Constructing memory: holy war in the Chronicle of the Poles by Bishop Vincentius of Cracow Darius von Güttner-Sporzyński * School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne, Shepparton Campus, 49 Graham Street, Shepparton VIC 3630, Australia (Received 31 December 2013; final version received 9 March 2014) The Chronica Polonorum, written by Bishop Vincentius of Cracow (c.1150–1223), influenced the way Polish history was written by presenting a specific memory of the participation of the Piast dynasty in wars against the Prussians. This article presents the three major references to these wars against heathen tribes of the North in 1147, 1166 and 1192. Vincentius’ account gave meaning to the Piast expeditions as holy wars and influenced court tradition by establishing the image of individual Piasts as well as their dynasty as a whole. These accounts shaped how their participants were remembered in specific historical contexts and influenced the future participation of the Poles in crusading. The article reveals the use of the term ‘Saladinistas’, not found anywhere else in the surviving twelfth-century sources. The memory created by Vincentius became inseparable from the cultural heritage of the nation for whom he was the first native historian. Keywords: Poland; Prussia; crusade; Bishop Vincentius of Cracow; Chronicle of the Poles; Piast dynasty; Saladinistas The Chronicle of the Poles by Bishop Vincentius of Cracow is a twelfth-century history of Poland and a recognised masterpiece of medieval scholarship. 1 It was commissioned by Kazimierz II, Vincentius’ sovereign and the surprise victor of a bloody dynastic feud, which had claimed the lives of his uncle and three of his brothers. Kazimierz was the posthumous son of his celebrated father, Bolesław III, and won his throne in a coup against an elder brother, making him literally the last heir standing. The Chronicle presents Kazimierz’ s credentials as God’ s anointed sovereign and the Piast dynasty as Poland’ s natural rulers. Kazimierz’ s virtue and godliness are specifically manifest because of his support for and participation in holy war. The Chronicle is an apologist’ s critique of Poland’ s system of government under Kazimierz and traces its form and authority from Antiquity. It also instructs Poland’ s elites on how they should obey and aid their sovereign in accordance with natural law and God’ s command. The Chronicle’ s text has been analysed by generations of Polish and German scholars and the dominant view in the historiography is that Vincentius adopted ‘the pose of a crusader historian’. 2 © 2014 Taylor & Francis *Email: d.guttner@unimelb.edu.au 1 Bishop Vincentius of Cracow is known in Polish historiography as Wincenty Kadłubek or Mistrz Wincenty zwany Kadłubkiem, attributing to him the patronymic ‘Kadłubek’ of unknown origin. 2 Brygida Kürbis, ed. and trans., Mistrza Wincentego zwanego Kadłubkiem Kronika Polska [The Chronicle of the Poles by Master Vincentius known as Kadłubek]. Biblioteka Narodowa 1st series, 227 (Wrocław: Ossolineum, 1992), lxxxii–cxii (lxxiv). Journal of Medieval History , 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03044181.2014.910971