THE LEGEND OF THE IRON WOLF

 

There is a story that surrounds the founding of Vilnius, Gediminas, the Great Duke of Lithuania, went on a hunting trip in the area where modern Vilnius is.  As he and his party were hunting the day turn into night.  They camped out by a hill at the convergence of the Neris and Vilnia rivers.  While asleep, Gediminas dreamt about an iron wolf was howling as if there were a hundred wolves on top of this hill that his party and him were sleeping at the bottom of.

After the hunting trip, Gediminas went back to Trakai (the capital of Lithuania at that time) and consulted the oracle about the meaning of the dream.  The oracle, told him: “Your dream means that you will found a city by that hill and it will be a city of great renown.  The symbol of the iron wolf means that the city will be large and formidable city.  The city will stand as strong as iron and will protect the land from its enemies.  As for the massive howling made by the wolf, meant that the fame of the city would spread beyond the city and the country’s borders and proclaim throughout the centuries the glory of Lithuania.”

Gediminas heeded and pleased with the oracle’s words of his dream.  He begin to summon artisans and craftsmen around the country and Europe to design and construct his new strong and beautiful kingdom, which would surround this hill where he had the dream of the iron wolf.  Upon the completion Gediminas moved his home, signaling the establishment of a new capital for his country: Vilnius.

Now in the present time, the western tower of the upper Gediminas Castle still stands at the top of this hill in Vilnius.  As well as at the bottom of the hill, stands the statue of Gediminas and the iron wolf in Gediminas Square.

The Grand Duke Gediminas ruled from 1315 until his death in 1342.  During his reign as Grand Duke, Lithuania developed into a strong national power.  He started the long-term expansion of Lithuania into the lands of the eastern Slavs by absorbing most of Belarus and Ukraine through marriage alliances with the local Orthodox princes and through conquest against the Crusaders of the Order of Teutonic Knights.

The Grand Duke Gediminas is also credited with the founding the capital, Vilnius, at the confluence of the Neris and Vilnia rivers.  Vilnius was first mentioned as the capital of Lithuania in 1323, in the letters of the Grand Duke Gediminas to the Roman Pope.  He welcomed Jewish, Orthodox, and Catholic traders to Vilnius by providing them safe settlement and fair treatment.  With this tactic, Vilnius became one of the largest trading posts in Europe, helping to make Lithuania wealthier, larger, more diverse, and more strategically significant during the Gediminian dynasty.

This interpretation is one example of this great and amazing legend in Lithuania.  Other interpretations of this legend include what animals they were hunting, details of how the landscape around the hill, how non-verbal actions of the priest when Gediminas was explaining his dream, and etc.

The legend of Gediminas and the Iron Wolf is held highly by Lithuanians as our National Anthem legend is to us in the United States.  It’s a part of their history; it’s a part of them.  The legend has great deal of truth in it.  In 1985 archeologists uncovered the remnants of the ancient pagan temple, which had stood right on the site of the present Cathedral.  In addition, some Lithuanians see this legend as a foreshadowing of their independent in 1991.  Could the oracle have foreseen the events of 668 years later, when in 1991 the people of Vilnius stood up to the Soviets, changing the world?

Throughout the centuries, ever since the time the Lithuanian nation was formed, simple folks have expressed their talent in Folklore which touch the most sensitive chords of the human soul, it intertwines with everyday family life and work, keeps the historical memory alive, stimulates thinking fuse into a nation and survives.  With this in mind, I could see that this is true as I was listening to this legend from my informant.  I could see how this legend was so sacred to her and what it meant to her.  The excitement in her voice and her face increased as she went along telling me about the legend.  And after listening to her, I felt closer to her as if the legend was part of my past as well.