Joachim Lelewel wobec reformacji. Syntezy i podręczniki historii Polski

Abstract

In the article the author presents the views of Joachim Lelewel – one of the greatest Polish historians of the 19th century – on the place and function of the Reformation in Poland. The subject of the analysis were Lelewel’s main synthetic and academic works. Joachim Lelewel as one of the first Polish historians drew attention to the complexity and origins of the Reformation; he also differentiated between the Reformation and the Protestantism. He noticed the influence of the Reformation on the development of Polish culture and emphasized the uniqueness of Polish tolerance against the background of bloody events in Western Europe. He also emphasized that the idea of Reformation was unfamiliar to the Polish people, as opposed to the tolerance, which was a part of our national identity. He saw the origins of intolerance and religious persecutions in the very Reformation itself. Lelewel at the early stage of his studies approached the Reformation in a more enthusiastic manner. In exile he became more sceptical, and in Catholicism he saw the power capable of uniting the nation.