Misja świętych Cyryla i Metodego w Polsce pierwotnej w świetle badań zwolenników jej istnienia i oddziaływania

Abstract

The paper presents hypotheses put forward by the most famous advocates of the Slavic rite in Poland under the early-Piast Dynasty. Those advocates expressed their views in the passing century in many scientific publications. Maksymilian Gumplowicz opens a series of them, and on the basis of few sources he shows that the Slavic rite was permanently present in our territories. His theses were in many ways repeated and modified by the successive generations of Polish scholars, those who were advocates of the Slavic rite. One should mention here Marian Gumowski who worked in the interwar period, and his arguments are evidenced by archeological discoveries, especially in the range of numismatics. After the Second World War a group of advocates starts with Józef Widajewicz, and then as follows: Rev. Józef Umiński, Henryk Paszkiewicz and Karolina Lanckorońska. H. Paszkiewicz puts forward the most interesting arguments, especially those which deal with an analysis of the term jazyk (language, tongue), which is understood by the author as a “rite” (religious, that is). Suggestive as the theses of the authors in question are, they have one principal drawback, ie. they assume in advance the fact that the Slavic mission in Poland has taken permanent roots. In the light of such an assumption they go on to explain and interpret all the facts on the political and church relations in primary Poland. Consequently, they fail to reflect the actual state of affairs, but rather what the authors wished to be. Such being the case, it diminishes the value of reliability of the theories put forward by the authors.