The Ukrainian Seer Who Became a Major Character in Polish Culture
The Ukrainian seer Wernyhora, who is credited with prophesizing the partitions and rebirth of Poland, appears in numerous Polish literary works and paintings. Culture.pl takes a look at the origins, prophecy as well as artistic impact of this highly influential character.
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‘Wernyhora Playing a Torban’ by Wacław Pawliszak, 1898, photo: Dagmara Smolna
Before one delves into the rich tradition surrounding Mojsej Wernyhora, it’s vital to know that there are actually no documents confirming his existence. He may have been a real person, but there’s no hard evidence for that. All the information we have about him mainly comes from literary sources.
Originally, Wenyhora – who’s believed to have lived in the 18th century – was a figure in Ukrainian folk culture. The 19th century Polish-Ukrainian writer and folklorist Erazm Izopolski described this character’s Ukrainian background in the following way:
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[…] He managed to become famous among the folk of Ukraine where you can hear something about Wernyhora in all places, or at least his name is known to everybody, either as a singer, a seer, or a valiant warrior, and you can’t really fully understand what sort of a genius he was […]
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From ‘Wernyhora. Przepowiednie i Legenda’ a 1995 book by Stanisław Makowski, trans. MK
The Ukrainian folk credited Wernyhora with delivering various prophecies, for instance, that Ukraine would experience good times after a battle between its protectors and foes. Eventually, these foretellings inspired Polish noblemen in Ukraine to create their own version of Wernyhora’s story as well as a prophecy which they ascribed to him.
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‘Wernyhora During Prophecy’ by Tadeusz Styka, 1925, photo: Dagmara Smolna
The Polish prophecy of Wernyhora has many iterations and it’s hard to establish which one of them is the oldest as they were initially created anonymously at noblemen’s manors in manuscript form. Some scholars maintain that the first version of Poland’s so-called Proroctwo Wernyhory (Wernyhora’s Prophecy) was penned in 1809 in the village of Cherpovody in today’s Ukraine.
All the versions of this prophecy credit Wernyhora with predicting the partitions and rebirth of Poland. At this point, one should probably add that toward the end of the 18th century the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was partitioned by Prussia, Russia and Austria; Poland regained its independence only in the year 1918. The various iterations of Wernyhora’s Prophecy differ when it comes to the scope of the issues they address, their literary styles and how they present certain details from Wernyhora’s life.
The first printed version of Wernyhora’s Prophecy appeared in December 1830 in the Warsaw periodical Patriota. According to this iteration, Wernyhora was a Cossack born in the village of Dmytrykovka outside the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He led a saintly life and gained fame thanks to his prophecies. In 1766, he came to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and settled down in the village of Makedony (today’s central Ukraine). There, he foretold of the Ukrainian peasant rebellion known as Koliivshchyna, which would take place in the Commonwealth in 1768. When this revolt broke out, its participants sought to capture Wernyhora – its opponent. The seer, however, fled Makedony and hid on an island on the river Ros, inhabited solely by millers. This island was located in the Korsun region administered by the Polish nobleman Nikodem Suchodolski. The Pole visited Wernyhora on the island and there he heard from the seer the famed prophecy about the fate of Poland.
After describing the story of Wernyhora, the text printed in Patriota presented his prophecy consisting of eleven points. Here are the two key ones, about the fall and resurrection of Poland:
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3. […] War shall erupt, and a great portion of Poland will be divided into three parts […].
8. The English and the Turks will help Poland remain in its old borders.
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From ‘Proroctwo Wernyhory - Modyfikacja Znaczeń’ a 2002 paper by Zofia Wójcicka, trans. MK
Kurgans, devils & a white horse
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‘The Mysterious Rider Comes for Wernyhora’ by Wacław Pawliszak, 1898, photo: Dagmara Smolna
Originally, the various iterations of Wernyhora’s Prophecy emerged in response to the partitions as political literature propagating the idea of a Polish-Ukrainian alliance and Poland’s restitution. It’s symptomatic that the first print version of the prophecy, the one mentioned above, appeared during the November Uprising – a Polish insurgency against Russia. Eventually, however, the character of the Ukrainian seer came to be used as an artistic inspiration by Polish writers and painters.
One of the most influential literary portrayals of Wernyhora was created by the noted writer and poet Michał Czajkowski:
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The biggest role in shaping and popularizing the legend of Wernyhora was played by Michał Czajkowski and his 1838 work Wernyhora. Wieszcz Ukraiński (Wernyhora: Ukrainian Seer). This two-volume historical novel published in Paris enjoyed huge popularity until the beginning of the 20th century; it was issued seven times.
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From ‘Wernyhora – Wieszcz Ukraiński w Twórczości Polskich Pisarzy’, a 2007 paper by Olena Szelążyk-Komenda, trans. MK
Wernyhora: Ukrainian Seer is centred around the Koliivshchyna rebellion and Bar Confederation, an armed league of Polish nobles active from 1768 to 1772, which opposed Russian influences in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In Czajkowski’s book, Wernyhora is shown as an old man with a mixed Polish-Ukrainian background who’s highly respected by the folk. The seer is presented as a realistic character despite the fact that he exhibits supernatural qualities when foretelling the future. The historical novel at hand contains a version of Wernyhora’s Prophecy adapted by Czajkowski.
The Ukrainian seer also appears in works by one of Poland’s most important Romantic poets and writers – Juliusz Słowacki. In the posthumously published part of his digressive poem Beniowski, whose first part was issued in 1841, the character of Wernyhora appears… in four different variants. In this verse, revolving around the adventures of an 18th century Polish nobleman by the name of Maurycy Beniowski, Wernyhora is portrayed as a wizard, advisor, seer and a poet playing the hurdy-gurdy. Interestingly, these portrayals of Wernyhora, which make use of such tropes as the mysterious white horse or fights with devils, are based on Ukrainian folklore rather than on his Polish legend.
Elements taken from Wernyhora’s Ukrainian legend, such as kurgans or the sword of the Cossack leader Petro Doroshenko, also help characterize Wernyhora in Słowacki’s 1843 drama Sen Srebrny Salomei (The Silver Dream of Salomea). In this work set during the Koliivshchyna rebellion, the Ukrainian seer is shown more coherently than in Beniowski – as an old, hurdy-gurdy playing poet and seer.
Another highly acclaimed Polish author who was inspired by Wernyhora was Maria Konopnicka. In 1905 she published the poem Pieśń Wernyhory (1771) (The Song of Wernyhora (1771)), in which Poland’s last king Stanisław August Poniatowski – who was often blamed for the partitions – is accused of treason by the Ukrainian seer. Here’s an excerpt from the curious verse:
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[…]
Hey, you master Poniatowski
Among the tsarina’s servantry,
You shall sell your Homeland
Into long slavery!
[…]
Eagles croaking over graves
Blue dust in the wind
Ukraine’s poet, Wernyhora
With the gale he sings
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Actor Artur Młodnicki as Wernyhora in Andrzej Wajda’s 1972 film ‘The Wedding’, photo: Renata Pajchel / Zebra Film Studio / National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute / fototeka.fn.org.pl
One of the best-known instances of Wernyhora appearing in a Polish literary work can be found in the 1901 drama Wesele (The Wedding) by Stanisław Wyspiański. The Wedding is considered one of Poland’s most significant plays, which is usually required reading for Polish high school students. As a result, the drama’s events and characters, one of which is Wernyhora, are familiar to plenty of people.
Wyspiański’s play takes place during a post-wedding celebration at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. At a certain point, the host of this party is visited by an apparition of Wernyhora who’s portrayed as an old man with a hurdy-gurdy. The Ukrainian seer entrusts the host with a golden horn – a symbol of Poland’s independence and the fight for it. Sadly, the golden horn is eventually lost, and with it the hopes of a successful insurgency.
Interestingly, Wernyhora continued to appear in Polish literature even after Poland finally re-emerged on the map. He’s mentioned, for instance, in the 1952 poem Sen Srebrny Salomei (The Silver Dream of Salomea) by the renowned poet Jan Lechoń. This verse referencing Słowacki’s aforementioned drama alludes to some of the uneasy episodes in the shared history of Poland and Ukraine, such as the Koliivshchyna rebellion. Wernyhora appears in the final verse as a hurdy-gurdy player and a symbol of Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation.
Five years after the publication of Lechoń’s said work, the talented poet and writer Andrzej Bursa wrote his poem Wernyhora. In it the author, who’s from a younger generation than Lechoń, suggests in an intriguing fashion that the legend of the Ukrainian seer has become outdated and unclear. Here’s an excerpt:
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I waited a couple of years
For Wernyhora to come
He bored me all night
Smoked all my cigarettes
I understood nothing while stuck in my chair
[…]
The writings mentioned above contain some of Wernyhora’s most recognizable appearances in Polish literature. But he also features in plenty of other Polish literary works, like in Franciszek Rita-Gawroński’s 1920 historical novel Król i Carowa (The King and Tsarina), Lucjan Siemieński’s 1841 narrative poem Dumka Ukraińca (A Ukrainian’s Song) and Tadeusz Miciński’s 1926 novel Wita.
‘Józef Piłsudski with Stańczyk and Wernyhora’ by Kazimierz Sichulski, 1917, photo: National Museum in Warsaw As already mentioned, Wernyhora inspired not only writers but also painters. He was depicted, for instance, by Poland’s eminent historical painter Jan Matejko in his 1884 canvas Wernyhora. Interestingly, in this piece, the Ukrainian seer is shown foretelling the Koliivshchyna rebellion, rather than the partitions of Poland. Apparently, his face resembles that of Matejko himself – occasionally the painter would give his own features to especially important characters in his works. Wernyhora’s expression anticipates the troubles that lie ahead:
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The face of Wernyhora, who’s prophetic gaze extends into the distance, is terrified, for in the upcoming future he can see mainly failure and pain.
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From ‘Wernyhora. Przepowiednie i Legenda’, trans. MK
The seer is surrounded by Ukrainians and Poles (one of whom is Nikodem Suchodolski) and appears to constitute a connection between them.
Another Polish painting showing the Ukrainian seer is 1926’s Wernyhora Przepowiadający Przyszłość Polski (Wernyhora Prophesizing the Future of Poland) by Tadeusz Styka. Here the titular character is shown as he’s delivering his prophecy about the fall and rebirth of Poland. Styka portrays him on his deathbed, which is in line with a variant of the Polish legend of Wernyhora, where he foretells the partitions shortly before passing away.
The Ukrainian prophet can also be seen in 1917’s painting Józef Piłsudski ze Stańczykiem i Wernyhorą (Józef Piłsudski with Stańczyk and Wernyhora) by the notable painter and graphic artist Kazimierz Sichulski. This work shows the political and military leader Józef Piłsudski, who was vital to Poland regaining its independence in 1918, alongside Wernyhora and the jester Stańczyk who lived in the 15th and 16th centuries. Like Wernyhora, in Polish culture Stańczyk is also linked to the idea of Poland’s sovereignty.
Quite curiously, Sichulski’s painting created an association between Piłsudski and Wernyhora, which eventually inspired the acclaimed director Andrzej Wajda to make the Ukrainian seer look much like the political leader in his 1972 film adaptation of Wyspiański’s The Wedding.
One could add that aside from the aforestated paintings, there are other Polish depictions of Wernyhora. He was portrayed, for instance, by Leon Kapliński in his 1855 painting Wernyhora and in a series of illustrations authored in 1898 by Wacław Pawliszak.
In conclusion, Wernyhora is most certainly one of the most popular Ukrainian characters in Polish culture. He has inspired a number of acclaimed creators and holds a vital place in the Polish symbolic universe.
Written by Marek Kępa, Apr 22
Based on the 1995 book by Stanisław Makowski ‘Wernyhora. Przepowiednie i Legenda’ (Wernyhora. Oracles and Legend).
