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.
Read more about this topic: Princess Wanda
Famous quotes containing the words versions and/or legend:
“The assumption must be that those who can see value only in tradition, or versions of it, deny man’s ability to adapt to changing circumstances.”
—Stephen Bayley (b. 1951)
“Newspaperman: That was a magnificent work. There were these mass columns of Apaches in their war paint and feather bonnets. And here was Thursday leading his men in that heroic charge.
Capt. York: Correct in every detail.
Newspaperman: He’s become almost a legend already. He’s the hero of every schoolboy in America.”
—Frank S. Nugent (1908–1965)