DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.31076#0012
deities was developed only about the 9 th century by the Westem
Slavs, who worshipped idols with three or four faces in their
temples.
Cracow was settled at a very early date. When Wawel Hill
was excavated after World War II, archeologists discovered
stone tools from the Paleolithic Era (14,000-8,000 b.c.). What
type of people used such tools, however, remains a mystery.
Numerous intriguing mounds in the greater Cracow area
are much nearer to the historical time. They should be associ-
ated with the Celts or the Asiatic nomads, perhaps the Avars. In
the 6 th century a.d., the Avars occupied a territory between the
Danube and Cisa Rivers. Here they constructed large grave-
mounds for their chiefs. Earlier, such mounds had also been
raised by the Celts. There are two such mounds near Cracow—
one was given the name of Krakus, and the other the name of
Wanda. (Krakus was examined before 1939 without any defi-
nite results, while Wanda still remains an enigma.)
Legends Inslead of LEistorical S
ources
“Records” of the founding of the Polish State exist in the
accounts of medieval chroniclers and historians such as Gallus
Anonymous (11 th c.); Wincenty Kadlubek (13 th c.); and, the
most competent of them, Jan Dlugosz (15 th c.). However, their
works are a mixture of history and pure legend.
According to these legends, Lech established the Polish
State after discovering the nest of the White Eagle—later to
become the armorial symbol of the Poles. This Lech was the
2
Slavs, who worshipped idols with three or four faces in their
temples.
Cracow was settled at a very early date. When Wawel Hill
was excavated after World War II, archeologists discovered
stone tools from the Paleolithic Era (14,000-8,000 b.c.). What
type of people used such tools, however, remains a mystery.
Numerous intriguing mounds in the greater Cracow area
are much nearer to the historical time. They should be associ-
ated with the Celts or the Asiatic nomads, perhaps the Avars. In
the 6 th century a.d., the Avars occupied a territory between the
Danube and Cisa Rivers. Here they constructed large grave-
mounds for their chiefs. Earlier, such mounds had also been
raised by the Celts. There are two such mounds near Cracow—
one was given the name of Krakus, and the other the name of
Wanda. (Krakus was examined before 1939 without any defi-
nite results, while Wanda still remains an enigma.)
Legends Inslead of LEistorical S
ources
“Records” of the founding of the Polish State exist in the
accounts of medieval chroniclers and historians such as Gallus
Anonymous (11 th c.); Wincenty Kadlubek (13 th c.); and, the
most competent of them, Jan Dlugosz (15 th c.). However, their
works are a mixture of history and pure legend.
According to these legends, Lech established the Polish
State after discovering the nest of the White Eagle—later to
become the armorial symbol of the Poles. This Lech was the
2