Can the coronation be missed? In Poland, it's actually a standard. Historians can only guess when Bolesław the Brave or Mieszko II became king. It was even worse with Wenceslaus II, imported from the Czech Republic. But it isn't any more.
Various dates of his Polish coronation appear in works on Wenceslaus II, usually July, August and November 1300. On both sides of the Sudetes, the latter variant is most often written on the basis of Janusz Bieniak's findings from 1969. A well-known genealogist believed that the coronation took place between October 19 and the end of 1300, opting for December 7. Dating for the summer months comes from earlier works by Czech mediaevalists.
Three September days
After years of relative consensus, the Czech researcher Libor Jan finally decided to settle all doubts. He was served by documents issued by Wenceslas II as the Polish king. As was the custom of the time, they were always marked with information about how many years had passed since the coronation.
The historian came to the conclusion that the date of the event could be narrowed down by selecting documents whose dating does not raise any doubts, and then checking which ones were accurately displayed in the first and the second years of Wenceslas' reign in Poland.
The last document from the first year is dated August 30, 1301. The first one, which states that it comes from the second year of Wenceslas' reign - on September 14. This is how Libor Jan determined that the coronation had to take place between August 30 and September 14, 1300.
The material is based on a scientific article published in the periodical "Kwartalnik Historyczny".
Since in the Middle Ages the enthronement ceremonies were held on public holidays and on Sundays, this limits the scope of the possibilities to only three days:September 8 (Feast of the Birth of the Virgin Mary), September 4, or September 11 (Sundays).
Wacław's immediate success
Libor Jan's conclusions were published in 2012 in "Časopis Matice moravské". However, they did not reach Poland until a year later. In the "Historical Quarterly" they were quoted by Tomasz Jurek, a Poznań researcher, giving additional arguments that would ultimately refute the hypothesis of the coronation of Wenceslas II only at the end of the year.
It's high time to admit that Libor Jan's findings fill one of the unwritten pages of our history. They also put a new light on the expedition of Wenceslaus II to Poland - it turns out that this ruler achieved success really quickly and could quickly return to the Czech Republic.
The source of the above news is:
Tomasz Jurek, On the date of the coronation of Wenceslaus II as king of Poland, "Kwartalnik Historyczny", r. 120 (2013), No. 3, Warsaw 2013, pp. 549-551.
Historical news. What's the matter?
 | The "historical news" column is the latest news from the world of history. We are looking for missed and concealed discoveries of Polish (and not only) scientists. We show that there is always something going on in research on the past. |
 | Our news is short and accessible. On 2-3 thousand signs, we will summarize for you the discoveries that scientists have made on dozens of pages of hermetic works. We only write about what really matters. No boring. |
 | We rely on scientific publications from the last 18 months . In the world of history, news spreads slowly, and academic works reach potential recipients with a long delay. What in other fields ceases to be news after 24 hours in history, it may even be a year later. |
 | When preparing news, we follow the list of the most prestigious historical periodicals. If you are a publisher or author and would like us to reach for a specific publication - please send it to our editorial office. |