslaw the Bashful, then living with his mother in Cracow castle, cannot deal with so powerful an army, so Wlodzimierz the Voivode of Cracow summons the knights and gentry to Kalina to seek ways of putting an end to this series of disasters; but then, learning that the Tatars are withdrawing from Skarbimierz, he orders all there to arm themselves and follow him. The Tatars have reached Polaniec on the River Czarna, where they are encamped, and there the Voivode attacks them with the remaining Cracovian knights, few in number, but determined to conquer or die. Surprise gives the Poles an initial advantage and they kill many of the enemy; but, when the Tatars realize how few are the Poles they are fighting, they regroup and break through the Polish ranks and defeat them. During the fighting, many Polish captives escape and hide in some nearby woods; their initial success sends the Polish knights greedily searching for booty and the battle is lost. Though victorious, the Tatars are horrified by their losses and dare stay no longer in Poland, lest a fresh army should attack them, and they withdraw hurriedly, abandoning their dead by the wayside. They reach Sieciechów without doing further damage, and there they hide in the great forest for a couple of days in order to throw off any pursuers; but when their scouts tell them that there is no pursuit and that all is quiet, they emerge and continue back to Ruthenia, where they replenish their ranks with fresh troops and return to Poland to avenge their defeat. Avoiding areas which they have previously ravaged, they reach Sandomierz, near which they halt for two days, dividing their great host into two. The smaller force, under Kajdu, makes for Leczyca and Kujawy, using Ruthenians, who dislike the Poles, as their guides. The larger force, under Batu himself, heads for Cracow, spreading devastation as it goes. Their previous near victory has given the Poles confidence and they now feel that they can defeat any Tatar force however large, so they take to the field, leaving Prince Boleslaw, his wife and mother in Cracow castle. The Poles bar the Tatar advance at Chmielnik near the town of Szydlów. It is March 18. Battle is engaged as the sun rises. The Poles, few in number, are arrayed in a single line and have no reserves. Fighting bravely, they kill many of the Tatar first unit and, after several hours, even force them to retreat towards their reserves, who are fresh and immediately take up the attack. The Poles are physically tired and many of them wounded, and in the end, they, too, break and run. A number reach the cover of the woods and, knowing the terrain, escape; but most find a glorious death defending their country and their faith.

Defeat of Poland's chivalry at Legnica, April 1241. In the centre the Tatar Chan is depicted plunging his sword into the back of Henry the Pious, who, at the bottom on the left, has just had his head severed by a Tatar. At the top, right, angels are depicted carrying off the souls of dead Christians, while at the bottom edge of the picture, on the left, the leviathan is licking up those of the infidel.A. Karlowska-Kamzowa: Zagadnienie aktualizacji w slaskich wyobrazniach bitwy legnickiej, 1972British Library.

The name of the Tartars came originally from the Tatar river, before that they were called Mongols, but as they grew in number they cam to be called Tatars, for in their tongue Tatar means a multitude. The Tatars are a people vile in temperament and in behaviour cruel. Of low stature, they are short in the leg, have flat, wry noses in broad, hairless faces. They have small, darting eyes, broad, heavy chests, nasty swarthy complexions and powerful bodies. They live on mare's milk, meat and blood, and are content with modest fare that is easy to prepare, eating raw, uncooked food and millet mixed with horse's blood. They are fond of, and ever ready for sensual pleasures and the delights of the flesh. They endure frost as well as heat. To each other they are polite, kind, loyal, truthful and humane, but with strangers they are at first ingratiating, but later become cunning, devious, mendacious and importunate. They are by no means ready to give. Dispirited by the disastrous defeat at Chmielnik, many of those left in Cracow and Sandomierz make their way to Hungary and , while the peasants hide in the marshes, forests and wastes with their wives and children. Even their prince, Boleslaw, leaves Cracow castle with his family and all his possessions and goes to his father-in-law in Hungary; thus, when the Tatars reach Cracow they find it deserted and set fire to it. Convinced that there they will find the country's treasures, they try to capture the Church of St. Andrew, then outside the walls of Cracow, in which many of the poor and sick have taken refuge, but the Poles defend it stoutly and in the end the Tatars abandon the attempt. However, on the Monday after Christmas, the second Tatar army, on its way back from devastating Leczyca and Kujawy, reaches Cracow. Leaving Cracow, Batu moves off in the direction of Wroclaw. Finding the bridges across the Oder all destroyed or removed, the Tatars, who, if they cannot ford a river, swim across it, do just that, for the Tatars are more expert in the art of swimming than any other nation. Duke Mieczyslaw of Opole attacks one Tatar unit that lets itself be isolated, and destroys it; but, when the rest of the Tatar army comes up to avenge their fellows, the Duke escapes to Legnica to Henry of Wroclaw, whom he knows to be preparing a force to fight the Tatars. The Tatars move swiftly to Wroclaw. They find the town deserted, for its inhabitants have all fled with their treasures and provisions, and the knights have removed whatever was left into the castle, before setting fire to the town in order to deprive the Tatars of loot and shelter. The Tatars lay siege to the castle: during the siege Czeslaw, the Dominican prior of the priory of St. Wojciech, a Pole, saves the castle with his tears and prayers: for a pillar of fire appears above his head and illuminates the whole city with an indescribable brightness. This so frightens the Tatars, that they abandon the siege and withdraw. Meanwhile, the Tatars heading for Kujawy have joined forces with those from Cracow and together advance on Legnica, having learned from their scouts and captured peasants that a large Catholic force is being assembled there. So, on April 9, Prince Henry, in splendid armour, rides out from Legnica to do battle with the Tatars. As he rides past the Church of the Blessed Virgin, a stone falls from the roof narrowly missing his head. This is regarded as a divine warning or, at least, an ill omen. The Prince arrays his army on level ground near the River Nysa in five ranks: the first consists of crusaders and volunteers speaking several languages, and some gold miners from Zlotoryja; the second line is made up of knights from Cracow and Wielkopolska; the third of knights from Opole; the fourth of the Grand Master of the Prussian Knights with his brethren and other chivalry; while the fifth consists of Silesian and Wroclavian barons, the pick of the knights from Wielkopolska and Silesia and a small contingent of mercenaries, all under the command of Prince Henry himself. There are many Tatar units, each more numerous and more experienced in battle; indeed, each consists of more men than the combined Polish force. Battle is joined. The Poles attack first and their initial charge breaks the first Tatar rank and moves forward, but, when the fighting becomes hand-to-hand, they are surrounded by Tatar archers, who prevent the others coming to their assistance. These then waver and finally fall beneath the hail of arrows, like delicate heads of corn broken by hail-stones, for many of them are wearing no armour, and the survivors retreat. Now two Polish ranks are fighting three Tatar units; indeed, have overcome them, for the Polish crossbowmen protect them from the Tatar archers, but then someone from the Tatar ranks starts running hither and thither between the two armies shouting "Run, run!" to the Poles and encouragement to the Tatars. The Duke of Opole, thinking the shouts come from a friend, not an enemy, withdraws his men. When Prince Henry sees what is happening, he laments aloud, but brings up his fourth rank, which contains the best of his troops and with them is on the point of overcoming the Tatars, when a fourth and even larger Tatar force under Batu comes up and fighting is resumed. The Tatars attack fiercely, but the Poles refuse to retreat, and for a while honours are even.

Among the Tatar standards is a huge one with a giant X painted on it. It is topped with an ugly black head with a chin covered with hair. As the Tatars withdraw some hundred paces, the bearer of this standard begins violently shaking the great head, from which there suddenly bursts a cloud with a foul smell that envelopes the Poles and makes them all but faint, so that they are incapable of fighting. We know that in their wars the Tatars have always used the arts of divination and witch-craft, and this is what they are doing now. Seeing that the all but victorious Poles are daunted by the cloud and its foul smell, the Tatars raise a great shout and return to the fray, scattering the Polish ranks that hitherto have held firm, and a huge slaughter ensues.

Among those who fall are Boleslav the son of the Margrave of Moravia and the Master of the Prussian Order. Prince Henry does not desert his men. Surrounded by Tatars who are attacking him from all sides, he and a handful of others try to force their way through the enemy. Then, when he has almost won through and there are only four knights left with him, the Prince's horse, already wounded, drops dead. The Tatars, recognizing the Prince by his insignia, press after him. For a while he and his companions fight on; then his fourth knight brings him a fresh horse taken from the Prince's chamberlain. The Prince remounts and the five make another attempt to break through the enemy ranks; but once again are surrounded. Nonetheless they fight on. As the Prince is raising his arm to bring his sword down on an enemy, a Tatar thrusts his lance into the Prince's armpit and the Prince slides from his horse. The Tatars pounce on the Prince and, dragging him two bowshots clear, cut off his head with a sword, tear off all his badges and leave his corpse naked. In this great battle a number of the Polish nobility and gentry find honourable martyrdom in defence of their Faith. The saintly Jadwiga, then in Krosno, is informed by the Holy Spirit of the extent of the disaster and of the death of her son in the same hour as it happens, and tells this to a nun, called Adelaide.

Jan Iwanowic, the knight who brought Henry the horse that nearly saved him, joins forces with two of the shield-bearers and another knight, called Lucman, who has two servants with him and himself has twelve wounds. When their pursuers pause for a breather in a village a mile or so from the battlefield, the six turn and attack them, killing two of their number and taking one prisoner. After this, Iwanowic enters a Dominican monastery and lives there piously, grateful that the Good Lord has saved him from so many dangers.

Having collected their booty, the Tatars, wishing to know the exact number of the dead, cut one ear off each corpse, filling nine huge sacks to the brim. Then, impaling Prince Henry's head on a long lance, they approach the castle at Legnica (for the town has already been burned for fear of the Tatars) and display it for those inside to see, calling upon them through an interpreter to open the gates. The defenders refuse, telling them that they have several other dukes, sons of good duke Henry, besides Henry. The Tatars then move on to Olomouc, where they camp for a fortnight, burning and destroying everything round about. Moving on again, they halt for a week at Bolesisko, and, after slaughtering many of the inhabitants, continue into Moravia.

Duke Henry's head is displayed on a lance before Legnica to the horror of the inhabitants.Der Hedwigs ChronikBritish Library.

After the Tatars have gone, the Poles spend several days searching for Henry's body, but, lacking its head, they cannot identify it. Then his widow lets it be known that the Duke had six toes on his left foot, and this enables the body to be identified and taken to Wroclaw, where it is entombed in the choir of the Church of St. James. The extent and horror of the disaster are reflected in Pope Gregory IX's bull proclaiming a crusade to help Poland: "Various and painful are the anxieties that beset Our heart, namely the burning question of the Holy Land, the threatening persecution of the Church and the pitiable state of the Roman Empire; but, to tell the truth, We forget these and even Ourself, when We remember how in Our time, because of these Tatars the name of Christianity has almost been obliterated; the very thought pierces Our bone to the marrow, troubles Our mind and weakens Our spirit and causes Us such pain and anxiety, that, as in a fit of madness, We know not where to turn." The Tatars treatment of Moravia is as cruel and destructive as it has been elsewhere. Since the King of Bohemia has taken refuge in his castles and other safe places, the Tatars are free to range over the whole of the duchy, and for more than a month they burn, kill and torture as they like, since none dares stand up to them or even help the Moravians. While the Tatars are camped near Olomouc, one of their commanders, a man highly esteemed by his own people, accompanied by a mere handful of men, rashly goes too close to the walls and is captured. When news of his capture spreads, there is a great outcry among the Tatars, which is heard even in the town. The Tatars are unable to obtain his release either by threats or in exchange for other prisoners. His companions are handed over to the people of Olomouc. The Tatars move off towards Hungary. King Václav gives to the knight who captured the Tatar commander a star to add to his coat of arms, as well as Castle Sternberg. When King Béla learns that several hordes of Tatars have entered his kingdom accompanied by a host of civilians: wives, childen and old people, together with their whole train of two- and three-wheeled carts, and have already devastated much of it, he summons a general assembly which meets by the River Tisa. The King arrives with his nephew, Coloman, and the knights of his Court, and is joined by a master of the Templars, the bishops of Pannonia, the archbishops of Esztergom and Kalocz, and the Hungarian bishops, with their men-at-arms and standards flying, as if they were arrayed for battle and not to pray for forgiveness for the sins of their people. King Béla, fearing a night attack, concentrates his entire army in a narrow area, in which they remain encamped for several days. Meanwhile, the Tatar commander, Batu, informed by his scouts of how closely crowded are the enemies' tents, tells his men that, if the Hungarians have crowded into so small an area, they can have no experience, sense or knowledge of the art of war, and orders them to rest and prepare for battle on the following day. At dawn, he arrays his army and attacks. The Hungarian first line resists fiercely; but, in the end, it yields to superior numbers and the others then scatter. Many of the fugitives are chased into bogs and marshes, where they drown. Two archbishops and a bishop are among the casualties, which include many priests and the Master of the Templars. It would have been more sensible had these remained in their chapels and prayed, rather than armed themselves and joined the soldiers. Those who flee into the marshes, find themselves floundering in mud, which prevents them either moving forward, keeping upright or turning to face the enemy and so dying honourably. When the two princes see their men being killed and the Tatars gaining the upper hand, they leave the battle-field. King Béla, too, heads for Austria and finds refuge there for a considerable time. Coloman makes his way to Pest, where he finds a considerable force of Hungarians and refugees, which, he insists, must disband, because he is not strong enough to resist the Tatars. When they do not disband (the uneducated never take good advice), he himself goes to Austria and shelters in a castle there, eventually moving on to Zagreb.

Batu now leads his Tatars towards Pest, where, according to his intelligence, a Christian army is being assembled to fight him. Battle is joined and continues for three days, but in the evening of the third day, by which time more than a hundred thousand Christians have been killed, victory goes to the Tatars, who then go on the rampage. The priests, monks and other servants of the Church come out in procession with their holy relics in an attempt to mitigate the fury of the Tatars, only to be slaughtered and have their churches plundered and their sacred relics flung to the ground. The Tatars then enter Pest, loot it and burn it. Many thousands of captives, men and women are taken back to their camp, where the women deal cruelly with any woman or girl whom they consider pretty or beautiful, cutting off her nose, cheeks or lips, lest their men be attracted and prefer her to themselves. The Tatar boys are encouraged by their mothers to bully the boy prisoners; indeed if any of them can kill one with a single blow, he receives great acclaim.

News of the Hungarians' disastrous defeat so horrifies their German neighbours, that not even the Emperor contemplates resistance, but goes into hiding.

King Béla and his wife take their two-year old son and the body of St. Stephen and the dust of other saints, their jewels, robes and church accessories, to safety in Split. At about this time, Coloman dies and is buried in the Dominican monastery at Czasma.

After the death of Prince Henry, the surviving nobles accept Boleslaw the Bald as their liege lord and sovereign. Conrad of Mazovia takes umbrage at having his claim thus disregarded and decides to avenge the slight. He asks the Duke of Pomerania for help, and though, for various reasons the Duke declines to help in person, he promises to send a small force when the time comes.

The Tatars are behaving as if they intended to stay in Hungary for ever. In the great plain between Esztergom and Jawryn they pitch a huge camp of tents, each half-buried in the ground in its own pit, as is their custom. In fact, they do remain for almost two years, turning most of Hungary into a desolate waste.

After their defeat of King Béla, the Tatars hurriedly send a force through Spisz to Cracow, whose inhabitants are unarmed and unprepared; the Tatars slaughter them indiscriminately.They loot the city and return through Oswiëcim to their camp in Hungary.

When the disgruntled Conrad learns of the second sack of Cracow, knowing that his nephew Boleslaw the Bashful has fled to Hungary and from there to Moravia, and that the flower of the knights of Cracow, Sandomierz, Wroclaw and Opole has been killed, so that these lands are all but deserted, he decides to annex them. He assembles as large a force as his means allow and with this and some troops sent him by the Duke of Pomerania, moves in and occupies both territories with all their castles and forts, the inhabitants submitting to his rule and authority, for none believes that Duke Boleslaw will ever return. The one exception is the Voivode of Cracow, who prepares to defend the castle at Skala in the name of Duke Boleslaw. Conrad does not interfere, but builds a fortress in Cracow itself extending from the cathedral of St. Waclaw and the chapel with the altar of St. Thomas to the Church of St. Gereon and thence to the rotunda of the Blessed Virgin. Having seen to all this, he returns to Mazovia. Meanwhile, Boleslaw the Bald, wishing to avenge this offence, assembles his own knights and with these and a few German mercenaries marches on Cracow. While he is attempting to take the fort, Duke Conrad arrives with a much stronger force than his, so, not daring to risk a fight, Boleslaw withdraws, leaving the Voivode in Skala castle.

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