Piastuni dziejów
The Keepers of History

Images of European Nations in Polish Romantic Thought

Author(s): Joanna Nowak
Subject(s): History, History of ideas, Modern Age, Special Historiographies:, 19th Century, Period(s) of Nation Building
ISSN: 2450-565X
Published by: Instytut Slawistyki Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Keywords: history; Romanticism; 19th century; history of ideas; nation; Europe
Summary/Abstract: This monograph examines how Polish authors writing in the first half of the nineteenth century described these European nations which in their opinion played a significant role in the history of Europe through the past centuries. The nineteenth century authors were convinced that in each of the consecutive historical epochs, typically it was one nation that due to different circumstances acquired special importance and directed a general development. Such prominent communities, via a number of missions entrusted upon them, became the "keepers of the history," playing different functions that often overlapped: they were defenders of freedom, promoters of art and civilization, leaders of economic changes, or initiators of intellectual growth.

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