The history of German-Polish relations is one of conflict and community. Writing from the Polish point of view, politician and historian Władysław Bartoszewski once noted that traces of German-Polish community have left their “mark on our intellectual and cultural heritage” (3). With reference to Polish-born German translator Karl Dedecius, Bartoszewski reflected that these traces “are deep and enduring, but forgotten and hidden” (3 and n.8). Shedding light on this subject, the editors of the present volume extend their lens of enquiry back to the Middle Ages to fill the lacunae that exist in the historiography, which has tended to focus on the history of German-Polish relations in more recent times, particularly in the context of the Second World War. In their introduction to this volume, Andrzej Pleszczyński and Grischa Vercamer comment on the wider subject of otherness that should not be glossed over. Indeed, individuals, communities and entire social groups continue to suffer at the whim of the uglier--and often violent--manifestations of othering. Acts of othering and stereotyping are ubiquitous throughout history--a point that is emphasised by the editors in the introduction.
In addition to introductory and concluding chapters, as well as useful maps to orientate the reader, this edited collection of essays consists of eighteen studies on a unifying theme (and the book’s subtitle): the perception of the other and the presence of mutual ethnic stereotypes in medieval narrative sources. The volume, which is the outcome of a conference held in the Instytut Historii im. Tadeusza Manteuffla PAN in Warsaw in May 2018, examines mutual ethnic and national perceptions and stereotypes in the Middle Ages, with a particular focus on the shared history of Germany and Poland. Through analyses of narrative sources, ranging from chronicles and hagiographies to literary material such as poems and romances, the contributors assess the complexities of otherness as seen through the eyes of predominantly German and Polish beholders.
What is most intriguing about this volume is its focus on mutual ethnic and national perceptions and stereotypes. The novelty of such an approach should not be underestimated, particularly as there is a tendency for academic studies of perceptions of out-groups to focus on the view of a single ethnic or national group, for instance the English view of the Irish or the French view of the Spanish, rather than mutual perceptions, which offer intriguing comparative insights.
Given the necessity to add some semblance of cohesiveness to an edited collection, the editors have divided the book into six parts. Such divisions allow readers to focus on specific areas of interest, such as Polish views about Germans or vice versa, or regional zones of conflict between both groups. Parts 1 to 4 consist of several chapters, while parts 5 and 6 each contain a single chapter. A selected bibliography, as well as an index of relevant placenames and historical and fictional persons, will be appreciated by the time-strapped scholar.
Part 1, “Zones of Comparison in Medieval Europe: Theory and Examples,” offers comparative case studies exploring the views of medieval writers from England, France and Bohemia towards Germans. The first of these wider articles, Kristin Skottki’s “Constructing Otherness in the Chronicles of the First Crusade,” serves as an introduction to the perception of religious otherness during the crusades. Skottki’s opening section provides a useful outline of numerous theoretical considerations involved in the study of historical otherness. Thereafter, Skottki offers a thoughtful exploration of the hermeneutical issues related to the crusades, drawing upon crusader narratives from the chronicles of Robert of Reims, Fulcher of Chartres, William of Tyre and others.
Georg Jostkleigrewe offers an exploration of “national otherness” in Franco-German contexts. Utilising historiographical and literary examples from the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries, Jostkleigrewe examines perceptions of otherness and the existence of “national” self-awareness, presenting the historical contexts--particularly related to local conflicts--that influenced constructions of alterity. While the longstanding historiographical issue of national identities existing in the Middle Ages is mentioned, there is little engagement with relevant debates. Some discussion of the concept of natio in the medieval period would have benefitted the interpretations presented. There is a thoughtful section on the impact of “tradition”--historiographical and genre-related--that will interest medievalists working on historical and chronicle writing.
Isabelle Chwalka provides an insightful study of Anglo-Norman and Angevin historians’ perceptions of the Reich (empire) in the twelfth century. Curiously, we are none the wiser as to what exactly differentiates an “Anglo-Norman” historian from an “Angevin” one; or, if these terms are one and the same. One can only assume that Chwalka does so in her monograph Kein Interesse? Fremd- und Selbstwahrnehmung in der deutschen und englischen Historiographie des 12. Jahrhunderts (2022), which was based on her doctoral thesis, as was the chapter concerned here. Terminological vagueness aside, Chwalka’s statistical analysis of “28 Anglo-Norman/Angevin chronicles and annals from 22 different authors from the 12th century” (57) provides the basis for interesting quantitative comparisons throughout the chapter.
The final chapter of Part 1 examines medieval Bohemian sources written in Latin and the vernacular, including the influential Chronica Boemorum of Cosmas of Prague and his continuators Gerlach of Milevsko and Henry the Carver, and their depictions of Germans (Theutonici). David Kalhous’s survey is ambitious in its wide-ranging analysis, covering the ninth to fourteenth centuries. However, in such a short chapter the ambition to cover such an extensive chronological span rarely reaches its full potential. Still, Kalhous’s textual analysis is detailed, considerate and thought-provoking, presenting a variety of examples that affirm the spectrum of descriptions and depictions--ranging from neutral to negative in tone--of Germans in his sources. Kalhous’s remarks on the influence of conflict and legitimacy in the construction of identity and otherness will be useful for scholars seeking comparative sources.
The three chapters in Part 2 explore Polish views regarding Germans that may be found in hagiographies, histories, and chronicles. Andrzej Pleszczyński explores several notable Polish sources, including Wincenty Kadłubek’s Historia Polonica and the anonymously written Chronica Poloniae Maioris. The author does an admirable job of reasserting not only the influence of the past (“literary tradition”) on more recent texts and views but also how “opinions about strangers say a lot about the people who formed such judgements” (101). Moreover, Pleszczyński’s analysis reminds us that what is not said is often as interesting as what is said when examining perceptions and depictions of others. For instance, so-called Gallus Anonymous--the name attributed to the unknown author ofGesta Principum Polonorum--never addresses the influence of Germans on the Christianisation of Poland (104).
The succeeding chapter effectively complements Pleszczyński’s in its focus on Polish perceptions of the Holy Roman Empire and its various people. Sławomir Gawlas’s sizeable chapter focusses on Polish elites and their perceptions of the German Reich. Utilising chronicles and annals, including those of Wincenty Kadłubek and Jan Długosz, Gawlas explores the variety of attitudes expressed towards the empire, concluding that little real knowledge influenced perceptions. Moreover, it is argued that contemporary perceptions reflected how Poles balanced their own interests in constructing their identity and defending their sovereignty while at the same time admiring and respecting the universal Empire.
The final chapter of Part 2 examines the scarce body of hagiographic material from medieval Poland. Roman Michałowski presents an engaging study of this corpus, which has hitherto been underutilised for potential Polish views of Germans. Taken together, these sources, which include the lives of saints Stanislaus, Salomea, Adalbert, and others, feature German-related material that may appear in three respects, either related to rulers, the country, or German people living in Poland. While the material is limited, Michałowski asserts that hagiographers’ attitudes appear to be generally positive towards Germans, their country, and their rulers. Interestingly, such favourable views were in sharp contrast to those of many Polish elites, including ecclesiastical elites, as pointed out by the author.
In Part 3, the shoe appears on the other foot as contributors explore a variety of German views regarding Poles that appear in historiographical, hagiographical and vernacular sources. Together, Volker Scior’s and Norbert Kersken’s chapters provide a useful overview of perceptions and depictions of Poland and its people in medieval German historiography. Scior contends with the dearth of sources on “Poles” in the early and high medieval periods. Much of the analysis here focuses on a limited selection of texts from the eleventh and twelfth centuries as a result, particularly the chroniclers Thietmar of Merseberg, Adam of Bremen, and Helmold of Bosau. Scior’s examination of ethnonyms (e.g., Slavi) highlights the complexity of contemporary identity and perceptions. While early and high medieval Frankish-German historiography had some idea of its Eastern neighbour, “‘Poland’ and ‘the Poles’ did not play an important role for them,” according to Scior (194). Kersken explores the historiography of the late medieval Roman-German empire (i.e., the period stemming from the Great Interregnum up to the mid-fifteenth century) focussing on three themes: actual events in Polish history; information related to Polish foreign relations; and references to family or dynastic (usually political marriages) connections. According to Kersken, Poland seems to be of less interest to writers of the Empire in the post-Staufen period, with mutual relations and history conveyed by way of Silesian-Bohemian points of view and the history of the Teutonic Order (221). Moreover, it seems that “there are hardly any references to specific stereotypes about Poland in the late medieval German chronicles” (221).
In the following chapter, Stephan Flemmig evaluates hagiographic texts, deducing that these sources never intended to address any geographic, ethnographic, or historical facts related to Poland and its people. Still, accounts of missionary efforts incidentally include material related to Poland, Pomerania, and Silesia. A generally positive image of Poland emerges in the hagiographies due to it being a Christian land with Christian inhabitants. In a similar vein to Flemmig, Paul Martin Langner explores a generally underutilised source for perceptions of medieval Poles: heraldic poems. Writing in the vernacular for Austrian nobles in the fourteenth century, poet Peter Suchenwirt provides insight into aristocratic self-consciousness and reciprocal perceptions related to Polish nobles. Langner’s study shows that Suchenwirt’s audience expected other European nobles to be respected and positively portrayed, reflecting a sense of aristocratic community. Thus, Polish knights and related regions were portrayed favourably in these poems.
Having treated of historiography, hagiography, and poetry, Florian M. Schmid’s chapter rounds off Part 3 with an exploration of Polish characters, Polishness, and Poland, as presented in medieval German literature. Schmid embeds the theoretical concept of otherness throughout his interpretations and offers a thoughtful discussion of the impact of the self and other on contemporary writing. Unlike other genres--such as history--the causa scribendi of the writers about whom Schmid is concerned is not to record descriptions of people but to figure their fictive characters into heroic tales, for example. Consequently, the material related to Poles and Poland in these sources is not very detailed. In conclusion, Schmid asserts that the “other” functions analogously--an “othered ‘self’”--in most of the texts examined. Moreover, literary characters appear to be identified with regard to secular courtly considerations and not on their ethnic or national origins.
Part 4 explores zones of contact between Germans and Poles, with particular focus paid to Silesia, Prussia, and Kraków. Here, the historical realities are explored as a counterpoint to the apparent binaries between Germans and Poles that appear in the sources. Indeed, most scholars researching relations between national or ethnic groups will relate to the frequent disconnect between source texts and the reality of the lived experience on the ground. Wojciech Mrozowicz’s chapter explores the history of Silesian people and their relationships with their neighbours by analysing the complexity of group interactions. This chapter raises important questions related to our understanding of identity in the medieval period, particularly in the face of conquest. For example, using the Silesian scholar Witelon, who described himself as “filius Thuringorum et Polonorum”(“a son of Thuringians and Poles”)--his father was probably from Thuringia and his mother from Poland--Mrozowicz reminds us of the complexity of self-identity as it relates to national and ethnic sentiments (305). Such complex manifestations of medieval identity are often neglected--if not entirely ignored--in the source texts.
The second and third chapters in this part focus on examples from Prussia. Firstly, Grischa Vercamer meticulously analyses the historiography of the Teutonic Order (Ordensgeschichtsschreibung) regarding views of Poles and Poland. The chronicles of Peter of Dusburg, Wigand of Marburg, and Johann of Posilge are dissected for their insights based on analytical distinctions or “subcategories,” including nation/people, region, and individuals (325). Based on his findings, Vercamer concludes that these chronicles do not present “any ‘national’ aspersions towards the Poles as people or a country”; rather, the actions of certain social groups--for instance, diplomats, warriors, or nobles--or individuals such as kings are of interest to the selection of chroniclers here. In contrast to Vercamer, Adam Szweda explores the perception of Polish towns and the countryside, particularly in relation to the Teutonic Order’s rule in Prussia. The attitudes expressed in the source texts can vary depending on the historical contexts and subject matter. For instance, Szweda asserts that the fifteenth-century Prussian historiography associated with the Teutonic Order is very critical towards the Poles and their monarch. This can be seen, for example, in commentary on the devastation of Pomerania wrought by the Polish-Hussite invasion in 1433.
Part 4’s final two chapters focus on Kraków. Marcin Starzyński examines the complex issue of “ethnic”/“national” conflicts in fourteenth-century Kraków. Following analysis of source material, including Rocznik Krasińskich, Starzyński suggests that there was “no friction between Polish burghers and German burghers, either during Vogt Albert’s Rebellion, or later” (366), which appears, perhaps, too good to be entirely true. Indeed, an absence of evidence does not mean interactions between the burghers were frictionless. Piotr Okniński explores social stereotypes in the context of the rebellion of Vogt Albert against Duke Ladislaus the Elbow-High (1311/12) and identifies a strong negative attitude expressed towards German settlers in Kraków.
In the sole chapter of Part 5, Jarochna Dąbrowska-Burkhardt’s examination of present-day stereotypes within German-Polish relations is provocative and thoughtful. While Dąbrowska-Burkhardt takes a predominantly linguistic perspective on stereotyping, theories from psychology, sociology, anthropology, and history have a clear bearing on her analysis throughout. Such a multi-faceted approach offers a more holistic view of othering as a form of stereotyping. The manipulation of language in stereotyping, particularly in media sources, is well argued and offers useful modern comparisons for medievalists.
The book’s conclusion (Part 6) breaks the mould as it functions more as a reflection on not only the book’s raison d'être (i.e., the perception of the “other” and the presence of mutual ethnic stereotypes in medieval narrative sources) but also wider intellectual concerns related to stereotyping. It is a pity, however, that Thomas Wünsch’s learned and reflective commentary carries no footnotes to direct the reader eager to engage with and explore his thought world.
This collection’s wide-ranging offering will be appreciated not only by scholars working on medieval Germans and/or Poles but also anyone researching inter-group perceptions and relations in the medieval world. Herein they will undoubtedly discover new sources as well as historiographical and methodological problems that will inspire comparative interpretations and explorations. The contributors highlight the ways in which narratives about medieval Germans and Poles were used as instruments of both identity formation and political propaganda, especially in the contexts of territorial conflicts, religious disputes, and the fluctuating power dynamics of the Middle Ages. Pleszczyński and Vercamer have done an admirable job wrangling disparate essays and turning them into a collection that offers a novel approach to inter-group perceptions. One can only hope that this edited collection will inspire similar publications in the future.