OMNES SUNT WANDALI DICTI. THE MEANING OF THE ETHNONYM “VANDALS” IN THE POLISH MEDIEVAL HISTORIOGRAPHIC TRADITION

Abstract

The article examines the meaning of the ethnonym “Vandals” in Polish historical tradition of the High and the Late Middle Ages. The first Polish text where the term was used is the chronicle of Master Wincenty Kadłubek who mentioned it in the context of the story of the legendary queen Wanda. The article argues that when writing about the “Vandals”, Kadłubek probably referred not only to Poles, but also Slavs in general. In fact, the term in question combines these two meanings and could be more precisely translated as “Polesas- Slavs”. Furthermore, the article shows that the use of the term, which originated in late ancient ethos, in a contemporary Middle-European context was not Kadłubek’s idea, as the term was used in the same manner in Western European medieval sources. Moreover, Kadłubek’s concept was properly understood by the later medieval Polish chroniclers who continued using the term “Vandals” in a similar way. The article ends with a transition from the medieval to the early modern era and reflects on the origins of the Polish “political nation” and its place among other nations. The transition coincided with the introduction of the Sarmatian nomenclature which gradually superseded the earlier, “Vandalian”, selfperception of the Polish elites. This happened after a transitional period of the co-existence of both traditions which merged with each other in various ways, a noteworthy example of which is how the word “Vandals” was understood by Maciej of Miechów.