The Trumpeter of Krakow

This book introduces the legend that in the 13th century (1241), a Polish boy was killed by the arrow of an invading Tartar from the East, silencing his trumpet a few notes short of completion of the "Heynal," the Hymn to Our Lady, as he stood on a little balcony of the Church of Our Lady Mary in Krakow, Poland. Ever since that event subsequent trumpeters have stopped at the same point in the Heynal as it is sounded four times on the hour, all day and night as a signal that all is well.

Research has shown that the 'legend' was created by the book's author, Eric Kelly, and the illustrator, Aniela (Angela) Pruszynska when trying to imagine an explanation for the foreshortened trumpet playing. The legend they created has passed into legend and is now accepted as "history".

The story of Joseph Charnetski-Kowalski, set in 1461, is fictional.