W kręgu kosmogonii i metodologii. Obraz Piastów-herosów w refleksji historycznej Stanisława Zakrzewskiego (1873–1936)
Cosmogony and methodology. The image of the Piast rulers in the historical reflection of Stanisław Zakrzewski (1873–1936)

Summary/Abstract: This article presents Stanisław Zakrzewski’s views of the historical role of the Piast rulers, espe- cially the first two Christian representatives of the dynasty, generally regarded as the founders of the Polish state – Mieszko the First (922–945–992) and Boleslaus the Brave (c. 967–1025). According to Zakrzewski (1873–1936), a historian known for his studies of Poland’s early medieval period and his adherence to the heroic conception of history, these two rulers should be numbered among dis- tinguished European monarchs who almost simultaneously rose to power in their respective states (the tenth and the beginning of the eleventh centuries) and who were referred to by the historian as the ‘Great Men’. We are told that their simultaneous appearance was not accidental. It can be inferred from the historian’s remarks that they were collectively involved in the mission, entrusted to them by Providence, of transforming the chaos that had engulfed Europe into a new and lasting order. The author argues that by pursuing the idea of cultural heroes forming the new order out of the existing chaos, Zakrzewski offered a deeply mythologised representation of the past. This interpretation is borne out by analysing the historian’s statements about Mieszko the First. Zakrzew- ski’s image of Mieszko seems to bear a close resemblance to Nietzsche’s Overman. We are made to believe that Mieszko was a ruler who was not constrained by any traditions and who, in conducting his policy, did not depend on the support of any social group. The Polish state, argued the historian, owed its rise exclusively to Mieszko’s efforts and did not emerge as a result of the collective effort of the whole society.The second part of the article deals with Zakrzewski’s theoretical presuppositions of the histor- ical discipline. The author shows that by embracing the heroistic conception of history, Zakrzew- ski downplayed the historical importance of legal and constitutional arrangements. The historian’s support for Józef Piłsudski’s coup d’etat in 1926 may thus be taken as a telling illustration of his theoretical preferences.

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