Princess Wanda - Later Versions of The Legend

Later Versions of The Legend

Subsequent versions of the story differ significantly. In the version from the Wielkopolska Chronicle, the German leader, Rytygier, first wanted to marry Wanda and invaded her lands only when she refused. Here, he died during the ensuing battle, while it was Wanda who afterward committed suicide, as a thanks and a sacrifice to the pagan gods who gave her victory. In yet other versions of the story, Wanda commits suicide, by throwing herself into the Vistula river, because she knows that as long as she is alive, there will be future potential suitors who will use her refusal to marry as a pretext for an invasion.