Województwo mińskie i Jeleńscy w życiu publicznym Rzeczypospolitej w latach 1764-1795 w świetle ich korespondencji

The Jeleński family of the Korczak coat of arms had been a well-known family in the history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth since the second half of the 16th century. During the reign of Stanisław August Poniatowski, however, the family rose to prominence in the Lithuania, holding the Senate seat of the Castellan of Nowogród, which was passed down to the members of the family. It was, in fact, thanks to Stanisław August that Rafał, as well as his brother Gedeon, were raised to the senatorial seat as the first among the Jeleński family. The family was also, or maybe first and foremost, extremely influential in the Minsk Voivodeship, particularly in the Mazyr County, where the various members of the family as well as their relatives and kinsmen held almost absolute power in the local administration. Nonetheless, little has been written about this family’s influence in this area and in the Commonwealth in general — except for biographical notes in the Polish Biographical Dictionary and mentions in books of heraldry. The only mentions included singular instances regarding historic events in the Commonwealth. It should, however, come as no surprise, since the representatives of the family never amounted to anything more than — however influential — supernumeraries on the political stage of the Commonwealth. Nonetheless, due to their mutual interests with the Radziwiłł and Sapieha families, as well as their close ties with many old Lithuanian noble families, such as the Medeksza, Obuchowicz, Kościałkowski, Lenkiewicz, Rdłutowski, Romer, or Wolbek families, in addition to remaining in Stanisław August’s sphere of influence, the Jeleński family aspired to count among the elite of the Lithuanian province, one whose opinion should be taken into consideration. The study is founded upon the analysis of the Jeleński Family Archive, stored at the National Historical Archives of Belarus (NGAB) in Minsk. Thanks to that archive, it has been possible to reconstruct the genealogy of the family as well as indicate its role and influence in the public life of the Minsk Voivodeship during the reign of Stanisław August. The monograph discusses the political engagement of the two most important representatives of the family: Gedeon and Konstanty Ludwik, counted among the elite of their times. They were not only skilled politicians, but also initiators of cultural and scientific development in Lithuania. Both of them betrayed deep interest in the issues of governance and broadly understood political thought — a topic which has been discussed in the first part of this monograph. The monograph consists of five chapters. The first chapter, entitled The Jeleński Family, Its Genealogy, Multiplication, Connections — A Biographical Perspective, introduces the Jeleński family and provides a biographical perspective. According to all sources, the Jeleński family is descended from the Tatars, and Teodor, the progenitor of the family, came from Lithuania to Poland in 1549 as a knight in the service of Zygmunt August, fighting to defend the Commonwealth, which is probable but impossible to verify. Three important figures were supposed to be descended from Teodor: Paweł, who held the office of the Lithuanian Field Guard, as well as Maciej and Adam, commanders of infantry regiments who made names for themselves in the Livonia, Moscow and Prussia war expeditions. From these three descend the next generations of the Jeleński family, who founded the Jeleński Family Archive and who settled in Dunajczyce and Tucha, which can be regarded as the family nests of the Jeleński family (both were bestowed upon them by Zygmunt III). Moreover, the chapter touches upon the career paths of the selected members of the family and delineates the network of family relationships in the form of longer biographical notes constructed on the basis of the primary sources available in the archive which have been cross-referenced with other studies, books of heraldry and primary sources. The research findings are presented in a graphic form in chapter two, which includes the genealogy of the Jeleński family. Chapter three: Between the Familia and the King’s Party; Between the Radziwiłł and the Sapieha Families and subsequent Between Politics and the Household serve as an introductory section while at the same time discussing the two most important factors which influenced the family’s position in the public life. The latter issue constitutes the subject of the fifth chapter: The Public Life of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania — From the Convocation Sejm (1764) to the Fall of the Polish Statehood (1795). During that time, many members of the Jeleński family remained active in the political sphere, while Gedeon, the most ambitious of the politicians in his family, became the most influential. The members of the family were chosen to be deputies and representatives for more powerful parties; nonetheless, they held no autonomous political power. In 1772, they aligned themselves with Stanisław August. During election sejmiks which elected county and voivodeship officials, the Jeleński family always invoked the good of the Commonwealth, under the motto “for the good of the motherland”. The common good, however, was often perceived by the Jeleński family from the perspective of the prosperity of their own province — both on a smaller scale, i.e. the Mazyr County, and on a grander scale, i.e. the Minsk Voivodeship and the entire Lithuania. That is why their efforts were mostly concentrated on bringing prosperity to the Mazyr County first, followed by the Minsk and Nowogród Voivodeships, and finally the Grand Duchy of Lithuania itself. Sometimes, however, the good of their province and the good of the entire Commonwealth did not completely align, complicated by the private affairs of the Jeleński family, which both remained at the forefront of their minds and influenced their subservient political nature. Moreover, all members of the Jeleński family — and Gedeon most of all — were uniquely talented with regard to securing their “rewards.

Rzecz o Leonardzie Marcinie Świeykowskim – w odpowiedzi na recenzję Zofii Zielińskiej

"Nie ma książki ani dobrej w każdym szczególe, ani całkowicie złej. Moja książka— jak można wnioskować z treści recenzji i konkluzji autorstwa Zofii Zielińskiej— nie podlega jednak tej prawdzie. Mam tylko nadzieję, że spodobała się Recenzentce estetyka książki, okładka i krój czcionki. Uważam, że źle się dzieje, jeżeli wartość ocenianej publikacji mierzy się wyłącznie liczbą błędów; to nie dyskusja naukowa, a pod jej przykryciem próba uprawiania zaściankowej i partykularnej „polityki naukowej”." (fragm.

Minsk Regional Parliaments (Sejmiks) in the Years 1778-1786 – Between Domestic Problems and External World

The text presents the course of the Minsk sejmiks, discusses the parliamentary elec-tions and the content of the parliamentary instructions. On this basis, the att itude of the Minsk nobility to the most important problems of that period, affl icting the Republic as the common state and the common homeland was analyzed. The analyses show there were no stormy parliamentary elections: the election process was rather calm, with no signs of disputes by drawing up parliamentary instructions. In general, they did not arouse controversy, did not refer to ideological or national issues but touched upon the everyday problems of the voivodeship and therefore they were usually accepted. The content of the instructions went beyond the borders of the Minsk voivodeship, but the impassable border was Lithuania and the issues or troubles of its citizens, usually those with the highest status. A pragmatic approach to life and everyday reality prevails in the decisions of the parliamentary assemblies in the analysed period. Ideologically, they cer-tainly did not cement the Republic. Thinking that a member of parliament represents the place from which he was elected and not the Polish-Lithuanian state, at least symbolically dominated in Minsk until 1788

The art of “diplomacy” and its significance in the internal public life of the period of King Stanisław’s reign – some remarks about the clientelism and careers which were not accidental

No doubt the art of “diplomacy” as a skill or talent was beneficial to those who pursued a career path in the period of King Stanisław’s reign. This property or capability made it easier for those who enjoyed it to make a career and it also made it easier for them to keep afloat in the public life. Such skills enabled a given person to stand out. However, the examples which are presented demonstrate the possibilities of the advancement of poor noblemen. In the period of King Stanisław’s reign advancement was determined by aptitude and talent. Even though connections and background were important factors, their significance diminished gradually but discernibly. However, this change did not entirely entail a change of the thinking about the state. The new criteria of the making of elites were not always associated with ideological questions. In many cases a senator who was created, now not owing to his connections or background but owing to his talent, aptitude and the eponymous “diplomatic talent”, thought in particularistic terms. Unfortunately, he did not always take into account the interests of the entire Rzeczpospolita. However, let us admit that he strove to combine his interests with the demands of the land in which he operated

Postawy szlachty polskiej z terenów II zaboru pruskiego wobec władz pruskich z 1793 r.

Wczesną wiosną 1793 r. praktycznie bez walki Prusy przejęły większość ziem przypadłych im w wyniku II rozbioru1. Konfederacja targowicka nie zdobyła się na ostrzejsze wystąpienie w ich obronie1 2. Dywizja Arnolda Byszewskiego, stacjonująca w Wielkopolsce, mimo iż miała realne szanse przeciwstawić się armii pruskiej, nie otrzymała takiego rozkazu od konfederacji generalnej3[…

Obchody setnej rocznicy insurekcji kościuszkowskiej w Galicji

„La cérémonie de la célébration de la centième anniversaire de l’éclatement de l’insurrection de Kościuszko, préparée en Galicie, très soigneusement, a été célébrée sur tout le territoire de cette province et par toutes les classes sociales. Cependant l’attention des observateurs s’est concentrée sur deux grandes villes, à savoir sur Cracovie et sur Lwów, car c’est ici où l’on a organisé la cérémonie centrale qui a ressemblé la plus grande partie de la population venue d’au-délà du territoire autrichien, et notamment des habitants de la Haute Silésie, de la voievodie de Poznań ainsi que de la Poméranie. Il faut souligner le fait que durant la célébration de la centième anniversaire de l’insurrection de Kościuszko les autorités du tzar ont fermé la frontière avec l’Autriche craignant la participation massive dans la cérémonie en question des Polonais venus du Royaume de Pologne. Les événements que nous venons de mentionner témoignent très bien du grand prestige de la célébration en 1894 de l’anniversaire de l’insurrection de Kościuszko qui a constituée un étape successif dans la formation de la conscience nationale des Polonais en même temps que la manifestation de leur unité et qui a été acueillie comme telle par l’Europe entière. La lutte politique a constitué un élément essentiel du déroulement de la cérémonie de l’anniversaire de l’insurrection de Kościuszko. Tous les groupements politiques, en commençant par les conservatistes et en finissant aux socialistes s’identifiant avec le personnage de Tadeusz Kościuszko ainsi qu’avec les idées dont il était la personnification. Chaque groupement politique désirait, en présentant le héros de Racławice comme son dirigeant idéologique, obtenir l’acceptation de la société pour le programme qu’ il représentait. Cet objectif poussait les dirigeants des diverses parties à élargir et à enrichir leurs programmes politiques ainsi qu’influençait leur niveau des discussions de programme. Tous les facteurs que nous venons de mentionner ont d’une manière considérable influencé la formation de la pensée politique polonaise en contribuant en même temps à la transformation des anciens groupements politiques en partis politiques modernes au caractère et à l’organisation contemporains

W cieniu Wincentego Skrzetuskiego : państwo w myśli - niekoniecznie politycznej - Leonarda Marcina Świeykowskiego

"W drugiej połowie XVIII w. myśl o reformie czy naprawie państwa polsko-litewskiego zaprzątała umysły wielu obywateli tamtych czasów. Wojciech Organiściak swe badania poświęcił Wincentemu Skrzetuskiemu, niewątpliwie postaci znaczącej w dziejach osiemnastowiecznej myśli politycznej, wymienianej często obok Stanisława Konarskiego czy Stanisława Leszczyńskiego. Tworzone w tym gronie myślicieli politycznych teorie i pomysły reformy państwa polsko-litewskiego w drugiej połowie XVIII w. stawały się coraz szerzej odbierane. Wielu obywateli, chcąc dołożyć się do proponowanych rozwiązań, modyfikowało je i starało się dostosowywać je – według własnych przemyśleń – do rzeczywistości społeczno-politycznej osiemnastowiecznej Rzeczypospolitej, gdyż coraz pełniejsze i powszechniejsze było przekonanie o szukaniu ratunku dla jej przetrwania." [...] (fragm.

Portret szlachty czasów stanisławowskich, epoki kryzysu, odrodzenia i upadku Rzeczypospolitej w pamiętnikach polskich

There is a strong belief among Polish historiographers, that the Republic fell admittedly because of vices and faults of its citizens, but also at the very moment its national revival commenced. Different interpretations of the statement as there were, their most important element was a citizen nobleman who saw the necessity of reforms aiming to increase the prestige, authority and power of the state. This area included also the whole spectrum of issues formely unsolved in the Polish state. In this context, it is important to look at the gentry as close as possible. It might help us understand why it changed its attitude towards the state and other related social and ideological issues. An attempt to present or build up such a collective portrait of the Polish nobility under Stanisław August Poniatowski on the basis of diaries can be a step in this direction. Such a dynamic presentation of the nobility arises from the inner chronological partitioning of the research material. It has been divided into three groups. The first group of diaries covers reports written before the fall of the First Republic, that is until 1795. The second one involves memoires of the people, acting in various areas of everyday life, after the fall of the Polish state but also politically active i.e. mature in the times of Stanisław August Poniatowski. The third group of diaries contains descriptions of the past produced by the people born between 1780 and 1795. All in all, the study is based on about 300 diaries. The present dissertation is divided into four chapters covering all of the most important spheres of the noblemen s activity. Chapter I The Nobility in the Circle of Family and Household for Peace, Stability and Strength of the House presents the noblemen in their natural environment, namely depicts their attitude to family and possessions. Also the values considered to be the most important to the nobility in everyday life as well as the features they felt proud of and those disapproved of in others are discussed. Such a catalogue of features and values of the Polish nobility positions religiousness next to debauchery, fear next to courage, hospitality and goodness also with respect to lower social classes next to selfishness. Chapter II Citizens towards the State for the preserving and well being of the Republic the Native Country, presents a stereotypical portrait of the nobility in those times, all visible vices and virtues of an average nobleman included. The leitmotif of this Chapter are the recurring dilemas between a private interest and that of the state. Here, the attitude of the middle nobility to Stanisław August was described, both to his rule and person, as well as to the mighty elites of the nobility and to the curves of history that the Republic got through in Stanisław August times. It also presents the hierarchy of values the citizens followed in the case of choice, what the love of their own country and freedom meant to them, what their ideal, faultless state was to be, if and to what extent their understanding of nation changed, to what degree their attachment to it depended on the community of interests and aims, culture and language. Chapters III and IV expand and complete the area of observation thus allowing to verify certain fragments of the portrait. They show the citizens of the Republi in soldiercraft and in priesthood . The portrait of the nobility as a whole, created mostly by the nobility itself, reflects its stereotypical images, functioning at that time. A portrait of the nobility in its homely environment, with its visibly outlined vices and virtues, reinforced, at least in the sphere of theory and ideology, by the norms of behaviour strengthened by the functioning tradition, is very positive. It is humane and natural with each group of diarists, the emphasis being put on the first one though. Here the lack of willingness to create or confabulate a certain reality is painfully direct, from the criticism of dishonourable behaviour towards their mates, though sometimes not perceived as such, to explicit protection to obtain financial benefits. The second group of diarists, on the other hand, has the tendency to create a portrait of the gentry interested in the effectiveness of their enterprise to build up the power of their house which suggests their endeavour to realize Arcadia s myth in their homes. That very trend remained unchanged with the third group of diaries. In Chapter II the portrait of the nobility is more diversified in all three groups of diaries. In the first type of diaries the nobility is fairly neutral, distanced from the politics, though taking part in it, treating the advantage of Moscow as a natural phenomenon but at the same time considering it the reason of evil observed in the country. The diaristst of the second group thought a bit different though they do not deny the fact of Moscow s advantage over the Republic. They claim that the whole evil derives from the magnates advantage who were first to control their poorer mates and, with their eyes fixed on their own interests, fought with one another, ignoring the Republic. It spoilt the former traditions and principles. They stopped thinking about their country; it became the matter of secondary importance. Imaginary needs of the magnates led to betrayal and as a result the whole nation suffered. Yet such radical and severe images of the citizens in the reign of Stanisław August Poniatowski do not predominate in diary descriptions. There were many more causes that brought about the fall of the Republic the nobility was not accused of. On the one hand, recording the events, diarists often presented the gentry in the situations revealing their weaknesses. On the other hand, having in view the nobility s good they tried to understand and, at times, excuse their negative behaviour by other virtues. What predominates is the authenticity and good nature of a citizen. A nobleman in its military role complements some aspects of the portrait. It proves his inclination to stabilisation. Depending on the the financial status in the society, the soldiercraft was a path to settle or make a career. It is accepted by all diary writers who underline its difficulty though it is the third group of diarists which points to its honesty. It was a turn towards bringing knighthood back to favour in the noble society. In terms of characterological features a soldier did not differ much from a nobleman-landholder nor from a citizen-politician. It was only the financial status that made the gentry take on the inclinations of the poorer nobility that is why the issues connected with everyday existence determined to a large extent their behaviour. Irrespective of the time they were written the diaries present cleric nobility as resembling the general features shown in the portrait. The diaries written by clergymen, originating from the nobility, do not differ much from those written by the nobility. The difference lies in a milder look at the figures of the epoch, a kindness of their authors, a greater distance to what is earthly. In a way, it justifies the attitude of neutrality of clergymen in the critical moments of the Republic s history, which was sometimes explained by Divine Providence. What links lay and cleric authors are mainly the issues of an economic nature and those connected with professional career and religiousness. The image of the clergy is quite decent due to the religiousness declared by diary writers of the three groups and showed by them. The evil is condensed in a few figures commonly referred to as unworthy of being called Polishmen. All diary writers follow the same pattern. Rich clergymen who, in the majority of cases, derive from rich families, are evaluated negatively. The ones evaluated more positively in terms of morality, ethics and politics are priests or monks, less frequently noticed and lower-ranked in the social hierarchy. They are characterologically similar to the noblemen citizens. The portrait of the nobility in the reign of Stanisław August Poniatowski in Polish diaries was dominated by political issues where the year 1795 is a kind of ceasura. At that time, it was a decisive moment. Their world changed rapidly: botn in their fathers homes, woken up in a foreign state, they changed their attitude to the future. And so did change the portrait of the gentry of Stanisław August Poniatowski times. Although clear symptoms of changes in the way of thinking about reality surrounding them were visible as early as the time of Great Sejm, it was only after the fall of the Polish state that a different perspective concerning the times of Stanisław August and their citizens consolidated. What became significant was the attachment to tradition, old Polish customs and religiousnes. They comprise such indicators as own country, widely understood citizen liberties and devotion to family. The canon of features ascribed to the nobility was stable and did not undergo diversification in all kinds of diaries. They all pointed out courage in the defence of the world created by the nobility and in the defence of the nation. It is connected with the other features such as love of their own country, hospitality and openness. These, especially in descriptions written by the second and third group of diary writers, are presented on the basis of the projection of dreams in defence of such a positive image of the nobility. Optimistically speaking, one could assume that schematically drawn heroic nobleman-citizen, devoted to his country and family is an unchanging model. It is an ideal model based on the images of diary writers, not on the observation of reality and other sources

Jeleńscy, ich archiwum i województwo mińskie – w odpowiedzi na pełną problemów recenzję Moniki Jusupović

Uwagi odnoszące się do recenzji Pani Moniki Jusupowi

Wokół stereotypu magnata czasów stanisławowskich : wizerunek Andrzeja Zamoyskiego (1717-1792) w polskich memuarach

Andrzej Zamoyski was not counted among the circle of the most influential magnates in the Republic of Poland. His figure started to be noticed after 1795, when he was recognized as role model for a good potentate, the opposition to stereotypically negative image of lords that lead the country to collapse. For diary‑writers, Andrzej Zamoyski was an example of magnate full of virtues. In that way he was rendered in memoirs written by persons who were witnesses of losing independence by Poland. Their appraisal shows the figure of magnate that was far away form, dominating in diary accounts, negative stereotype on magnate. Nevertheless, it is worth stressing out that beyond the canon of “evil” magnates enumerated by their name, the condemned potentate was usually anonymous. The diary‑writers also created positive characters of lords that were to have been role models for contemporaries. Those operations were undertaken keeping the future of captivated nation in mind. The next generation of diary‑writers — those remembering Stanislavian Age only vaguely or knowing it vicariously — sustains the tendency to render magnates in above‑mentioned manner. Positive heroes of the end of 18th century are raised in value, but Andrzej Zamoyski appears seldom in this context. His place is taken by others — those who were renown during the Nepoleonic period. Amongst those authors the group of “evil” magnates also undergoes metamorphosis, but the canon of „betraitors” seems more steady. Also conspicuous is the will to present the good magnate, who would prove that coexistence of all social groups is possible. Even though the vanishing of the figure of Andrzej Zamoyski form the memories of descendants is understandable, skipping him in the diaries written before 1795 is surprising, as well as his severe judgment of this figure in written accounts form that time that merely mention him. It can be explained by specificity of those texts. They lack moral teaching and reflect the actions of their authors, presenting unambiguously neither the stereotype of “evil” not good magnate