PARADOKSY SARMATYZMU. OBYCZAJ – POLITYKA – IKONOGRAFIA
PARADOXES OF SARMATISM. CUSTOM – POLITICS – ICONOGRAPHY

Summary/Abstract: The sources of Sarmatism were traced back to historiographic legends which derived the origin of Polish nobility from the ancient Sarmatians. The phenomenon itself was supposed to be the result of the influence of the Oriental culture. However, it does not really explain the essence of Sarmatism, which did not arise from a fascination with the culture of the East, but from the contestation of the West. At the end of the XVI century, it became an expression of the nobility’s conviction of the perfection of the Polish system guaranteeing their freedom and privileges. At that time, the feeling of separateness was manifested by the orientalization of nobility’s clothes, which became a sign of national identity, as evidenced by iconographic sources.

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