A Second Queen Esther: The Origin Myth of Jews in Medieval Poland

Savoy Curry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

This video examines the myth of the medieval Polish Queen Esther, a story which became popular in 18th- and 19th-century literature. The myth was used to explain how Jews came to reside in Polish lands. The presentation focuses on the first known record of this second Queen Esther, found in Jan Długosz’ 15th century Chronicle of Poland. The story offers a brief view of tensions between Jews and Christians in 15 th Century Poland, and further acts as an entry point for understanding how scholars can use chronicles as historical sources.

Video

Primary Source Reading 

The Princes Czartoryski Library – National Museum in Krakow, 1306 IV Rkps, fol. 867, https://dlugosz.polona.pl/en/jan-dlugosz

The Annals of Jan Długosz. A History of Eastern Europe from AD 966 to AD 1480, transl. M. Michel, with a Commentary by P. Smith, London 1997, p. 306.

Further Reading

  • Bar-Itzhak, Haya. "The Legend of Esther the Jewess and King Casimir the Great of Poland." In Jewish Poland—Legends of Origin: Ethnopoetics and Legendary Chronicles, 113-132. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2018. 
  • Bartoszewicz, Agnieszka. "Crossing Barriers – Growing Barriers. Jews in Late Medieval Warsaw." Acta Poloniae Historica 128 (2024), 229-247.
  • Cohen, Nathan. "The Love Story of Esterke and Kazimierz, King of Poland—New Perspectives." European Journal of Jewish Studies 9, no. 2 (2015), 176-209. 
  • Obara-Pawłowska, Anna. "Polish Monarchs’ Sexuality in the Light of the Annals by Jan Długosz." Res Historica 51 (2021), 103-143.
  • Shmeruk, Chone. The Esterke Story in Yiddish and Polish Literature: A Case Study in the Mutual Relations of Two Cultural Traditions. Jerusalem: Zalman Shazar Center for the Furtherance of the Study of Jewish History, 1985.

Discussion Questions

  1. What does Długosz’ version of the origin myth tell us about 14th century Poland? What can we learn further about the 15th century time period, in which Długosz was writing his chronicle? 
  2. How does the idea of a medieval Queen Esther function rhetorically in Długosz’s chronicle? Can you draw out any further connections to the biblical Queen Esther? 

Cite

Curry, Savoy. "A Second Queen Esther," Middle Ages for Educators, December 17, 2024. Accessed [date]. https://middleagesforeducators.princeton.edu/second-queen-esther-origin-myth-jews-medieval-poland-savoy-curry