Provisions from Malopolska. Grunwald 1410-2010

As a centuries-old tale has it, before the famous Battle of Grunwald against the Teutonic Knights, King Ladislaus Jagiello was to order Cracow’s bakers to bake bagels so that Polish and Lithuanian knights had something to nibble at before the enemy arrived on the battlefield. Provision of long-keeping bread was an element of a large-scale policy of supplying the royal court with food (hunting in royal forests, conserving meats, drying mushrooms and herbs), which was largely financed from the income of the royal treasury, including the revenue from the exploitation of salt deposits in Bochnia and Wieliczka, on the strength of the royal regale.

The Local Government of Malopolska Province and the Malopolska Institute of Culture are organising historic happenings based on the idea of ‘living history’.

On 10 July 2010 a symbolic Medieval convoy will set off from Krakow towards the battlefield of Grunwald, carrying food supplies for the knights. On the journey of the procession from Krakow, through Warsaw (11 July), there will be a staged entry of Medieval horse and carts accompanied by merchants, frisking stilt walkers and buskers, announced by town criers. The accompanying events will include performances and educational workshops led by a group of enthusiasts, which will give children and adults the opportunity to see life in Medieval times ‘inside out’. There will also be a possibility to try regional products, including Krakow bagels, of course.
 
In each site there will be:

A school of knights and squires
 
Different types of weaponry and outfits used in the 15th century and knights’ jousting techniques will be demonstrated in the knights’ tent. The shows will be accompanied by tales about knights’ everyday life (why wars were suspended in winter; what a knight wore under his armour; how a peasant geared up for war and how a lord did). Volunteers, regardless of their age, will have an opportunity to test their skill at quasi-tournament activities, including archery, horse mounting and spearman’s training.

The knights’ workshop will be accompanied by an armourer’s workshop.
 
A Medieval dance band
 
…will take up the challenge to familiarize the audience with different types of  dancing processions popular in the Middle Ages. The dancers will talk about courtly culture customs.

A Medieval chancery
 
A ‘period’ jurist will introduce the audience to the secrets of Medieval administration (how seals were made, how royal documents looked, what writing utensils were used in the Middle Ages) and will talk about everyday work of the royal chancery.
 
The flavour of the Middle Ages will be conveyed by jugglers, stiltwalkers and buskers, whose performances will be accompanied by conjuring lessons for the interested. The culmination will be a performance by a theatre of wandering conjurers, inspired by the novel Żywe kamienie (Living Stones) by Wacław Berent.

The ‘provisions convoy’ from Malopolska will reach the fields of Grunwald on the eve of the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald, when it will participate in the historic part of the festivities. A cart with bagels will stay there until the end of the anniversary celebrations, offering a treat from Krakow to all those who want to try a specialty which has traditionally been baked in Malopolska since the Middle Ages.

 
Krakow, 10 July 2010
Main Market Square and Szczepański Square
 
1.00–2.00 p.m.
 
Ceremonious passage of the procession, accompanied by jugglers, frisking stilt walkers and buskers from Szczepański Square to the Main Market Square. Passage around the Market Square.

 
2.00–6.30 p.m. (Szczepański Square):
 

  • workshops of Medieval dances, led by the Medieval Dance Band ‘Belriguardo’
  • knights workshops, led by the Jakub Odrowąż Team
  • workshops in the Medieval chancery, led by Tadeusz Grajpel
  • costume stitching workshops, led by the Medieval Dance Band ‘Belriguardo’
  • Medieval fashion show, by the Medieval Dance Band ‘Belriguardo’
  • jousting show, performed by the Jakub Odrowąż Team

3.00 p.m. , 4.00 p.m.
 
Passage of a Medieval horse and cart around the Main Market Square


6.30 p.m. (Szczepański Square)
 
Performance The Conjurers, by Teatr Gry i Ludzie (lasts 40 min.)
 
 
Warsaw, 11 July 2010

Krakowskie Przedmieście and Castle Square
 
1.00–2.00 p.m.
 
Ceremonious passage of the procession, accompanied by jugglers, frisking stilt walkers and buskers along Krakowskie Przedmieście
 
 
2.00–6.30 p.m. (Castle Square)
 

  • workshops of Medieval dances, led by the Medieval Dance Band ‘Belriguardo’
  • knights workshops, led by the Jakub Odrowąż Team
  • workshops in the Medieval chancery, led by Tadeusz Grajpel
  • costume stitching workshops, led by the Medieval Dance Band ‘Belriguardo’
  • Medieval fashion show, by the Medieval Dance Band ‘Belriguardo’
  • jousting show, performed by the Jakub Odrowąż Team

 
4.00 p.m., 5.00 p.m.
 
Passage of a Medieval horse and cart around the Old Town
 
6.30 p.m. (Castle Square)
 
Performance The Conjurers, by Teatr Gry i Ludzie (lasts 40 min.)