Teofila Morawska - narodziny legendy o kobiecie rycerzu

Abstract

The autor of the article attemts to answer the questions of the contexts in which the patriotic legend, Mr Lover, portraying Carol Radzi will’s sister, was composed. The story introduced by Ann Mostowska, the princess’s relative, and illustrating the victory of Teofils in the battle of Slonim is confronted with some historical data, with denies the truthfulness of the literary meaning conveyed by the legend. Consequently, this literary message can be regarded as a kind of confabulation, which seems to serve as a way of hiding the disgraceful circumstances of Radziwillówna’s marriage. At the same time, the legend introduced by Mostowska can be recognized as a sign of pre-romantic mythformation apotheosizing the national history.