Dzieje polskich badań nad polonikami ze zbiorów zamku Skokloster

Abstract

During the time of territorial expansion of the Kingdom of Sweden, military commanders appropriated entire book collections, including many precious polonica. General Carl Gustaf Wrangel (1613-1676) placed his literary loot in his family castle Skokloster near Stockholm. These book collections are exceptionally valuable and frequently, they have been the subject of academic study carried out by Polish historians. The scholars were sent to make an inventory of this archival library collection. One of the most fruitful events turned out to be Jan Albertandi’s (1731-1808) participation in a diplomatic mission in 1789 where he performed duties as a military chaplain. He compiled a detailed catalogue of the polonica kept in Sweden, including those from Skokloster. The register of manuscripts from Wrangel’s collection consists of 506 instances. In 1844 the study of the polonica was continued by an archeologist and historian Eustachy Tyszkiewicz (1814-1873) and in 1896 by a historian Alexander Hirschberg. In 1911 the Academy of Skills sent their expedition represented by Eugeniusz Barwiński, Ludwik Birkenmajer and Jan Łoś. They examined the collections in Skokloster with relatively little attention to detail. It has not been until recently that the polonica were thoroughly investigated and analyzed. The academic study of those literary texts was performed by a group of scholars under the supervision of professor Alina Nowicka-Jeżowa, forming a part of a Literary Studies Research Group of the Section of Old Polish Literature and Culture. They have published a catalogue of antique books and a few volumes of inedita (unpublished literary works).