Editing Szczerbiec (section)

=== The Szczerbiec of Boleslaus the Brave ===
Historical accounts related to the early history of the Polish coronation sword are scant and often mixed with legend. The earliest known use of the name "Szczerbiec" appeared in the ''[[Chronicle of Greater Poland]]'' at the turn of the 14th century. According to this source, the sword was given to King [[Boleslaus I of Poland|Boleslaus the Brave]] (reigned 992–1025) by an angel; Polish kings were supposed to always carry it in battle to triumph over their enemies. During Boleslaus's invasion of [[Kievan Rus']], he hit it against the [[Golden Gate (Kiev)|Golden Gate]] of [[Kyiv]] while capturing the city. It was the notch that appeared on the edge of the blade which gave the sword its name. This account, written three centuries after the events it describes, is implausible not only because of the customary reference to the sword's supernatural origin (compare [[Excalibur]]), but also because [[Boleslaw I's intervention in the Kievan succession crisis, 1018|Boleslaus's intervention in the Kievan succession crisis]] took place in 1018, or about 19 years before the actual construction of the Golden Gate in 1037.{{sfnp|Lileyko|1987|ps=|p=16}}{{sfnp|Rożek|1987|ps=|p=134}}
[[File:Boleslaw Chrobry with Swietopelk near The Golden Gate in Kyiv MNK ND 11610.jpg|thumb|[[Jan Matejko]], ''[[Boleslaus I of Poland|Boleslaus the Brave]] and [[Sviatopolk I of Kiev|Sviatopolk]] at the [[Golden Gate (Kiev)|Golden Gate]] of [[Kyiv]]'' (1883)]]
It is plausible, though, that Boleslaus did chip his sword by striking it against an earlier gate in Kiev. His great-grandson, [[Boleslaus II of Poland|Boleslaus the Bold]] ({{nowrap|r. 1058–1079}}), hit the Golden Gate with a sword in 1069, which would indicate that it was a customary gesture of gaining control over a city.{{sfnp|Lileyko|1987|ps=|p=16}}{{sfnp|Rożek|1987|ps=|p=134}} It is also possible that this sword was preserved as a souvenir of past victories venerated by Boleslaus the Brave's successors. According to [[Wincenty Kadłubek]]'s ''[[Chronica seu originale regum et principum Poloniae|Chronicle]]'', [[Boleslaus III, Duke of Poland|Boleslaus Wrymouth]] ({{nowrap|r. 1107–1138}}) had a favorite sword he called ''Żuraw'' or ''Grus'' ("Crane"). A scribe who copied the chronicle in 1450 added the word ''Szczurbycz'' above the word ''Żuraw'', but whether these two swords were one and the same is uncertain.{{sfnp|Lileyko|1987|ps=|pp=16–17}}

According to the ''Chronicle of Greater Poland'',  the sword was kept in the treasury of the [[Wawel Cathedral]].{{sfnp|Biborski|Stępiński|Żabiński|2011|ps=|p=95}} The ultimate fate of the original Szczerbiec is unknown. It may have been taken to [[Prague]], together with other royal insignia, by King [[Wenceslaus II of Bohemia]] after his coronation as king of Poland in [[Gniezno]] in 1300. What happened with these insignia thereafter remains a mystery.{{sfnp|Lileyko|1987|ps=|p=18}} Although Boleslaus the Brave's notched sword has not been preserved and even its very existence is doubtful, its legend had a great impact on Polish historical memory and the treatment of its successor, the modern Szczerbiec.{{sfnp|Lileyko|1987|ps=|pp=69–70}}