The legend of St. Adalbert – St. Adalbert’s stone in Budziejewko, Greater Poland
Fact of the Polish figure „St. Adalbert”
Part of the „The patrons and guardians of the land” topic
Religion has been a political tool for centuries, and the cult of saints played a significant role in the process of uniting the society. Miracles attributed to martyrs raised their status among people, and legends brought prestige to regions associated with them, often turned into places of pilgrimage. In areas of St. Adalbert’s past activity, we can find erratic boulders bearing footprints, on which the saint was supposed to stand while preaching. Although footprints were usually carved in stones when demarcating the estates, local population often attributed them to supernatural origins and called ,,St. Adalbert’s stones”. The cult of saints was also used to gain influence between bishoprics, so when St. Stanislau from Lesser Poland was becoming increasingly popular in Polish lands in 13th century, the Archbishop of Gniezno Jakub Świnka ordered to publish the book of miracles of St. Adalbert, called ,,Miracula S. Adalberti”, to strengthen the worship.
Further reading:
Guzewicz W., The Cult of St. Adalbert in the Diocese of Ełk (1992-2022), ,,Civitas et Lex” (2023), V. 40, No 4, p. 95-107.
Pobóg-Lenartowicz A., Saint Adalbert – the Apostle of Silesia, ,,Folia Historica Cracoviensia” (2017), V. 23, No 1, p. 91-103.
