DID THE PRINCE LEV WANT TO BE THE RULER OF CRACOW IN 1280?

Abstract

In this article I try to prove that the intention to take power in Kraków attributed to Lev Danilovich both in Polish (Latin) sources and in the Halych-Volhynia Chronicle is an element of creating a negative image of the prince and slandering him, rather than a testimony to the prince’s real intentions. Polish sources were clearly sympathetic to Leszek the Black, and therefore presented Lev as a usurper, at the same time monumentalising the image of war. The Russian story of Lev’s invasion of Malopolska was written at the Volhynian court of Prince Vladimir, Lev’s cousin and rival. Therefore, Lev’s intention to take power in Kraków is presented as an expression of his insane pride, for which he was punished by God. The Volhynian chronicler attributed several other despicable and criminal acts to Lev. There is also no convincing evidence that in Lesser Poland there was a magnate party favourable to Lev, or that the widow princess Kinga strove to give Krakow back to Lev.

Keуwords: Lev Danilovich, Leszek the Black, Traska’s Annals, Halych-Volhynia Chronicle.