Zygmunt August w eseistyce historycznej Pawła Jasienicy
Sigismund Augustus in Paweł Jasienica’s Historical Essay Writing

Author(s): Jacek Głażewski
Subject(s): Cultural history, Modern Age, Recent History (1900 till today), 16th Century, 17th Century, 18th Century, 19th Century, Pre-WW I & WW I (1900 -1919), Interwar Period (1920 - 1939), WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Post-War period (1950 - 1989), Transformation Period (1990 - 2010), Present Times (2010 - today), History of Art
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: essay writing; intellectual history; social history
Summary/Abstract: Paweł Jasienica was one of the most significant personalities of Polish culture at the time when the foundations of the future institutional opposition were slowly beginning to form. His authority was established not only by his biography, but also by the popularity of his works, which aroused a lively reading response and fierce polemics among professional historians. Jasienica’s books, along with their methodological subsoil, became the subject of heated discussions, which did not prevent the recipients from assessing them at all. In general, even the greatest polemicists were able to admit that the writings of the author of "Polska Jagiellonów" ("Jagiellonian Poland") are characterized by an intellectual passion for which it would be difficult to find competition on the publishing market. Paweł Jasienica considered himself primarily a writer. Intellectual commitment to the recognition and understanding of the heritage of memory was the most important creative impulse for him. For this reason, it would be difficult to situate his essays in the domain of pure popularization. The author of "Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów" ("The Commonwealth of Both Nations") went far beyond the area of disseminating the results of scientific research, he saw mature discussion partners in his readers, he did not use erudite concessions. The essay is an analysis and interpretation of the portrait of Sigismund Augustus that emerges from Paweł Jasienica’s works. The king occupies a special place here. The future author of "Myśli o dawnej Polsce" ("Thoughts about Old Poland") did not deal with any other historical figure for so long – the king was the hero of Leon Lech Beynar’s scientific debut. The assessment formed at the beginning of his writing career, coupled with an excellent knowledge of historical sources, underwent only slight re-evaluations over the following years. In the historical considerations of Jasienica Sigismund Augustus gained the status of an exemplary figure of power.

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