Legend of Saint Hedwig, triptych wings

These two side panels are all that remains of a three-panel altarpiece created by an unknown artist sometime around 1440. Compared to other works in the gallery, this one is unique. It tells the story of Duchess Hedwig of Silesia, who was canonised and became the patron saint of Silesia after her death in 1243. We can follow her story beginning from the upper part of the left wing, she first appears in the company of her parents and siblings (she is the girl with the long hair and the golden halo above her head), and later as she weds Silesia’s ruler Henryk the Bearded. Particularly interesting are the three scenes depicting the Battle of Legnica, in which the Silesian army faced the invading Mongols. After Hedwig’s son Henryk the Pious was killed in battle, the Mongols placed his severed head up on a spear to taunt the defenders of the city. The painter depicts Henryk the Pious as a martyr to the faith – his soul and those of his Christian knights are lifted to heaven in the arms of angels, while the souls of the invading heathens are plunged into the abyss of hell. The other panel is filled with images attesting to Hedwig’s piety. They show her caring for the ill and visiting prisoners. One of her most virtuous deeds was to found the Cistercian convent in Trzebnica. St Hedwig was buried in the very church that we see being built in the painting. She was canonised twenty-four years later, in 1267.