The ducal tower in Siedlęcin near Jelenia Góra (Lower Silesia, Poland) is one of the most impressive and important medieval monuments in Poland.
In the first half of the fourteenth century, the Duchy of Jawor and Świdnica was one of the richest regions in Central Europe. It was strongly influenced by the royal court in Prague. The keep in Siedlęcin was one of more than fifty castles built by Bolko I and his descendants. The ducal tower house in Siedlęcin is one of the most important medieval residences of this type in Central Europe. It’s very exceptional because of the huge dimensions of both the Great Hall, the existing fourteenth century paintings found within, and the high level of authenticity of the entire monument.
Archaeology
An archaeological project, started in 2008, have provided information about not only the tower house itself but also the form and use of other buildings and constructions related to the tower house in both the medieval and more modern periods.
The keep is one of the largest (22,2 x 14,35 m) and best-preserved examples of such buildings in Central Europe. Henry I, Duke of Jawor, and third son of Bolko I commissioned its construction in 1313 or 1314. He was born around 1290 and assumed control of the duchy in 1312. He and his wife, Agnes of Bohemia, also commissioned the medieval mural paintings in the great hall on the second floor around 1345 – 1346.
Unquestionably this is the most impressive part of the tower. The great hall in Siedlęcin tower house was obviously designed for ceremonial purposes: it was high up and it had this rich interior decoration. Architectural research shows that the floor containing the hall was originally divided into three rooms, but some of the interior walls were demolished in the seventeenth century when the tower was being used as a granary.
The Murals
One of the unique features of the castle – and well worth a detour – are the murals preserved in the great hall.
The completed polychrome paintings on the south wall of the Great Hall cover more than 32 square meters; they were made using the al secco technique. After the paintings were discovered at the end of the nineteenth century, they were subjected to a restoration in 1936. Research in the 1990’s resulted in the first monograph describing the paintings. Not only the real meaning of the paintings (some scenes changed during improper restoration) but also the reasons of the misinterpretations was recovered. The latest restoration work on the paintings was undertaken in 2006 and 2007.
The paintings were obviously planned and financed by Duke Henry I and his wife in 1345-1346. Art historians suggested that the artist probably came from the north east of Switzerland, since the murals show the influence of the Swiss Waltensburg Master (‘Waltensburger Meister’). One theory is that the artist came to Świdnica and Jawor in the retinue of the wife of Duke Henrys’ nephew, Agnes von Habsburg (1315-1392). Agnes was the daughter of the Duke of Austria, Leopold I, from the House of Habsburg, and Catherine of Savoy, which meant she had close ties with Switzerland.
The paintings were never finished. It seems that after the death of Henry the I in 1346 the work was suspended and later (after 1368 or 1369, when the castle was sold), the new owners of the tower, the noble family of Redern, hoped to continue the work with the assistance of one of the Swiss master’s students. Unfortunately this seems not to have come to fruition.
The paintings in Siedlęcin are exceptional: their topic is principally profane, something very rare to survive from this period. The main subject of the murals is the romantic story of one of the most famous legendary knights of the Middle Ages; their motive is now recognized as that of the legend of Sir Lancelot of the Lake as told by Chrétien de Troyes.
Chrétien de Troyes
Some time in 1181, Chrétien de Troyes, worked at the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine’s eldest daughter, Marie of Champagne (1145-1197). Here he completed his Le Chevalier de la Charrette. We know that Chrétien was the first to develop the character of Lancelot. If we are to believe his own words, ‘the material and the treatment of it Le Chevalier de la Charrette were ‘given and furnished to him by the Countess’. Afterwards Lancelot’s fame spread to the most distant parts of the medieval Europe. This resulted in an impressive series of translations and rewritings in different languages.
“The Siedlęcin murals are based on the Vulgate Lancelot, depicting, among others, the court of Arthur’s queen, Guinevere, her abduction by the wicked knight, Meleagant and her freeing by Lancelot”, writes Katarzyna Ogrodnik Fujcik. “There are also representations of Lancelot sleeping beneath an apple tree and Sir Lionel sleeping on guard, the duel between Lancelot and Sir Tarquin and Lancelot with Sir Kay. There are other images as well, but their subject matter is sacred rather than secular, the central and largest figure being the one of St. Christopher, patron saint of travellers, pilgrims and knights”, she concludes.
SOURCES:
Sir Lancelot of Siedlęcin by Katarzyna Ogrodnik Fujcik
Medieval Ducal Tower in Siedlecin, Poland by Przemysław Nocuń
VISIT:
Medieval Ducal Tower in Siedlecin, Poland (official site)
The ducal tower in Siedlęcin is open to visitors every day.
High season (May – October): 9.00 – 18.00
Low season (November – April): 10.00 – 16.00
READ:
Lancelot: The Knight of the Cart (Chretien de Troyes Romances)
By Chretien de Troyes (Author), Burton Raffel (Translator)
Yale University Press; New edition 1997
ISBN-10: 0300071205
ISBN-13: 978-0300071207
READ MORE:
Archaeological Project Ducal Tower in Siedlęcin
FEATURED PHOTO:
Exterior of castle in Siedlęcin. Photo by © Krzysztof Góralski