Evading Crusading
Virtually every general-audience publication that however briefly retells the history of beer in Poland mentions two mandatory anecdotes. The one about Saint Piva of Warka was already covered in one of my previous posts. This time, we're going to focus on the other one – about how Duke Lestek the White (also known as Leszek, the modern Polish spelling of his name) wriggled out of going on a crusade. Leszek the White stayed out of crusades by arguing that there was no beer in the Holy Land; Pope Innocent III granted him a dispensation. — Fałat, Ziemowit et al., Przewodnik piwosza , Pascal, Bielsko-Biała 2002, own translation A 2002 label of the Leszek Premium beer brewed in Żnin from the collection of Stanisław (Piwo-Mania) Source: My Virtual Museum The poet and singer Jacek Kowalski even wrote a song about it. It was commissioned by the Żnin Brewery in the Paluki region, which until 2007 produced an unpasteurized beer called Leszek. A vow he once made To join a cr