Gall Anonim

Benedictine monk living at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries. It is unknown where he came from, and where he did his studies. Probably in 1111 Gall was at the court of Emperor Henry V, from there he traveled to Poland and began working in the office of prince Bolesław the Wrymouth. Chancellor Michał Awdaniec persuaded him to write a chronicle. Gall’s work “Chronicle” covers the history of Polish kings until 1113 and is the first work in our historical literature from which other historians, such as Wincenty Kadłubek, Jan Długosz, and Marcin Kromer, drew their information. The “Chronicle” consists of three parts. The first covers the history of the birth of Bolesław the Wrymouth, written 1112, the second dating from the same year covers the years 1086-1109, and the third (unfinished) presents the deeds of Bolesław the Wrymouth after 1109 and ends in 1113. The “Chronicle” was written in Latin, the first its printed edition was published in 1749 in Gdańsk, and in Polish translation entitled “Historia Bolesława III” in 1821 in Warsaw.