Legacy
Based on Długosz's description, later generations have imputed Ulrich von Jungingen with hot-bloodedness and arrogance. The painting Battle of Grunwald by Jan Matejko supposedly illustrates the moment when Ulrich, dressed in white with a black cross, trying to attack Grand Duke Vytautas, is killed by two Polish infantrists, equipped with an executioner's axe and a replica of the Holy Lance reminiscent of the Congress of Gniezno. The tradition was resumed by Henryk Sienkiewicz in his 1900 novel The Knights of the Cross, originally modeled on the measures of the Russian occupants in Vistula Land, describing Ulrich as an impulsive and aggressive commander. The book was made into a film by Aleksander Ford in 1960. On the other hand, 19th century German historiography protraited Ulrich as a man of chivalric virtues, who succumbed to the cunning of his enemies, as rendered by the author Ernst Wichert in his novel Heinrich von Plauen.
Since 1901 a glacial erratic marks the place of death on the former battlefield, which is today the site of an annual historical reenactment.
Read more about this topic: Ulrich Von Jungingen
Famous quotes containing the word legacy:
“What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)