him a "personal friend to Marcin Kromer, to the dislike of the bishops". The best known anecdote about Stańczyk is that of a hunting incident. In 1533 King Sigismund the Old had a huge bear brought for him from Lithuania. The bear was released in the forest of Niepołomice near Kraków so that the king could hunt it. During the hunt, the animal charged at the king, the queen and their courtiers which caused panic and mayhem. Queen Bona fell from her horse which resulted in her miscarriage. Later, the king criticized Stańczyk for having run away instead of attacking the bear. The jester is said to have replied that "it is a greater folly to let out a bear that was already in a cage". This remark is often interpreted as an allusion to the king's policy toward Prussia which was defeated by Poland but not fully incorporated into the Crown. Stańczyk as a symbol Stańczyk became a popular historical figure in Polish literature after the partitions (1795). Some writers treated him as a symbol of Poland's struggle for independence, others provided him with rather Shakespearean traits. He appears in a work of, among others, Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz (in Jan z Tęczna. Powieść historyczna, 1825) and several works by Józef Ignacy Kraszewski (1839, 1841). Teka Stańczyka In 1869 a group of young conservative publicists: Józef Szujski, Stanisław Tarnowski, and , published a series of satirical pamphlets entitled (Stańczyk's Portfolio or Stańczyk's Files). Only five years after the tragic end of the January Uprising, the pamphlets ridiculed the idea of armed national uprisings and suggested a compromise with Poland's enemies, especially the Austrian Empire, and more concentration on economic growth than on political independence. The political faction which adopted these ideas became known as "Stańczycy" (plural of "Stańczyk"). Stańczyk in the arts Stańczyk was also one of Jan Matejko's favorite historical figures and he appears in a number of his paintings, such as in the Prussian Homage. Matejko, giving the jester his own facial features, created the popular image of Stańczyk that is familiar to most modern Poles. The painter always depicted Stańczyk with a very concerned and reflective look on his face, in stark contrast to his cap and bells and other jester's gear. Matejko's vision of Stańczyk influenced the way other artists, such as Leon Wyczółkowski, later depicted the jester. The most notable appearance of Stańczyk in literature