ANNA NIEDŹWIEDŹ THE IMAGE AND THE FIGURE Our Lady of Częstochowa in Polish Culture and Popular Religion jagiellonian u n ív e r s ít y p r e s s This book is a changed and abbreviated edition of the original Polish version: Anna Niedźwiedź, Obraz i postać. Znaczenia wizerunku Matki Boskiej Częstochowskiej. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego The book was reviewed by Ewa Nowina-Sroczyńska The publication of the book has been financed from funds donated by Katherine P. Kubala, funds of the Faculty of History Jagiellonian University, and funds of the Institute of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology Jagiellonian University TRANSLATED Anna Niedźwiedź Guy Torr PROOFREADING AND EDITING OF ENGLISH TEXT Meredith Volker COVER DESIGN Łukasz Dąbrowski © Copyright by Anna Niedźwiedź & Jagiellonian University Press First edition, Kraków 2010 All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher. ISBN 978-83-233-2900-8 I w ydaw nictw o] UNIWERSYTETU JAGIELLOŃSKIEGO www.wuj.pl Jagiellonian University Press Editorial Offices: Michałowskiego St. 9/2, 31-126 Kraków Phone: + 48 12 631 18 80, + 48 12 631 18 82, Fax: + 48 12 631 18 83 Distribution: Phone: + 48 12 631 01 97, Fax: + 48 12 631 01 98 Cell Phone: + 48 506 006 674, e-mail: [email protected] Bank: PEKAO SA, IBAN PL80 1240 4722 1111 0000 4856 3325 To Kathy Kubala, who taught me that real friendship can cross borders. Contents List of illustrations...................................................................................................... IX List of tables and appendices, Abbreviations.......................................................... XI Acknowledgements..................................................................................................... XIII Introduction.................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter I STORIES OF ORIGIN 1. What is acheiropoietos?.................................................................................. 5 2. The image of Our Lady of Częstochowa as acheiropoietos...................... 9 3. The oldest legends about the image and how it came to Jasna Góra 22 4. Translations of the image - variations of texts............................................ 26 5. The contemporary legends of origin............................................................. 30 6. The great story as a contemporary etiological legend................................ 43 Chapter II THE WOUNDED IMAGE 1. The image of Our Lady of Częstochowa as a wounded picture................ 49 2. Changes within the oldest legends concerning the wounding o f the image........................................................................................................ 51 3. The meanings attributed to the attack of 1430............................................. 54 4. The contemporary tale of the wounding of the image................................ 60 5. The bleeding and weeping of images............................................................ 63 6. “The wounds are elongating” ......................................................................... 66 7. The symbolism of the wounds in the underground art of the 1980s........ 71 8. The wounds in the transitory poetry of the 1980s....................................... 76 9. “Wounded and Black”...................................................................................... 83 Chapter III QUEEN OF THE NATION 1. The myth of the miraculous defense in European culture.......................... 89 2. The miraculous defense of the Jasna Góra Monastery............................... 94 3. Contemporary memory of the defense.......................................................... 96 VIII The Image and the Figure 4. The miraculous defense and the story of the w ounding............................ 101 5. The coronation of 1717 and the title of Queen............................................. 104 6. The Miracle on the Vistula.............................................................................. 112 7. Miraculous defense in stories about World War II...................................... 116 8. The great story as a national m yth................................................................. 119 9. Jasna Góra - the spiritual capital o f Poland................................................ 126 10. Queen and Mother - a documentation of one exhibition........................ 132 Chapter IV THE IMAGE-FIGURE IN LIVED RELIGION 1. Sensual non-differentiation............................................................................. 139 2. “Countenance” .................................................................................................. 144 3. “Mother”............................................................................................................. 150 4. Mater Dolorosa.................................................................................................. 154 5. Miraculous consciousness ............................................................................... 156 6. Peregrination of the image-figure.................................................................. 162 7. “A Guest in the home” ..................................................................................... 170 8. The figure without the image - the peregrination of an empty frame 174 Epilogue story.............................................................................................................. 179 Appendix....................................................................................................................... 180 Selected bibliography.................................................................................................. 183 Index .............................................................................................................................. 193 List of illustrations 1. Image of Our Lady of Częstochowa (Photo: Archive of Jasna Góra, Collection of Votive Art) 2. Image of Our Lady of Częstochowa in decorative robes and crowns (Photo: Archive of Jasna Góra, Collection of Votive Art) 3. Image of Our Lady of Częstochowa at the entrance to a building, Kraków (Photo: Anna Niedźwiedź) 4. Image of Our Lady of Częstochowa - detail - face of Mary with scars (Photo: Archive of Jasna Góra, Collection of Votive Art) 5. Plastic bottles for holy water with images of Our Lady of Częstochowa or shaped like Mary, sold near Jasna Góra Monastery (Photo: Anna Niedźwiedź) 6. A small girl helping her mother to sell plastic bottles (figures of Mary) for holy water. The Licheń sanctuary (Photo: Anna Niedźwiedź) 7. “Queen of Poland we pray to you for the independence of the Fatherland” Underground poster from the 1980s (Photo: Archive of the Foundation ‘Centrum Dokumentacji Czynu Niepodległościowego’ and the Jagiellonian Library) 8. “Our Lady pray for us” Underground envelope made in Załęże interned camp dur­ ing Martial Law (Photo: Archive of the Foundation ‘Centrum Dokumentacji Czynu Niepodległościowego’ and the Jagiellonian Library) 9. “Nowa Huta-Solidarity 1982” Underground poster from the 1980s (Photo: Archive of the Foundation ‘Centrum Dokumentacji Czynu Niepodległościowego’ and the Jagiellonian Library) 10. “Our Lady Save Us! To the memory of the victims of the Soviet homicide” Underground poster from the 1980s recalling the Katyń massacre (Photo: Archive of the Foundation ‘Centrum Dokumentacji Czynu Niepodległościowego’ and the Jagiellonian Library) 11. “Ecce Homo of 1981” Underground poster depicting Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa wear­ ing a small badge with the face of Our Lady of Częstochowa pinned to his jacket (Photo: Archive of the Foundation ‘Centrum Dokumentacji Czynu Niepodległościowego’ and the Jagiellonian Library) 12. “Queen of Solidarity” “Solidarity Post” underground stamp from the 1980s (Photo: Archive of the Foundation ‘Centrum Dokumentacji Czynu Niepodległościowego’ and the Jagiellonian Library) 13. “To the miners from “Wujek” coal mine” “Solidarity Post” underground stamp from the 1980s (Photo: Archive of the Foundation ‘Centrum Dokumentacji Czynu Niepodległoś­ ciowego’ and the Jagiellonian Library) 14. Interior of the Chapel of Our Lady of Częstochowa with the image covered with decora­ tive robes (Photo: Archive of Jasna Góra, Collection of Votive Art) 15. “God, save Poland” Our Lady of Częstochowa and patriotic symbols (Photo: Archive of the Ethnographic Museum in Kraków) X The Image and the Figure 16. “Under Your Protection” Our Lady of Częstochowa, copy (Photo: J. Kubiena, W. Stasz­ kiewicz, Archive of the Ethnographic Museum in Kraków) 17. A pilgrimage to Częstochowa, interwar period (1918-1939) (Photo: Archive of the Ethno­ graphic Museum in Kraków) 18. “The Baptizing of Poland 966” “Solidarity Post” underground postcard, images of Prince Mieszko I, Our Lady of Częstochowa and Pope John Paul II (Photo: Archive of the Foun­ dation ‘Centrum Dokumentacji Czynu Niepodległościowego’ and the Jagiellonian Li­ brary) 19. “God and Fatherland” Underground print from the 1980s (Photo: Archive of the Founda­ tion ‘Centrum Dokumentacji Czynu Niepodległościowego’ and the Jagiellonian Library) 20. A small badge worn by pilgrims taking part in a pilgrimage (on-foot) from Kraków to Jasna Góra in 1989. This copy of the image of Our Lady of Częstochowa is accompanied