Grunwald Swords
Encyclopedia
The Grunwald Swords were a gift presented by Ulrich von Jungingen
, the Grand Master of the Order of Teutonic Knights
, to King Vladislaus II
of Poland
and Grand Duke Vytautas the Great
of Lithuania
on 15 July 1410, just before the Battle of Grunwald
(Tannenberg). The gift, a pair of simple bare sword
s, was a formal invitation to the battle. After the Polish-Lithuanian victory, both swords were taken as a war trophy by King Vladislaus to Kraków
, Poland's capital at the time, and placed in the treasury of the Royal Wawel Castle
.
With time, the two swords became treated as royal insignia, symbolising the monarch's reign over two nations, the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. They were probably used in coronations of most Polish kings from the 16th to the 18th centuries. In private hands after the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
at the end of the 18th century, they were lost without a trace in 1853. They have remained, however, a symbol of victory and Poland's and Lithuania's past, and an important part of national identity of the two nations.
was part of the Great War fought during 1409–1411 between a Polish-Lithuanian coalition led by King Vladislaus II
(Jogaila or Władysław Jagiełło) and Grand Duke Vytautas
(Alexander) on one side and the Teutonic Order aided by West European knights and led by Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen
on the other side. It was a decisive battle of the war and one of the largest in medieval Europe.
As both sides were preparing for the battle in the morning of 15 July 1410, two heralds carrying two unsheathed swords were announced to King Vladislaus. According to Jan Długosz's chronicle, they bore the coats of arms of their respective masters: a black eagle in a golden field of King Sigismund
of the Romans
, and a red griffin in a silver field of Duke Casimir V
of Pomerania. The heralds had been sent by the grand master to Vladislaus and Vytautas, but since the latter was busy making his troops ready for the battle, it was only the king, accompanied by his closest aides, who received the envoys. The heralds spoke in German while the royal secretary, Jan Mężyk of Dąbrowa, served as an interpreter. They delivered, according to Długosz, the following message:
As they spoke, Teutonic forces did, in fact, withdraw from previously occupied positions. The king accepted the swords and, according to the letter he later wrote to his wife, responded with the following words:
While sending swords as a formal gesture challenging the enemy to battle was customary at that time, adding insults was not. Hence the envoys' speech was considered grossly boastful and impudent, as can be seen from a letter sent by Jan Hus
to King Vladislaus where the Bohemian religious reformer praised the Polish-Lithuanian victory at Grunwald as a triumph of humility over pride.
and deposited them, together with Teutonic army banners
and other war trophies, in the treasure vault of the Royal Wawel Castle
. Eventually, the "two Prussian swords", as they were described in a treasury inventory in 1633, became treated as part of Polish-Lithuanian crown jewels. They were used in royal coronations throughout the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
(1569–1795) and possibly also earlier, during the dynastic union of the two nations under the House of Jagiellon. Since the pair of swords had been given to two rulers – of Poland and Lithuania – each of the weapons was associated with one of the two constituent nations of the Commonwealth.
During a coronation ceremony, the king-elect made a sign of the Cross
three times with the Szczerbiec
, or the principal coronation sword. Immediately afterwards, one of the bishops assisting in the ceremony handed the Grunwald Swords to the king who in turn passed them on to the Crown (i.e., Polish) and Lithuanian sword-bearers (miecznicy
). After the coronation, the king returned from the cathedral where the ceremony had taken place to the royal castle, preceded, among others, by the two sword-bearers carrying the Grunwald Swords as symbols of the king's reign in the two nations.
Unlike the Szczerbiec and other ceremonial swords stored in the royal treasury, the Grunwald Swords were simple battle swords that would have been typical for armament of early 15th-century European knights. At some point in time they were embellished with hilt
s made from gilded silver. Additionally a little shield with the coat of arms of Poland
, the White Eagle, was attached to the blade of one sword and, analogically, a similar shield with the Lithuanian Pursuer
was fastened to the other one.
Two of the elective kings of Poland–Lithuania were crowned without the use of the Grunwald Swords. King Stanislaus I Leszczyński was crowned in Warsaw
in 1705 with a makeshift set of royal insignia given to him by King Charles XII of Sweden
and quickly destroyed after the ceremony. The set probably did not include an equivalent of the Grunwald Swords. During the War of the Polish Succession
, Leszczyński's supporters sequestered the Polish Crown Jewels from Wawel and hid them at the Jasna Góra Monastery
in Częstochowa
to prevent Stanislaus's rival Frederick Augustus Wettin
from using them for his coronation. Hence, Augustus III used his own set of crown jewels for his 1734 coronation. His set included two sheathless ceremonial swords, described by an anonymous witness of the ceremony as "two huge épées", that were meant to replace the Grunwald Swords as symbols of Poland and Lithuania. The Polish sword had a pommel in the shape of an eagle's head, a cross-guard in the form of an eagle's talons, and a little crowned heraldic shield with the arms of Poland on the blade. Its Lithuanian counterpart had a pommel shaped like a lion's head, a lion's paws as the cross-guard, and on the blade an armorial shield of Lithuania below a grand-ducal hat. Those two swords were used again in a mourning ceremony on the third anniversary of the death of King Augustus II, Augustus III's father, in 1736. Afterwards, they were moved to the Armory
(Rüstkammer) in Dresden
were they could still be seen at the end of the 19th century. Their current location is unknown.
in 1794, Kraków was captured by the Prussian
army, which occupied the Wawel Castle and looted its treasure vault. However, the Prussians, probably uninterested in the material value of two simple iron swords and unaware of their historical and symbolic significance, left the Grunwald Swords behind.
After Prussia ceded Kraków, by the terms of the Third Partition of Poland
, to the Habsburg Empire in 1796, the swords were retrieved from the devastated treasury by historian Tadeusz Czacki
who handed them over to Princess Izabela Czartoryska. The princess was an art collector known for her interest in Polish national memorabilia. The Grunwald Swords were placed among other patriotic souvenirs in the Temple of the Sybil, her private museum established in the garden of the Czartoryski Palace in Puławy.
The palace was seized by the Russian government during the November Uprising
of 1830–1831. Most of the collection from the Temple of the Sybil had been evacuated to France shortly before the uprising broke out, but the Grunwald Swords were hidden in a parish priest's house in the nearby village of Włostowice (now part of Puławy). In 1853, after the priest's death, the house was searched by Russian gendarmes
, or security police, who confiscated the swords as illegal weapon and took them to the fortress of Zamość
. Their subsequent fate is unknown.
Being reminded of Polish military victories over the Teutonic Order used to stir German sensibilities to such an extent, that inclusion of the Grunwald Swords on a 1938 postage stamp
commemorating King Vladislaus Jagiełło and Queen Jadwiga
resulted in a formal diplomatic protest of Nazi Germany. In the interest of "maintaining good neighborhood", Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked the Polish Post
to withdraw the stamp from circulation; on the 1939 version of the stamp, the swords were replaced by a heraldic ornament.
In 1943, Gwardia Ludowa
, a communist resistance movement
in occupied Poland introduced its own military decoration
, the Cross of Grunwald
, featuring the Grunwald Swords on its obverse. It was later adopted by the People's Republic of Poland
as the second highest military award. The cross ceased to be awarded in 1987 and was formally discontinued in 1992. The swords featured in the Polish Navy
Jack in the years 1946-1955.
In modern Poland, the Grunwald Swords remain a popular military symbol, especially in Warmia
and Masuria
. The commune of Grunwald
uses the two swords in its coat of arms.
Ulrich von Jungingen
Ulrich von Jungingen was the 26th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1407 to 1410. His policy of confrontation with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland sparked the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War and led to disaster for the Order in the Battle of Grunwald.- Life...
, the Grand Master of the Order of Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
, to King Vladislaus II
Jogaila
Jogaila, later 'He is known under a number of names: ; ; . See also: Jogaila : names and titles. was Grand Duke of Lithuania , king consort of Kingdom of Poland , and sole King of Poland . He ruled in Lithuania from 1377, at first with his uncle Kęstutis...
of Poland
Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)
The Kingdom of Poland of the Jagiellons was the Polish state created by the accession of Jogaila , Grand Duke of Lithuania, to the Polish throne in 1386. The Union of Krewo or Krėva Act, united Poland and Lithuania under the rule of a single monarch...
and Grand Duke Vytautas the Great
Vytautas the Great
Vytautas ; styled "the Great" from the 15th century onwards; c. 1350 October 27, 1430) was one of the most famous rulers of medieval Lithuania. Vytautas was the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania which chiefly encompassed the Lithuanians and Ruthenians...
of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
on 15 July 1410, just before the Battle of Grunwald
Battle of Grunwald
The Battle of Grunwald or 1st Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410, during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King Jogaila and Grand Duke Vytautas , decisively defeated the Teutonic Knights, led...
(Tannenberg). The gift, a pair of simple bare sword
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
s, was a formal invitation to the battle. After the Polish-Lithuanian victory, both swords were taken as a war trophy by King Vladislaus to Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, Poland's capital at the time, and placed in the treasury of the Royal Wawel Castle
Wawel Castle
The Gothic Wawel Castle in Kraków in Poland was built at the behest of Casimir III the Great and consists of a number of structures situated around the central courtyard. In the 14th century it was rebuilt by Jogaila and Jadwiga of Poland. Their reign saw the addition of the tower called the Hen's...
.
With time, the two swords became treated as royal insignia, symbolising the monarch's reign over two nations, the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. They were probably used in coronations of most Polish kings from the 16th to the 18th centuries. In private hands after the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
at the end of the 18th century, they were lost without a trace in 1853. They have remained, however, a symbol of victory and Poland's and Lithuania's past, and an important part of national identity of the two nations.
Battle of Grunwald
The battle of GrunwaldBattle of Grunwald
The Battle of Grunwald or 1st Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410, during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King Jogaila and Grand Duke Vytautas , decisively defeated the Teutonic Knights, led...
was part of the Great War fought during 1409–1411 between a Polish-Lithuanian coalition led by King Vladislaus II
Jogaila
Jogaila, later 'He is known under a number of names: ; ; . See also: Jogaila : names and titles. was Grand Duke of Lithuania , king consort of Kingdom of Poland , and sole King of Poland . He ruled in Lithuania from 1377, at first with his uncle Kęstutis...
(Jogaila or Władysław Jagiełło) and Grand Duke Vytautas
Vytautas the Great
Vytautas ; styled "the Great" from the 15th century onwards; c. 1350 October 27, 1430) was one of the most famous rulers of medieval Lithuania. Vytautas was the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania which chiefly encompassed the Lithuanians and Ruthenians...
(Alexander) on one side and the Teutonic Order aided by West European knights and led by Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen
Ulrich von Jungingen
Ulrich von Jungingen was the 26th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1407 to 1410. His policy of confrontation with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland sparked the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War and led to disaster for the Order in the Battle of Grunwald.- Life...
on the other side. It was a decisive battle of the war and one of the largest in medieval Europe.
As both sides were preparing for the battle in the morning of 15 July 1410, two heralds carrying two unsheathed swords were announced to King Vladislaus. According to Jan Długosz's chronicle, they bore the coats of arms of their respective masters: a black eagle in a golden field of King Sigismund
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund of Luxemburg KG was King of Hungary, of Croatia from 1387 to 1437, of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Italy from 1431, and of Germany from 1411...
of the Romans
King of the Romans
King of the Romans was the title used by the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire following his election to the office by the princes of the Kingdom of Germany...
, and a red griffin in a silver field of Duke Casimir V
Casimir V, Duke of Pomerania
Duke Casimir V of Pomerania was a member of the House of Griffins and a Duke of Pomerania. He ruled in Pomerania-Stettin together with his brother Otto II from 1413 to 1428...
of Pomerania. The heralds had been sent by the grand master to Vladislaus and Vytautas, but since the latter was busy making his troops ready for the battle, it was only the king, accompanied by his closest aides, who received the envoys. The heralds spoke in German while the royal secretary, Jan Mężyk of Dąbrowa, served as an interpreter. They delivered, according to Długosz, the following message:
While sending swords as a formal gesture challenging the enemy to battle was customary at that time, adding insults was not. Hence the envoys' speech was considered grossly boastful and impudent, as can be seen from a letter sent by Jan Hus
Jan Hus
Jan Hus , often referred to in English as John Hus or John Huss, was a Czech priest, philosopher, reformer, and master at Charles University in Prague...
to King Vladislaus where the Bohemian religious reformer praised the Polish-Lithuanian victory at Grunwald as a triumph of humility over pride.
From war trophy to royal insignia
The king sent the two swords to KrakówKraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
and deposited them, together with Teutonic army banners
Banderia Prutenorum
The Banderia Prutenorum is a manuscript of 48 parchment sheets, 18.6 by 29.3 cm , composed by Jan Długosz and illuminated by Stanisław Durink, listing 56 vexillae, or banners, of the Order of the Teutonic Knights. The title means Blazons of the Prussians...
and other war trophies, in the treasure vault of the Royal Wawel Castle
Wawel Castle
The Gothic Wawel Castle in Kraków in Poland was built at the behest of Casimir III the Great and consists of a number of structures situated around the central courtyard. In the 14th century it was rebuilt by Jogaila and Jadwiga of Poland. Their reign saw the addition of the tower called the Hen's...
. Eventually, the "two Prussian swords", as they were described in a treasury inventory in 1633, became treated as part of Polish-Lithuanian crown jewels. They were used in royal coronations throughout the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
(1569–1795) and possibly also earlier, during the dynastic union of the two nations under the House of Jagiellon. Since the pair of swords had been given to two rulers – of Poland and Lithuania – each of the weapons was associated with one of the two constituent nations of the Commonwealth.
Sign of the cross
The Sign of the Cross , or crossing oneself, is a ritual hand motion made by members of many branches of Christianity, often accompanied by spoken or mental recitation of a trinitarian formula....
three times with the Szczerbiec
Szczerbiec
Szczerbiec is the coronation sword that was used in crowning ceremonies of most kings of Poland from 1320 to 1764. It is currently on display in the treasure vault of the Royal Wawel Castle in Kraków as the only preserved piece of Polish Crown Jewels...
, or the principal coronation sword. Immediately afterwards, one of the bishops assisting in the ceremony handed the Grunwald Swords to the king who in turn passed them on to the Crown (i.e., Polish) and Lithuanian sword-bearers (miecznicy
Miecznik
Miecznik was a court office in Poland. Responsible for the arsenal of the King and for carrying his sword.Since the 14th Century an honorable title of district office, in Kingdom of Poland and after Union of Lublin in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth....
). After the coronation, the king returned from the cathedral where the ceremony had taken place to the royal castle, preceded, among others, by the two sword-bearers carrying the Grunwald Swords as symbols of the king's reign in the two nations.
Unlike the Szczerbiec and other ceremonial swords stored in the royal treasury, the Grunwald Swords were simple battle swords that would have been typical for armament of early 15th-century European knights. At some point in time they were embellished with hilt
Hilt
The hilt of a sword is its handle, consisting of a guard,grip and pommel. The guard may contain a crossguard or quillons. A ricasso may also be present, but this is rarely the case...
s made from gilded silver. Additionally a little shield with the coat of arms of Poland
Coat of arms of Poland
The White Eagle is the national coat of arms of Poland. It is a stylized white eagle with a golden beak and talons, and wearing a golden crown, in a red shield.- Legal basis :...
, the White Eagle, was attached to the blade of one sword and, analogically, a similar shield with the Lithuanian Pursuer
Coat of arms of Lithuania
The coat of arms of Lithuania, consisting of an armor-clad knight on horseback holding an olden sword and shield, is also known as Vytis . The Lithuanian coat of arms is one of the oldest national coats of arms in Europe...
was fastened to the other one.
Two of the elective kings of Poland–Lithuania were crowned without the use of the Grunwald Swords. King Stanislaus I Leszczyński was crowned in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
in 1705 with a makeshift set of royal insignia given to him by King Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII also Carl of Sweden, , Latinized to Carolus Rex, Turkish: Demirbaş Şarl, also known as Charles the Habitué was the King of the Swedish Empire from 1697 to 1718...
and quickly destroyed after the ceremony. The set probably did not include an equivalent of the Grunwald Swords. During the War of the Polish Succession
War of the Polish Succession
The War of the Polish Succession was a major European war for princes' possessions sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II, King of Poland that other European powers widened in pursuit of their own national interests...
, Leszczyński's supporters sequestered the Polish Crown Jewels from Wawel and hid them at the Jasna Góra Monastery
Jasna Góra Monastery
The Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, Poland is the most famous shrine to the Virgin Mary in Poland and the country's greatest place of pilgrimage - for many its spiritual capital. The image of Black Madonna of Częstochowa, to which miraculous powers are attributed, is Jasna Góra's most...
in Częstochowa
Czestochowa
Częstochowa is a city in south Poland on the Warta River with 240,027 inhabitants . It has been situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since 1999, and was previously the capital of Częstochowa Voivodeship...
to prevent Stanislaus's rival Frederick Augustus Wettin
Augustus III of Poland
Augustus III, known as the Saxon ; ; also Prince-elector Friedrich August II was the Elector of Saxony in 1733-1763, as Frederick Augustus II , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1734-1763.-Biography:Augustus was the only legitimate son of Augustus II the Strong, Imperial Prince-Elector...
from using them for his coronation. Hence, Augustus III used his own set of crown jewels for his 1734 coronation. His set included two sheathless ceremonial swords, described by an anonymous witness of the ceremony as "two huge épées", that were meant to replace the Grunwald Swords as symbols of Poland and Lithuania. The Polish sword had a pommel in the shape of an eagle's head, a cross-guard in the form of an eagle's talons, and a little crowned heraldic shield with the arms of Poland on the blade. Its Lithuanian counterpart had a pommel shaped like a lion's head, a lion's paws as the cross-guard, and on the blade an armorial shield of Lithuania below a grand-ducal hat. Those two swords were used again in a mourning ceremony on the third anniversary of the death of King Augustus II, Augustus III's father, in 1736. Afterwards, they were moved to the Armory
Dresden Armory
The Dresden Armory , also known as the Dresden Historical Museum , is one of the world's largest collections of ceremonial weapons, armors and historical textiles. It is part of the Dresden State Art Collections.The Dresden Armory is currently on display in the gallery wing of the Zwinger Palace in...
(Rüstkammer) in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
were they could still be seen at the end of the 19th century. Their current location is unknown.
Salvation and loss
The Grunwald Swords were used for the last time in a coronation of a Polish king – that of Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski – in 1764 in Warsaw. They are mentioned in the last inventory of the royal treasury of 1792. During the Kościuszko UprisingKosciuszko Uprising
The Kościuszko Uprising was an uprising against Imperial Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in Poland, Belarus and Lithuania in 1794...
in 1794, Kraków was captured by the Prussian
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
army, which occupied the Wawel Castle and looted its treasure vault. However, the Prussians, probably uninterested in the material value of two simple iron swords and unaware of their historical and symbolic significance, left the Grunwald Swords behind.
After Prussia ceded Kraków, by the terms of the Third Partition of Poland
Third Partition of Poland
The Third Partition of Poland or Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in 1795 as the third and last of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.-Background:...
, to the Habsburg Empire in 1796, the swords were retrieved from the devastated treasury by historian Tadeusz Czacki
Tadeusz Czacki
Tadeusz Czacki , was a Polish historian, pedagogue and numismatist. Czacki played an important part in the Enlightenment in Poland.-Biography:...
who handed them over to Princess Izabela Czartoryska. The princess was an art collector known for her interest in Polish national memorabilia. The Grunwald Swords were placed among other patriotic souvenirs in the Temple of the Sybil, her private museum established in the garden of the Czartoryski Palace in Puławy.
The palace was seized by the Russian government during the November Uprising
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
of 1830–1831. Most of the collection from the Temple of the Sybil had been evacuated to France shortly before the uprising broke out, but the Grunwald Swords were hidden in a parish priest's house in the nearby village of Włostowice (now part of Puławy). In 1853, after the priest's death, the house was searched by Russian gendarmes
Special Corps of Gendarmes
The Special Corps of Gendarmes was the uniformed security police of the Russian Empire in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its main responsibilities were law enforcement and state security....
, or security police, who confiscated the swords as illegal weapon and took them to the fortress of Zamość
Zamosc
Zamość ukr. Замостя is a town in southeastern Poland with 66,633 inhabitants , situated in the south-western part of Lublin Voivodeship , about from Lublin, from Warsaw and from the border with Ukraine...
. Their subsequent fate is unknown.
Symbolic use
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
commemorating King Vladislaus Jagiełło and Queen Jadwiga
Jadwiga of Poland
Jadwiga was monarch of Poland from 1384 to her death. Her official title was 'king' rather than 'queen', reflecting that she was a sovereign in her own right and not merely a royal consort. She was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou, the daughter of King Louis I of Hungary and Elizabeth of...
resulted in a formal diplomatic protest of Nazi Germany. In the interest of "maintaining good neighborhood", Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked the Polish Post
Poczta Polska
Poczta Polska is the Polish public post service.- History :Before the postal system was established, correspondence was delivered by messengers. In the Middle Ages, such services were available only to the privileged classes - monarchs, rich merchants and some of the organised communities, like...
to withdraw the stamp from circulation; on the 1939 version of the stamp, the swords were replaced by a heraldic ornament.
In 1943, Gwardia Ludowa
Gwardia Ludowa
Gwardia Ludowa or GL was a communist armed organisation in Poland, organised by the Soviet created Polish Workers Party. It was the largest military organization which refused to join the structures of the Polish Underground State. It was created in 1942 and in 1944 it was incorporated by the...
, a communist resistance movement
Polish resistance movement in World War II
The Polish resistance movement in World War II, with the Home Army at its forefront, was the largest underground resistance in all of Nazi-occupied Europe, covering both German and Soviet zones of occupation. The Polish defence against the Nazi occupation was an important part of the European...
in occupied Poland introduced its own military decoration
Military decoration
A military decoration is a decoration given to military personnel or units for heroism in battle or distinguished service. They are designed to be worn on military uniform....
, the Cross of Grunwald
Cross of Grunwald
Order Krzyża Grunwaldu 1943-1960, Krzyż Grunwaldu 1960-1992 was a military decoration created in November 1943 by the High Command of Gwardia Ludowa, a World War II Polish resistance movement in Poland organised by the Polish Workers Party...
, featuring the Grunwald Swords on its obverse. It was later adopted by the People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
as the second highest military award. The cross ceased to be awarded in 1987 and was formally discontinued in 1992. The swords featured in the Polish Navy
Polish Navy
The Marynarka Wojenna Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej - MW RP Polish Navy, is the branch of Republic of Poland Armed Forces responsible for naval operations...
Jack in the years 1946-1955.
In modern Poland, the Grunwald Swords remain a popular military symbol, especially in Warmia
Warmia
Warmia or Ermland is a region between Pomerelia and Masuria in northeastern Poland. Together with Masuria, it forms the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship....
and Masuria
Masuria
Masuria is an area in northeastern Poland famous for its 2,000 lakes. Geographically, Masuria is part of two adjacent lakeland districts, the Masurian Lake District and the Iława Lake District...
. The commune of Grunwald
Gmina Grunwald
Gmina Grunwald is a rural gmina in Ostróda County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland.Gmina Grunwald is divided into 19 sołectwos. The villages with the largest population are Gierzwałd, which dates back to the 14th century, and Zybułtowo. Gierzwałd is the administrative seat of the...
uses the two swords in its coat of arms.
See also
- SzczerbiecSzczerbiecSzczerbiec is the coronation sword that was used in crowning ceremonies of most kings of Poland from 1320 to 1764. It is currently on display in the treasure vault of the Royal Wawel Castle in Kraków as the only preserved piece of Polish Crown Jewels...
, Poland's principal coronation sword - Cross of GrunwaldCross of GrunwaldOrder Krzyża Grunwaldu 1943-1960, Krzyż Grunwaldu 1960-1992 was a military decoration created in November 1943 by the High Command of Gwardia Ludowa, a World War II Polish resistance movement in Poland organised by the Polish Workers Party...
, Polish Communist-era military decoration