Italian Greens from Italian Queens: Difference between revisions

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[[File:{{#setmainimage:Bona.jpg}}|thumb|Queen Bona and her ladies-in-waiting with some Medi veggies<br>{{small|By Maja Berezowska (1970)}}]]

Polish people are a nation of devoted soup lovers. The main meal of the day traditionally consists of two courses: the soup and “the other dish”. The soup is typically based on stock made by boiling meat together with some bay leaves, allspice grains and a bunch of vegetables: carrots, parsley roots, celeriac and leek. Every grocery in Poland sells ready-made bundles of these soup greens, which are collectively known as ''“włoszczyzna”'', or literally, “Italian stuff”. The origin of this name, as every Polish school kid will tell you, is that it was an Italian princess, Bona Sforza, who in 1518 married King Sigismund the Old of Poland and brought previously ~~unknown~~ vegetables from her native peninsula to her new homeland. Did she bring just a single bundle or several cartloads? That we don’t know. What matters is that she forever revolutionized the local foodways in a country where, prior to her arrival, vegetables must have been completely unknown.

Polish people are a nation of devoted soup lovers. The main meal of the day traditionally consists of two courses: the soup and “the other dish”. The soup is typically based on stock made by boiling meat together with some bay leaves, allspice grains and a bunch of vegetables: carrots, parsley roots, celeriac and leek. Every grocery in Poland sells ready-made bundles of these soup greens, which are collectively known as ''“włoszczyzna”'',{{czyt|włoszczyzna}} or literally, “Italian stuff”. The origin of this name, as every Polish school kid will tell you, is that it was an Italian princess, Bona Sforza, who in 1518 married King Sigismund the Old of Poland and brought previously unfamiliar vegetables from her native peninsula to her new homeland. Did she bring just a single bundle or several cartloads? That we don’t know. What matters is that she forever revolutionized the local foodways in a country where, prior to her arrival, vegetables must have been completely unknown.

Is it true, though – or rather one of Poland’s most enduring culinary-historical myths?

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By the time Bona Sforza was born in 1494, the Spanish had already begun their conquest of the Americas, which they had discovered two years earlier. Eventually, they would bring some previously unknown food products back to Europe: beans, maize, turkeys, cocoa, peppers, vanilla, pineapples, avocados, pumpkins, potatoes, tomatoes, sunflowers and peanuts. But not so fast; for now, the only novelty that had made its way from the Americas – was syphilis.

Europe, meanwhile, was the stage for a rivalry among three powerful dynasties. One was the Habsburgs, who held the elective throne of the Holy Roman Empire and reigned by inheritance in Austria and the Netherlands. In the east, the Habsburgs vied for influence with the Jagiellons, who ruled a vast territory stretching from the Baltic to the Black and Adriatic seas. This rivalry would unfold mostly peacefully, conducted primarily through matrimonial diplomacy.<ref>{{Cyt

Europe, meanwhile, was the stage for a rivalry among three powerful dynasties. One was the Habsburgs, who held the elective throne of the Holy Roman Empire and reigned by inheritance in Austria and the Netherlands. In the east, the Habsburgs vied for influence with the Jagiellons,{{czyt|Jagiellons}} who ruled a vast territory stretching from the Baltic to the Black and Adriatic seas. This rivalry would unfold mostly peacefully, conducted primarily through matrimonial diplomacy.<ref>{{Cyt

| tytuł = Folia Historica Cracoviensia

| nazwisko r = von Güttner-Sporzyński

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</ref><br>*) There is some debate as to what kind of soup is meant here. Perhaps it’s a “golden soup” with slices of bread fried in beaten egg. }}

It wasn’t until the spring of the following year that Bona arrived in Cracow to take up residence at the Royal Wawel Castle, whose lengthy renovation in the fashionable Renaissance style – carried out by architects and craftsmen brought specially from Italy – was just nearing completion.

It wasn’t until the spring of the following year that Bona arrived in Cracow to take up residence at the Royal Wawel{{czyt|Wawel}} Castle, whose lengthy renovation in the fashionable Renaissance style – carried out by architects and craftsmen brought specially from Italy – was just nearing completion.

[[File:Wesele Bony Sforzy.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left|Dishes from Bona’s wedding feast [https://www.cardonews.it/2022/06/05/al-banchetto-della-regina-bona-sforza/ as reconstructed in 2022 by middle-and-high-school students in Bari]]]

Royal envoys had already reported to Sigismund from Naples that his new bride was distinguished not only by her beauty, charm and dancing skills but also by her education and eloquence, to the extent that “in conversation, learning and speech, she was not as one would expect of her sex, but truly astonishing,” and that “she spoke nothing that lacked a certain refinement, whether in metaphor or in the most ornate expression.”<ref>M. Bogucka, ''op. cit.'', p. 58</ref> In Cracow, to the considerable alarm of the Polish nobility – and likely the king himself – it turned out that the beautiful and deeply décolleté Bona also had a head for politics and a knack for business. A royal consort who didn’t stop at producing heirs, but also interfered in matters of state, caused far more astonishment in conservative Poland than in Italy, where she’d been actually taught that she was born to rule over men. Bona even managed to secure the unprecedented and unconstitutional coronation of her only son, Sigismund Augustus, as king at the age of nine – while his father was still alive and well – in what was, supposedly, an elective monarchy.

All this, in time, contributed to the emergence of Bona’s black legend, according to which the queen was “good” only in name, but in reality was pathologically ambitious, greedy, prone to Machiavellian machinations, financial malfeasance and – as befitted a Renaissance Italian – to the use of poison as a tool of statecraft. She was suspected of having poisoned her first two daughters-in-law (Elisabeth Habsburg and Barbara Radziwiłł), as well as the last two dukes of Masovia (Stanislav and John III). It was in Masovia – swiftly annexed by Poland – where Bona, estranged from her son, lived for eight years before eventually returning to Italy. There, the Polish queen dowager was herself poisoned – probably on the orders of King Philip II of Spain, who owed her too much money to leave her alive.

All this, in time, contributed to the emergence of Bona’s black legend, according to which the queen was “good” only in name, but in reality was pathologically ambitious, greedy, prone to Machiavellian machinations, financial malfeasance and – as befitted a Renaissance Italian – to the use of poison as a tool of statecraft. She was suspected of having poisoned her first two daughters-in-law (Elisabeth Habsburg and Barbara Radziwiłł{{czyt|Radziwiłł}}), as well as the last two dukes of Masovia (Stanislav and John III). It was in Masovia – swiftly annexed by Poland – where Bona, estranged from her son, lived for eight years before eventually returning to Italy. There, the Polish queen dowager was herself poisoned – probably on the orders of King Philip II of Spain, who owed her too much money to leave her alive.

Right then – but what about those vegetables? We’ll come to that in a moment. First, however, let’s take a closer look at another famous Italian-born queen whose life followed a path quite similar to Bona’s.

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== Catherine of Florence ==

[[File:Katarzyna Medycejska.jpg|thumb|upright|Caterina de’ Medici (1519–1589), Queen of France<br>{{small|By Germain Le Mannier.}}]]

So Bona was a girl from a prominent Italian family who was married off to the king of a powerful state north of the Alps, where she is remembered, on one hand, as a ruthless, power-hungry woman, and on the other, as someone who enriched the cuisine of her adopted homeland with Italian flair. If all of this sounds familiar, but you can’t put your finger on it, then let me help: you’re probably thinking of Catherine de’ Medici.

So Bona was a girl from a prominent Italian family who was married off to the king of a powerful state north of the Alps, where she is remembered, on the one hand, as a ruthless, power-hungry woman, and on the other, as someone who enriched the cuisine of her adopted homeland with Italian flair. If all of this sounds familiar, but you can’t put your finger on it, then let me help: you’re probably thinking of Catherine de’ Medici.{{czyt|de’ Medici}}

Catherine (Caterina de’ Medici) was born in Florence one year after Bona had become Queen of Poland. Just as the Sforzas ruled Milan, so the Medici – originally a family of modest merchants – had already held sway over Florence for more than three hundred years. She was barely a month old when she was orphaned, so her upbringing fell to her uncles. First, she came under the protective wing of Giovanni de’ Medici, better known as Pope Leo X. Following his death, custody of Catherine passed to Giulio de’ Medici, or Pope Clement VII.

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But did they?

For many years, the legend of Catherine de’ Medici’s influence on French cuisine – like countless other culinary anecdotes – was taken at face value. It was only in the late 1970s that historians began subjecting it to scholarly scrutiny. And they found no historical sources to confirm that Italian chefs had ever descended upon the French court. Names like Pastilla, Frangipani, Popelini and Berini were shown to be entirely fictional. Frangipani, for instance, depending on which version one reads, was either part of Catherine’s entourage or that of Henry III, bore the title of either count or marquis, bore the given name of either Cesare or Pompeo, and hailed either from Florence or Rome. In truth, these figures did not invent culinary novelties later named in their honour; rather, their Italian-sounding surnames were retroactively derived from the existing names of French desserts: “Frangipani” from ''“frangipane”'' (almond cream), “Pastilla” from ''“pastille”'' (a flavoured biscuit), “Popelini” from ''“poupelin”'' (a choux-pastry doughnut).<ref>{{Cyt

For many years, the legend of Catherine de’ Medici’s influence on French cuisine – like countless other culinary anecdotes – was taken at face value. It was only in the late 1970s that historians began subjecting it to scholarly scrutiny. And they found no historical sources to confirm that Italian chefs had ever descended upon the French court. Names like Pastilla, Frangipani, Popelini and Berini were shown to be entirely fictional. Frangipani, for instance, depending on which version one reads, was either part of Catherine’s entourage or that of Henry III, bore the title of either count or marquis, bore the given name of either Cesare or Pompeo, and hailed either from Florence or Rome. In truth, these figures did not invent culinary novelties later named in their honour; rather, their Italian-sounding surnames were retroactively derived from the existing names of French desserts: “Frangipani” from ''“frangipane”''{{czyt|frangipane}} (almond cream), “Pastilla” from ''“pastille”''{{czyt|pastille}} (a flavoured biscuit), “Popelini” from ''“poupelin”''{{czyt|poupelin}} (a choux-pastry doughnut).<ref>{{Cyt

| nazwisko = Brioist

| imię = Pascal

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<nomobile>[[File:Cibrèo.jpg|thumb|''Cibrèo'', a Florentine dish of rooster combs and testicles, [https://www.emikodavies.com/cibreo-a-forgotten-florentine-dish/ as recreated by Ms. Emiko Davies in 2021] (left: chief ingredients; right: complete dish)]]</nomobile>

There is one reference historians have managed to uncover ~~supporting~~ the claims of the queen’s supposed gluttony:

There is one reference historians have managed to uncover which supports the claims of the queen’s supposed gluttony:

{{Cytat

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}}; cyt. w: Bienassis, Campanini, ''op. cit.'', p. 48 }}

Only in the 19th century did Catherine de’ Medici’s association with culinary innovation shed its negative connotations. French gourmets, led by Alexandre Grimod de la Reynière, began to elevate her as the one who gave rise to modern French cuisine by enriching it with Italian influence. In the ''Journal of the Gourmets'' (''Journal des gourmands''), founded by Grimod de la Reynière himself, the entry from the ''Encyclopédie'' was paraphrased as follows:

Only in the 19th century did Catherine de’ Medici’s association with culinary innovation shed its negative connotations. French gourmets, led by Alexandre Grimod de la Reynière,{{czyt|Alexandre Grimod de la Reynière}} began to elevate her as the one who gave rise to modern French cuisine by enriching it with Italian influence. In the ''Journal of the Gourmets'' (''Journal des gourmands''), founded by Grimod de la Reynière himself, the entry from the ''Encyclopédie'' was paraphrased as follows:

{{ Cytat

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When exactly this swap took place isn’t entirely clear. It was certainly a gradual process and not all of the new vegetables appeared in Poland at the same time. One way to search for some clues could be to take a look at linguistic data: when did Italian-derived names for individual vegetables first show up in Polish-language written sources?

The earliest to settle into the Polish language – and, one might suspect, onto Polish tables as well — was ''sałata'', or lettuce. The word ''“sałata”'' comes from the Italian ''“insalata”'', which literally means “salted”. That’s because Italians had long served this vegetable seasoned with salt, vinegar and olive oil. Just like its Italian counterpart, the Polish word initially referred to both lettuce as such and a salad made of this and other vegetables (modern Polish distinguishes the two by referring to a salad by the diminutive ''“sałatka”''). The oldest known Polish text in which ''“sałata”'' appears — and in both senses, no less – is a herbal by Stefan Falimirz published in 1534 under the title, ''On Herbs and Their Potency'' (''O ziołach i mocy ich'').

The earliest to settle into the Polish language – and, one might suspect, onto Polish tables as well — was ''sałata'',{{czyt|sałata}} or lettuce. The word ''“sałata”'' comes from the Italian ''“insalata”'',{{czyt|insalata}} which literally means “salted”. That’s because Italians had long served this vegetable seasoned with salt, vinegar and olive oil. Just like its Italian counterpart, the Polish word initially referred to both lettuce as such and a salad made of this and other vegetables (modern Polish distinguishes the two by referring to a salad by the diminutive ''“sałatka”''{{czyt|sałatka}}). The oldest known Polish text in which ''“sałata”'' appears — and in both senses, no less – is a herbal by Stefan Falimirz{{czyt|Stefan Falimirz}} published in 1534 under the title ''On Herbs and Their Potency'' (''O ziołach i mocy ich'').

[[File:Sałata.jpg|thumb|upright=.6|Lettuce in an illustration from S. Falimirz’s herbal (1534)]]

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| źródło = ''Ibid.'', p. 98, own translation }}

The next source, chronologically, in which Italian-derived vegetable names appear for the first time is the 1549 Polish translation of ''Books on Husbandry'' (''Ruralia Commoda'') by Pietro de’ Crescenzi. This is where we first encounter the word ''“por”'' (from Italian ''“porro”''), which eventually displaced the native Polish ''“łuk”'' as the term for “leek”. Another notable example is ''“faseol”'' (from Italian ''“fagioli”'', “beans”), a word that gradually evolved in Polish into ''“fazoły”'', and ultimately into ''“fasola”''. Beans were the first vegetable from the New World – discovered by Europeans only half a century earlier – to reach Poland, and they did so via Italy.

The next source, chronologically, in which Italian-derived vegetable names appear for the first time is the 1549 Polish translation of ''Books on Husbandry'' (''Ruralia Commoda'') by Pietro de’ Crescenzi. This is where we first encounter the word ''“por”''{{czyt|por}} (from Italian ''“porro”''{{czyt|porro}}), which eventually displaced the native Polish ''“łuk”''{{czyt|łuk}} as the term for “leek”. Another notable example is ''“faseol”'' (from Italian ''“fagioli”''{{czyt|fagioli}}, “beans”), a word that gradually evolved in Polish into ''“fazoły”'', and ultimately into ''“fasola”''.{{czyt|fasola}} Beans were the first vegetable from the New World – discovered by Europeans only half a century earlier – to reach Poland, and they did so via Italy.

[[File:Fasola.jpg|thumb|upright=.6|left|A beanstalk in an illustration from P. de Crescenzi’s handbook (1549)]]

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| źródło = ''Ibid.'', p. 176, own translation }}

The word ''“garczoffy”'' – an old Polish term for artichokes (''“karczochy”'' in modern Polish) – first appeared in Marcin Siennik’s ''Herbarz'' (''Herbal''), published in 1568, which was already twelve years after Queen Bona’s departure from Poland. It stems from the Italian ''“carciofi”'', itself borrowed from the Arabic ''“al-ḵuršūf”''. The English word shares the same origin, though it retained the definite article ''“al-”'', which was later altered to ''“ar-”''.

The word ''“garczoffy”'' – an old Polish term for artichokes (''“karczochy”''{{czyt|karczochy}} in modern Polish) – first appeared in Marcin Siennik’s ''Herbarz'' (''Herbal''), published in 1568, which was already twelve years after Queen Bona’s departure from Poland. It stems from the Italian ''“carciofi”'',{{czyt|carciofi}} itself borrowed from the Arabic ''“al-ḵuršūf”''.{{czyt|الْخَرْشُوف}} The English word shares the same origin, though it retained the definite article ''“al-”'', which was later altered to ''“ar-”''.

This concludes the 16th century. The next wave of vegetable borrowings from Italian came much later. The earliest attested use of ''“szparag”'' (asparagus, from the archaic Italian ''“sparago”'') appears in a dictionary from 1605; ''“seler”'' (celery, from the dialectal Italian ''“sellero”'') is found in a 1656 epigram by Wacław Potocki; ''“kaulifior”'' (cauliflower, from Italian ''“cavolfiore”'', literally “cabbage flower”) is recorded in a dictionary from 1680; while ''“brochuł”'' (broccoli, from Italian ''“broccolo”'') and ''“kaulerapa”'' (kohlrabi, from Italian ''“cavolo rapa”'', literally “cabbage turnip”) feature in Stanisław Czerniecki’s ''Compendium Ferculorum'' from 1682. As for the Polish term for tomato – ''“pomidor”'' – it didn’t spread into Polish until the 19th century.

This concludes the 16th century. The next wave of vegetable borrowings from Italian came much later. The earliest attested use of ''“szparag”''{{czyt|szparag}} (asparagus, from the archaic Italian ''“sparago”''{{czyt|sparago}}) appears in a dictionary from 1605; ''“seler”''{{czyt|seler}} (celery, from the dialectal Italian ''“sellero”''{{czyt|sellero}}) is found in a 1656 epigram by Wacław Potocki; ''“kaulifior”'' (modern Polish: ''“kalafior”'',{{czyt|kalafior}} cauliflower, from Italian ''“cavolfiore”'',{{czyt|cavolfiore}} literally “cabbage flower”) is recorded in a dictionary from 1680; while ''“brochuł”'' (modern Polish: ''“brokuł”'',{{czyt|brokuł}} broccoli, from Italian ''“broccolo”''{{czyt|broccolo}}) and ''“kaulerapa”'' (modern Polish: ''“kalarepa”'',{{czyt|kalarepa}} kohlrabi, from Italian ''“cavolo rapa”'',{{czyt|cavolo rapa}} literally “cabbage turnip”) feature in Stanisław Czerniecki’s{{czyt|Stanisław Czerniecki}} ''Compendium Ferculorum'' from 1682. As for the Polish term for tomato – ''“pomidor”''{{czyt|pomidor}} – it didn’t spread into Polish until the 19th century.

[[File:Włoszczyzna.png|thumb|Bundles of ''włoszczyzna'' (literally, “Italian stuff”), or soup vegetables, as they are commonly sold in Poland, including: carrots, parsley (root and leaves), celeriac (celery root) and leek.]] It would seem, then, that if any vegetables became widespread in Poland during Queen Bona’s time, they may have included lettuce, leeks, beans and possibly artichokes. Of these, only the leek forms part of the standard Polish set of soup vegetables – known collectively as ''włoszczyzna''. Yet in this case, it was only the name that was imported from Italy, supplanting an older Slavic term for a vegetable that was already familiar in Poland.

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Where, then, does the legend of Queen Bona introducing Mediterranean vegetables to Poland come from? Most likely, it arose as a Polish counterpart to a similar French legend about Catherine de’ Medici. If the French believed that the culinary riches of Italy had been brought to their country by a Renaissance queen from the peninsula, it must have seemed logical that a similar role could be attributed to Bona Sforza in Poland. We now know that the French version of this legend emerged during the Enlightenment. The Polish version, then, may well have its roots in the same era.

The earliest suggestion I’ve found that it was Bona who brought the Mediterranean veggies to Poland comes from the novel ''John of Tenczyn'' (''Jan z Tęczyna'') by Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, first published in 1824. Niemcewicz – a distinguished figure of the Polish Enlightenment, co-author of the nation’s first constitution, personal secretary to the Polish and American hero Tadeusz Kościuszko, and the first Pole to receive U.S. citizenship – was also the author of Poland’s first historical novel. It is a fictionalized account of the true story of Jan Baptysta Tęczyński, a promising young aristocrat who fell in love with the Swedish princess Cecilia Vasa (and she with him) but tragically died in Danish captivity in 1563, before he could marry her. And it’s in the opening chapter of this Walter-Scottian romantic tale that we find the following passage:

The earliest suggestion I’ve found that it was Bona who brought the Mediterranean veggies to Poland comes from the novel ''John of Tenczyn'' (''Jan z Tęczyna'') by Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz,{{czyt|Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz}} first published in 1824. Niemcewicz – a distinguished figure of the Polish Enlightenment, co-author of the nation’s first constitution, personal secretary to the Polish and American hero Tadeusz Kościuszko,{{czyt|Tadeusz Kościuszko}} and the first Pole to receive U.S. citizenship – was also the author of Poland’s first historical novel. It is a fictionalized account of the true story of Jan Baptysta Tęczyński,{{czyt|Jan Baptysta Tęczyński}} a promising young aristocrat who fell in love with the Swedish princess Cecilia Vasa (and she with him) but tragically died in Danish captivity in 1563, before he could marry her. And it’s in the opening chapter of this Walter-Scottian romantic tale that we find the following passage:

[[File:Ogrody wawelskie.jpg|thumb|upright|left|A kitchen garden from the time of Queen Bona, as reconstruncted on the Wawel Hill]]

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}}

''John of Tenczyn'' was, throughout most of the 19th century, the best-selling historical novel in Poland. It was only in the 1880s that it was supplanted by Henryk Sienkiewicz’s trilogy. It’s no surprise, then, that the association Niemcewicz established between Queen Bona and Italian veggies soon came to be regarded as an obvious and unquestioned truth.

''John of Tenczyn'' was, throughout most of the 19th century, the best-selling historical novel in Poland. It was only in the 1880s that it was supplanted by Henryk Sienkiewicz’s{{czyt|Henryk Sienkiewicz}} trilogy. It’s no surprise, then, that the association Niemcewicz established between Queen Bona and Italian veggies soon came to be regarded as an obvious and unquestioned truth.

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}}

{{Nawigacja|poprz=The Gastronomic Order of Pomiane|nast=Use the Forks, Henry}}

[[Category: Bona Sforza]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{data|23 September 2025}}
 [[File:{{#setmainimage:Bona.jpg}}|thumb|Queen Bona and her ladies-in-waiting with some Medi veggies<br>{{small|By Maja Berezowska (1970)}}]]
-Polish people are a&nbsp;nation of devoted soup lovers. The main meal of the day traditionally consists of two courses: the soup and “the other dish”. The soup is typically based on stock made by boiling meat together with some bay leaves, allspice grains and a&nbsp;bunch of vegetables: carrots, parsley roots, celeriac and leek. Every grocery in Poland sells ready-made bundles of these soup greens, which are collectively known as ''“włoszczyzna”'', or literally, “Italian stuff”. The origin of this name, as every Polish school kid will tell you, is that it was an Italian princess, Bona Sforza, who in 1518 married King Sigismund the Old of Poland and brought previously unknown vegetables from her native peninsula to her new homeland. Did she bring just a&nbsp;single bundle or several cartloads? That we don’t know. What matters is that she forever revolutionized the local foodways in a&nbsp;country where, prior to her arrival, vegetables must have been completely unknown.
+Polish people are a&nbsp;nation of devoted soup lovers. The main meal of the day traditionally consists of two courses: the soup and “the other dish”. The soup is typically based on stock made by boiling meat together with some bay leaves, allspice grains and a&nbsp;bunch of vegetables: carrots, parsley roots, celeriac and leek. Every grocery in Poland sells ready-made bundles of these soup greens, which are collectively known as ''“włoszczyzna”'',{{czyt|włoszczyzna}} or literally, “Italian stuff”. The origin of this name, as every Polish school kid will tell you, is that it was an Italian princess, Bona Sforza, who in 1518 married King Sigismund the Old of Poland and brought previously unfamiliar vegetables from her native peninsula to her new homeland. Did she bring just a&nbsp;single bundle or several cartloads? That we don’t know. What matters is that she forever revolutionized the local foodways in a&nbsp;country where, prior to her arrival, vegetables must have been completely unknown.
 Is it true, though – or rather one of Poland’s most enduring culinary-historical myths?
@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 By the time Bona Sforza was born in 1494, the Spanish had already begun their conquest of the Americas, which they had discovered two years earlier. Eventually, they would bring some previously unknown food products back to Europe: beans, maize, turkeys, cocoa, peppers, vanilla, pineapples, avocados, pumpkins, potatoes, tomatoes, sunflowers and peanuts. But not so fast; for now, the only novelty that had made its way from the Americas – was syphilis.
-Europe, meanwhile, was the stage for a&nbsp;rivalry among three powerful dynasties. One was the Habsburgs, who held the elective throne of the Holy Roman Empire and reigned by inheritance in Austria and the Netherlands. In the east, the Habsburgs vied for influence with the Jagiellons, who ruled a&nbsp;vast territory stretching from the Baltic to the Black and Adriatic seas. This rivalry would unfold mostly peacefully, conducted primarily through matrimonial diplomacy.<ref>{{Cyt
+Europe, meanwhile, was the stage for a&nbsp;rivalry among three powerful dynasties. One was the Habsburgs, who held the elective throne of the Holy Roman Empire and reigned by inheritance in Austria and the Netherlands. In the east, the Habsburgs vied for influence with the Jagiellons,{{czyt|Jagiellons}} who ruled a&nbsp;vast territory stretching from the Baltic to the Black and Adriatic seas. This rivalry would unfold mostly peacefully, conducted primarily through matrimonial diplomacy.<ref>{{Cyt
   | tytuł    = Folia Historica Cracoviensia
    | nazwisko r      = von Güttner-Sporzyński
@@ Line 128: / Line 128: @@
 </ref><br>*) There is some debate as to what kind of soup is meant here. Perhaps it’s a&nbsp;“golden soup” with slices of bread fried in beaten egg. }}
-It wasn’t until the spring of the following year that Bona arrived in Cracow to take up residence at the Royal Wawel Castle, whose lengthy renovation in the fashionable Renaissance style – carried out by architects and craftsmen brought specially from Italy – was just nearing completion.
+It wasn’t until the spring of the following year that Bona arrived in Cracow to take up residence at the Royal Wawel{{czyt|Wawel}} Castle, whose lengthy renovation in the fashionable Renaissance style – carried out by architects and craftsmen brought specially from Italy – was just nearing completion.
 [[File:Wesele Bony Sforzy.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left|Dishes from Bona’s wedding feast [https://www.cardonews.it/2022/06/05/al-banchetto-della-regina-bona-sforza/ as reconstructed in 2022 by middle-and-high-school students in Bari]]]
 Royal envoys had already reported to Sigismund from Naples that his new bride was distinguished not only by her beauty, charm and dancing skills but also by her education and eloquence, to the extent that “in conversation, learning and speech, she was not as one would expect of her sex, but truly astonishing,” and that “she spoke nothing that lacked a&nbsp;certain refinement, whether in metaphor or in the most ornate expression.”<ref>M. Bogucka, ''op. cit.'', p. 58</ref> In Cracow, to the considerable alarm of the Polish nobility – and likely the king himself – it turned out that the beautiful and deeply décolleté Bona also had a&nbsp;head for politics and a&nbsp;knack for business. A&nbsp;royal consort who didn’t stop at producing heirs, but also interfered in matters of state, caused far more astonishment in conservative Poland than in Italy, where she’d been actually taught that she was born to rule over men. Bona even managed to secure the unprecedented and unconstitutional coronation of her only son, Sigismund Augustus, as king at the age of nine – while his father was still alive and well – in what was, supposedly, an elective monarchy.
-All this, in time, contributed to the emergence of Bona’s black legend, according to which the queen was “good” only in name, but in reality was pathologically ambitious, greedy, prone to Machiavellian machinations, financial malfeasance and – as befitted a&nbsp;Renaissance Italian – to the use of poison as a&nbsp;tool of statecraft. She was suspected of having poisoned her first two daughters-in-law (Elisabeth Habsburg and Barbara Radziwiłł), as well as the last two dukes of Masovia (Stanislav and John III). It was in Masovia – swiftly annexed by Poland – where Bona, estranged from her son, lived for eight years before eventually returning to Italy. There, the Polish queen dowager was herself poisoned – probably on the orders of King Philip II of Spain, who owed her too much money to leave her alive.
+All this, in time, contributed to the emergence of Bona’s black legend, according to which the queen was “good” only in name, but in reality was pathologically ambitious, greedy, prone to Machiavellian machinations, financial malfeasance and – as befitted a&nbsp;Renaissance Italian – to the use of poison as a&nbsp;tool of statecraft. She was suspected of having poisoned her first two daughters-in-law (Elisabeth Habsburg and Barbara Radziwiłł{{czyt|Radziwiłł}}), as well as the last two dukes of Masovia (Stanislav and John III). It was in Masovia – swiftly annexed by Poland – where Bona, estranged from her son, lived for eight years before eventually returning to Italy. There, the Polish queen dowager was herself poisoned – probably on the orders of King Philip II of Spain, who owed her too much money to leave her alive.
 Right then – but what about those vegetables? We’ll come to that in a&nbsp;moment. First, however, let’s take a&nbsp;closer look at another famous Italian-born queen whose life followed a&nbsp;path quite similar to Bona’s.
@@ Line 139: / Line 139: @@
 == Catherine of Florence ==
 [[File:Katarzyna Medycejska.jpg|thumb|upright|Caterina de’ Medici (1519–1589), Queen of France<br>{{small|By Germain Le Mannier.}}]]
-So Bona was a&nbsp;girl from a&nbsp;prominent Italian family who was married off to the king of a&nbsp;powerful state north of the Alps, where she is remembered, on one hand, as a&nbsp;ruthless, power-hungry woman, and on the other, as someone who enriched the cuisine of her adopted homeland with Italian flair. If all of this sounds familiar, but you can’t put your finger on it, then let me help: you’re probably thinking of Catherine de’ Medici.
+So Bona was a&nbsp;girl from a&nbsp;prominent Italian family who was married off to the king of a&nbsp;powerful state north of the Alps, where she is remembered, on the one hand, as a&nbsp;ruthless, power-hungry woman, and on the other, as someone who enriched the cuisine of her adopted homeland with Italian flair. If all of this sounds familiar, but you can’t put your finger on it, then let me help: you’re probably thinking of Catherine de’ Medici.{{czyt|de’ Medici}}
 Catherine (Caterina de’ Medici) was born in Florence one year after Bona had become Queen of Poland. Just as the Sforzas ruled Milan, so the Medici – originally a&nbsp;family of modest merchants – had already held sway over Florence for more than three hundred years. She was barely a&nbsp;month old when she was orphaned, so her upbringing fell to her uncles. First, she came under the protective wing of Giovanni de’ Medici, better known as Pope Leo X. Following his death, custody of Catherine passed to Giulio de’ Medici, or Pope Clement VII.
@@ Line 151: / Line 151: @@
 But did they?
-For many years, the legend of Catherine de’ Medici’s influence on French cuisine – like countless other culinary anecdotes – was taken at face value. It was only in the late 1970s that historians began subjecting it to scholarly scrutiny. And they found no historical sources to confirm that Italian chefs had ever descended upon the French court. Names like Pastilla, Frangipani, Popelini and Berini were shown to be entirely fictional. Frangipani, for instance, depending on which version one reads, was either part of Catherine’s entourage or that of Henry III, bore the title of either count or marquis, bore the given name of either Cesare or Pompeo, and hailed either from Florence or Rome. In truth, these figures did not invent culinary novelties later named in their honour; rather, their Italian-sounding surnames were retroactively derived from the existing names of French desserts: “Frangipani” from ''“frangipane”'' (almond cream), “Pastilla” from ''“pastille”'' (a&nbsp;flavoured biscuit), “Popelini” from ''“poupelin”'' (a&nbsp;choux-pastry doughnut).<ref>{{Cyt
+For many years, the legend of Catherine de’ Medici’s influence on French cuisine – like countless other culinary anecdotes – was taken at face value. It was only in the late 1970s that historians began subjecting it to scholarly scrutiny. And they found no historical sources to confirm that Italian chefs had ever descended upon the French court. Names like Pastilla, Frangipani, Popelini and Berini were shown to be entirely fictional. Frangipani, for instance, depending on which version one reads, was either part of Catherine’s entourage or that of Henry III, bore the title of either count or marquis, bore the given name of either Cesare or Pompeo, and hailed either from Florence or Rome. In truth, these figures did not invent culinary novelties later named in their honour; rather, their Italian-sounding surnames were retroactively derived from the existing names of French desserts: “Frangipani” from ''“frangipane”''{{czyt|frangipane}} (almond cream), “Pastilla” from ''“pastille”''{{czyt|pastille}} (a&nbsp;flavoured biscuit), “Popelini” from ''“poupelin”''{{czyt|poupelin}} (a&nbsp;choux-pastry doughnut).<ref>{{Cyt
   | nazwisko = Brioist
   | imię     = Pascal
@@ Line 187: / Line 187: @@
 <nomobile>[[File:Cibrèo.jpg|thumb|''Cibrèo'', a&nbsp;Florentine dish of rooster combs and testicles, [https://www.emikodavies.com/cibreo-a-forgotten-florentine-dish/ as recreated by Ms. Emiko Davies in 2021] (left: chief ingredients; right: complete dish)]]</nomobile>
-There is one reference historians have managed to uncover supporting the claims of the queen’s supposed gluttony:
+There is one reference historians have managed to uncover which supports the claims of the queen’s supposed gluttony:
 {{Cytat
@@ Line 258: / Line 258: @@
   }}; cyt. w: Bienassis, Campanini, ''op. cit.'', p. 48 }}
-Only in the 19th century did Catherine de’ Medici’s association with culinary innovation shed its negative connotations. French gourmets, led by Alexandre Grimod de la Reynière, began to elevate her as the one who gave rise to modern French cuisine by enriching it with Italian influence. In the ''Journal of the Gourmets'' (''Journal des gourmands''), founded by Grimod de la Reynière himself, the entry from the ''Encyclopédie'' was paraphrased as follows:
+Only in the 19th century did Catherine de’ Medici’s association with culinary innovation shed its negative connotations. French gourmets, led by Alexandre Grimod de la Reynière,{{czyt|Alexandre Grimod de la Reynière}} began to elevate her as the one who gave rise to modern French cuisine by enriching it with Italian influence. In the ''Journal of the Gourmets'' (''Journal des gourmands''), founded by Grimod de la Reynière himself, the entry from the ''Encyclopédie'' was paraphrased as follows:
 {{ Cytat
@@ Line 315: / Line 315: @@
 When exactly this swap took place isn’t entirely clear. It was certainly a&nbsp;gradual process and not all of the new vegetables appeared in Poland at the same time. One way to search for some clues could be to take a&nbsp;look at  linguistic data: when did Italian-derived names for individual vegetables first show up in Polish-language written sources?
-The earliest to settle into the Polish language – and, one might suspect, onto Polish tables as well — was ''sałata'', or lettuce. The word ''“sałata”'' comes from the Italian ''“insalata”'', which literally means “salted”. That’s because Italians had long served this vegetable seasoned with salt, vinegar and olive oil. Just like its Italian counterpart, the Polish word initially referred to both lettuce as such and a&nbsp;salad made of this and other vegetables (modern Polish distinguishes the two by referring to a&nbsp;salad by the diminutive ''“sałatka”''). The oldest known Polish text in which ''“sałata”'' appears — and in both senses, no less – is a&nbsp;herbal by Stefan Falimirz published in 1534 under the title, ''On Herbs and Their Potency'' (''O ziołach i&nbsp;mocy ich'').
+The earliest to settle into the Polish language – and, one might suspect, onto Polish tables as well — was ''sałata'',{{czyt|sałata}} or lettuce. The word ''“sałata”'' comes from the Italian ''“insalata”'',{{czyt|insalata}} which literally means “salted”. That’s because Italians had long served this vegetable seasoned with salt, vinegar and olive oil. Just like its Italian counterpart, the Polish word initially referred to both lettuce as such and a&nbsp;salad made of this and other vegetables (modern Polish distinguishes the two by referring to a&nbsp;salad by the diminutive ''“sałatka”''{{czyt|sałatka}}). The oldest known Polish text in which ''“sałata”'' appears — and in both senses, no less – is a&nbsp;herbal by Stefan Falimirz{{czyt|Stefan Falimirz}} published in 1534 under the title ''On Herbs and Their Potency'' (''O ziołach i&nbsp;mocy ich'').
 [[File:Sałata.jpg|thumb|upright=.6|Lettuce in an illustration from S. Falimirz’s herbal (1534)]]
@@ Line 336: / Line 336: @@
 | źródło = ''Ibid.'', p. 98, own translation }}
-The next source, chronologically, in which Italian-derived vegetable names appear for the first time is the 1549 Polish translation of ''Books on Husbandry'' (''Ruralia Commoda'') by Pietro de’ Crescenzi. This is where we first encounter the word ''“por”'' (from Italian ''“porro”''), which eventually displaced the native Polish ''“łuk”'' as the term for “leek”. Another notable example is ''“faseol”'' (from Italian ''“fagioli”'', “beans”), a&nbsp;word that gradually evolved in Polish into ''“fazoły”'', and ultimately into ''“fasola”''. Beans were the first vegetable from the New World – discovered by Europeans only half a&nbsp;century earlier – to reach Poland, and they did so via Italy.
+The next source, chronologically, in which Italian-derived vegetable names appear for the first time is the 1549 Polish translation of ''Books on Husbandry'' (''Ruralia Commoda'') by Pietro de’ Crescenzi. This is where we first encounter the word ''“por”''{{czyt|por}} (from Italian ''“porro”''{{czyt|porro}}), which eventually displaced the native Polish ''“łuk”''{{czyt|łuk}} as the term for “leek”. Another notable example is ''“faseol”'' (from Italian ''“fagioli”''{{czyt|fagioli}}, “beans”), a&nbsp;word that gradually evolved in Polish into ''“fazoły”'', and ultimately into ''“fasola”''.{{czyt|fasola}} Beans were the first vegetable from the New World – discovered by Europeans only half a&nbsp;century earlier – to reach Poland, and they did so via Italy.
 [[File:Fasola.jpg|thumb|upright=.6|left|A beanstalk in an illustration from P. de Crescenzi’s handbook (1549)]]
@@ Line 357: / Line 357: @@
 | źródło = ''Ibid.'', p. 176, own translation }}
-The word ''“garczoffy”'' – an old Polish term for artichokes (''“karczochy”'' in modern Polish) – first appeared in Marcin Siennik’s ''Herbarz'' (''Herbal''), published in 1568, which was already twelve years after Queen Bona’s departure from Poland. It stems from the Italian ''“carciofi”'', itself borrowed from the Arabic ''“al-ḵuršūf”''. The English word shares the same origin, though it retained the definite article ''“al-”'', which was later altered to ''“ar-”''.
+The word ''“garczoffy”'' – an old Polish term for artichokes (''“karczochy”''{{czyt|karczochy}} in modern Polish) – first appeared in Marcin Siennik’s ''Herbarz'' (''Herbal''), published in 1568, which was already twelve years after Queen Bona’s departure from Poland. It stems from the Italian ''“carciofi”'',{{czyt|carciofi}} itself borrowed from the Arabic ''“al-ḵuršūf”''.{{czyt|الْخَرْشُوف}} The English word shares the same origin, though it retained the definite article ''“al-”'', which was later altered to ''“ar-”''.
-This concludes the 16th century. The next wave of vegetable borrowings from Italian came much later. The earliest attested use of ''“szparag”'' (asparagus, from the archaic Italian ''“sparago”'') appears in a&nbsp;dictionary from 1605; ''“seler”'' (celery, from the dialectal Italian ''“sellero”'') is found in a&nbsp;1656 epigram by Wacław Potocki; ''“kaulifior”'' (cauliflower, from Italian ''“cavolfiore”'', literally “cabbage flower”) is recorded in a&nbsp;dictionary from 1680; while ''“brochuł”'' (broccoli, from Italian ''“broccolo”'') and ''“kaulerapa”'' (kohlrabi, from Italian ''“cavolo rapa”'', literally “cabbage turnip”) feature in Stanisław Czerniecki’s ''Compendium Ferculorum'' from 1682. As for the Polish term for tomato – ''“pomidor”'' – it didn’t spread into Polish until the 19th century.
+This concludes the 16th century. The next wave of vegetable borrowings from Italian came much later. The earliest attested use of ''“szparag”''{{czyt|szparag}} (asparagus, from the archaic Italian ''“sparago”''{{czyt|sparago}}) appears in a&nbsp;dictionary from 1605; ''“seler”''{{czyt|seler}} (celery, from the dialectal Italian ''“sellero”''{{czyt|sellero}}) is found in a&nbsp;1656 epigram by Wacław Potocki; ''“kaulifior”'' (modern Polish: ''“kalafior”'',{{czyt|kalafior}} cauliflower, from Italian ''“cavolfiore”'',{{czyt|cavolfiore}} literally “cabbage flower”) is recorded in a&nbsp;dictionary from 1680; while ''“brochuł”'' (modern Polish: ''“brokuł”'',{{czyt|brokuł}} broccoli, from Italian ''“broccolo”''{{czyt|broccolo}}) and ''“kaulerapa”'' (modern Polish: ''“kalarepa”'',{{czyt|kalarepa}} kohlrabi, from Italian ''“cavolo rapa”'',{{czyt|cavolo rapa}} literally “cabbage turnip”) feature in Stanisław Czerniecki’s{{czyt|Stanisław Czerniecki}} ''Compendium Ferculorum'' from 1682. As for the Polish term for tomato – ''“pomidor”''{{czyt|pomidor}} – it didn’t spread into Polish until the 19th century.
 [[File:Włoszczyzna.png|thumb|Bundles of ''włoszczyzna'' (literally, “Italian stuff”), or soup vegetables, as they are commonly sold in Poland, including: carrots, parsley (root and leaves), celeriac (celery root) and leek.]] It would seem, then, that if any vegetables became widespread in Poland during Queen Bona’s time, they may have included lettuce, leeks, beans and possibly artichokes. Of these, only the leek forms part of the standard Polish set of soup vegetables – known collectively as ''włoszczyzna''. Yet in this case, it was only the name that was imported from Italy, supplanting an older Slavic term for a&nbsp;vegetable that was already familiar in Poland.
@@ Line 367: / Line 367: @@
 Where, then, does the legend of Queen Bona introducing Mediterranean vegetables to Poland come from? Most likely, it arose as a&nbsp;Polish counterpart to a&nbsp;similar French legend about Catherine de’ Medici. If the French believed that the culinary riches of Italy had been brought to their country by a&nbsp;Renaissance queen from the peninsula, it must have seemed logical that a&nbsp;similar role could be attributed to Bona Sforza in Poland. We now know that the French version of this legend emerged during the Enlightenment. The Polish version, then, may well have its roots in the same era.
-The earliest suggestion I’ve found that it was Bona who brought the Mediterranean veggies to Poland comes from the novel ''John of Tenczyn'' (''Jan z Tęczyna'') by Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, first published in 1824. Niemcewicz – a&nbsp;distinguished figure of the Polish Enlightenment, co-author of the nation’s first constitution, personal secretary to the Polish and American hero Tadeusz Kościuszko, and the first Pole to receive U.S. citizenship – was also the author of Poland’s first historical novel. It is a&nbsp;fictionalized account of the true story of Jan Baptysta Tęczyński, a&nbsp;promising young aristocrat who fell in love with the Swedish princess Cecilia Vasa (and she with him) but tragically died in Danish captivity in 1563, before he could marry her. And it’s in the opening chapter of this  Walter-Scottian romantic tale that we find the following passage:
+The earliest suggestion I’ve found that it was Bona who brought the Mediterranean veggies to Poland comes from the novel ''John of Tenczyn'' (''Jan z&nbsp;Tęczyna'') by Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz,{{czyt|Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz}} first published in 1824. Niemcewicz – a&nbsp;distinguished figure of the Polish Enlightenment, co-author of the nation’s first constitution, personal secretary to the Polish and American hero Tadeusz Kościuszko,{{czyt|Tadeusz Kościuszko}} and the first Pole to receive U.S. citizenship – was also the author of Poland’s first historical novel. It is a&nbsp;fictionalized account of the true story of Jan Baptysta Tęczyński,{{czyt|Jan Baptysta Tęczyński}} a&nbsp;promising young aristocrat who fell in love with the Swedish princess Cecilia Vasa (and she with him) but tragically died in Danish captivity in 1563, before he could marry her. And it’s in the opening chapter of this  Walter-Scottian romantic tale that we find the following passage:
 [[File:Ogrody wawelskie.jpg|thumb|upright|left|A kitchen garden from the time of Queen Bona, as reconstruncted on the Wawel Hill]]
@@ Line 386: / Line 386: @@
 }}
-''John of Tenczyn'' was, throughout most of the 19th century, the best-selling historical novel in Poland. It was only in the 1880s that it was supplanted by Henryk Sienkiewicz’s trilogy. It’s no surprise, then, that the association Niemcewicz established between Queen Bona and Italian veggies soon came to be regarded as an obvious and unquestioned truth.
+''John of Tenczyn'' was, throughout most of the 19th century, the best-selling historical novel in Poland. It was only in the 1880s that it was supplanted by Henryk Sienkiewicz’s{{czyt|Henryk Sienkiewicz}} trilogy. It’s no surprise, then, that the association Niemcewicz established between Queen Bona and Italian veggies soon came to be regarded as an obvious and unquestioned truth.
 {{clear}}
 {{Przypisy}}
@@ Line 519: / Line 519: @@
   }}
-{{Nawigacja|poprz=The Gastronomic Order of Pomiane}}
+{{Nawigacja|poprz=The Gastronomic Order of Pomiane|nast=Use the Forks, Henry}}
 [[Category: Bona Sforza]]