Princess Kunegunda

Princess Kunegunda is a heroine of the legends of Sudetes, and is said to have lived in Chojnik Castle in Poland. To avoid marriage, she set a condition that her future spouse must, in armour, complete a circuit along the castle's walls on horseback. The particular difficulty of the task lay in the fact that the walls were narrower on the side of the castle bordering on a cliff. Many knights died trying to complete the task, until one of them fulfilled the task and rejected the love of the princess. In response, Kunegunda jumped over the edge.

The legend has formed the basis of various tales by both Polish and non-Polish authors, for example Adam Mickiewicz and Friedrich Schiller.

The legend

Kunegunda was beautiful princess living in the castle at the top of Chojnik. After the death of her father she started rule the castle. Her greatest pleasure was deer hunting and horse riding. Because she was rich and beautiful, many noble knights wanted to stay her husband, but she stated that she would marry only the knight who wearing armor, a helmet, with a sword and shield in hand, would complete a circuit along the castle's walls on a horseback. She knew that walls near to the abyss were very thin and consider the task impossible to fulfill. Many tried and perished. Kunegunda liked watching on men who died for her craving. After a few years, when it was believed that every try eventuate in suicide, nobody dared solicit of Kunegunda’s love. The princess was leading calm life in her castle until a proud knight came along. Standing at the gates of the castle, man promised that he would go round castle's walls. In the evening, when the knight was dining, he started talking about his travel in very interesting way, cause majority of servants rallied in the chamber. Kunegunda, informed by her maid, wanted to hear the story, however the princess was too proud to sit at the table with servants. She also could not call tired comer to her room in the evening, so Kunegunda wore maid’s dress and hide in the corner, where she stayed unnoticed. The knight told about his family and city - Cracow.^[1] Kunegunda realise that she fell in love with the man, which would surely die tomorrow. During the night, desperate princess sent the maid to the knight with the message that she gave up the obligation to go round walls and would marry him. The man answered that he was the knight which had never backtracked on a promise and he was going to fulfill the task.^[2]

The next day at dawn Kunegunda was awaken by the sounds of trumpets, what meant that the knight had already got on his horse. When he was near to the most dangerous place, princess started praying to God and Saint Kunegunda for help. Eventually she fainted. The woman woke up, because she heard happy, laughing voices. Princess came running quickly to the knight and avowed that she would stay his wife. However, counter to Kunegunda’s expectations, knight told that he had not came to get married, but to complete a circuit along the castle's walls and this way refrain her cruelty, which eventuated in death of many valiant men who could defend laudable aims and be remembered as a heroes. He claimed that he would never marry a women which is guilty of the sin of murder and then he left Chojnik. The legend ends in three different ways. The most popular says that the princess did not get by indignity and jumped over the edge. She died and the corpse was taken by devils to hell. For that reason the road running from the castle to the abyss is called Droga Kunegundy (Road of Kunegunda) or Droga przez piekło (Road through hell) and the valley that this road runs – Piekielna Dolina (Hellish Valley).^[3]

Second version says that Kunegunda died in monastery where she joined as a part of atonement.^[4]

Third end tells about Kungunda’s marriage with German knight Elwardt von Ehrbach, which once traveled with her wearing servant clothes. Kunegunda knocked down the wall on the edge’s side and paid for the mass for souls of dead knights. She wanted people to forgive her cruelty, so she gave many alms.^[5]

Princess Kunegunda in literature

• Friedrich Schiller used the story of princess Kunegunda in Der Handschuh. Adam Mickiewicz translated it into Polish, entitled Rękawiczka and changed the name of the heroine to Marta.^[6]
• Theodor Körner - ballad Der Kynast ^[7]
• Friedrich Rückert - ballad Die Begrüssung auf dem Kynast ^[8]
• Józef Sykulski - Kunegunda księżniczka na zamku Kynast ^[9]

References