INTRODUCTION
Zawisza Czarny (Zawisza the Black also known as The Black Knight) was a very famous polish knight, who lived at the turn of XV century under Wladislaw Jagiello’s rule.
Zawisza may be considered an international knight as he was a diplomat travelling around many European countries.
He devoted himself to the king and to the country. Not only was he famous for winning all knight’s tournaments and duels but also extremely intelligent and witty, therefore he was chosen to be the king’s trusted envoy.
In 1414 Zawisza led the Polish delegation to Constance.
He took part in wars against Turks and the Teutonic Order. During the battle of Grunwald in 1410 he was the one who saved the king’s standard. In 1416 he went with Sigismund the King of Germany and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire to Aragon where he participated in a tournament in Perpignan, where he defeated the famous knight John of Aragon.
Zawisza died in 1428 when he was fighting the Turks during the battle of Golubac in Serbia saving the King Sigismund.
He was a model of medieval knight. The stereotype of a christian knight defending women, living according to knightly virtues developed at the beginning of the epoch. Roland – Charles’ the Great knight and Lancelot – King Arthur’s knight were models of a medieval knight for other knights at the time. Polish knight Zawisza surpassed the two knights in terms of both fencing and his features of character. Never did he lose his duels or fights.
For many generations of Poles Zawisza became one of the most popular national heroes due to his exceptional bravery, proverbial reliability and loyalty. There is a famous Polish saying: “ Polegaj jak na Zawiszy” ( Rely on him like on Zawisza). This motto also became a part of the Polish scouts oath.
Our story starts with the misfortune of Zawisza and his brothers which is the reason of their travelling around Europe without finding a rest.
All started one day in a small village of……..
THE STORY OF ZAWISZA AND HIS BROTHERS
Once upon a time, in the vicinity of Sandomierz, there was a famous and wealthy knight called Zawisza Czarny. He had two brothers : Jan and Piotr, who were also superb knights. The knights wanted to settle down and get married, therefore when they found out about three beautiful girls from Odrzykon they immediately set off.
Bogna, Slawa and Mila were famous for both their beauty and passion for singing and dancing. They were the apples of their mother’s eye, however, she was aware of the fact that her daughters should learn how to weave and work hard. Although there were many knights asking for their hands, the sisters were not willing to get married.
After some time, Zawisza and his brothers came to Odrzykon and immediately fell in love with the girls. It was apparently love at first sight, as they got engaged very soon.
The brothers were recruited as soldiers, therefore they decided to ask their fiancees to weave scarfs out of linen as reminders of their beloved. The sisters got down to work, but their task seemed to be too difficult and demanding, so they soon stopped working and started to play.
The time passed quickly and the day when the knights were supposed to come back was close. Bogna, Slawa and Mila set to work. As they knew they had very little time, the sisters were spinning seven days a week not paying attention to their mother who tried to warn the girls against the God’s punishment.
When the church bell started to ring during the Sunday Mass, the knights came back to the castle. They stood dumbfounded, because they saw three white rocks similar to three spinning girls, situated on the hill near the castle. The fiancees’ mother explained to them that her daughters were turned into rocks as punishment for working on Lord’s Day.
Although Zawisza and his brothers were filled with sadness, they decided to leave Krosno and set out on the journey to other countries in order to forget their terrible misfortune....
They decide to leave one another and so they took three different ways.
Zawisza, after a long long journey arrived to….
ZAWISZA IN FRANCE
One evening, the Polish knight arrived at a castle. He went in and asked to the Lord Aymerick if he could stay there for the night. The Lord agreed.
The day after Aymerick was alone training to become a knight. Seeing Aymerick working hard, the Polish knight offered his help to him. He gave him advices, and helped him to prepare everything for Aymerick's dubbing.
The most important piece for this dubbing was a sword. Aymerick was a bit afraid for it and he wished that anything wrong could happen .
Now the dubbing's day arrives. Everything is ready. It's time to go to take the sword, but it is disappeared. Who had stolen it ?
Aymerick is very disappointed. No dubbing will take place without the sword. He could not become a knight. He decides to investigate everywhere in the castle with Zawisza the Black. They find a secret way in the dubbing room and there is the sword. They ask many questions to everyone and finally they discover that one of the squire was very jealous of Aymerick. Finally Aymerick had his dubbing at the good time.
After the dubbing Zawiswa said goodbye to his Aymerick because it was time for him to move to……….
THE LEGEND OF THE GHOST OF THE CASTLE
Zawisza arrived from France to Italy in order to go to Rome to ask the Pope to pray for his unhappy situation and his brothers’.
He stopped in Tuscany in a small village, Fosdinovo, where he found hospitality in the beautiful castle upon the hill.
The owners of the castle told him that only a room was left but nobody wanted to stay there because of an unhappy event.
They started to tell the story.
A long time ago, in the castle of Fosdinovo, lived a family of a noble descent: the Malaspina.
The marquises had a daughter named Bianca Maria Aloisia, a rebel and stubborn girl.
Every day, from her window , she insistently looked at a peasant who worked under his father.
She looked at him every hour, every day, every month and bit by bit her love for him grew more and more.
Also the peasant had the same feelings for Maria Bianca.
The marquis was not favourable to this love and he decided to send his daughter in a convent.
The peasant was so in love with her that he didn’t lose heart and he excogitated a plan to release her.
Something went wrong because her father surprised the lovers while they were running away.
He took his daughter to his castle and shut her up in the darkest room of the highest tower with a dog, symbol of her fidelity and a wild boar, symbol of stubbornness.
After some years of privation, the poor girl died, always invoking her love.
Now in the castle of Fosdinovo, in that cursed room, we can see a white spot on the roof.
People say that, in the full moon nights, at midnight, this spot becomes a ghost with the appearance of the beautiful but unhappy girl, who invokes, with her broken heart, the name of her lover.
Zawisza was very sad about this story because he remembered his unhappy love situation. He continued his road to Rome to meet the Pope.
The meeting with the Pope gave him relief and serenity but didn’t stop his anxiety of travelling and so he moved towards……..
ZAWISZA IN SPAIN
After his Italian journey, Zawisza Czarny goes on board of a Portuguese ship bound to Spain. The ship arrives to the port of Hispalis. Here he hears the gossips about the love affairs of the Queen of Aragon, Violante de Bar with Alvaro de Hispalis. He decides to defend the honour and reputation of such an esteemed lady.
He directs his steps towards Aragon in a coach led by four beautiful black horses and after a journey full of adventures and misfortunes he reaches what is now known as the town of Zaragoza. Once there, he meets D. Juan I de Aragon and his wife Violante de Bar, after being introduced to the court by the Duke D’Anjoy.
At the dinner offered by the princess Violante with Luis D’Anjou he meets a precious young lady whose name he does not know. Violante introduces her as her younger sister, Juana, and mysteriously after looks of complicity, they fall in love.
Shortly thereafter she falls ill of a typical disease of the period. It was a galloping and irreversible epidemic and after two weeks of agony, she dies. He is broken by pain and flees without any destination like a wandering knight with no destiny or path to follow…