Vilnius commemorative poetry from the period of Stanisław August Poniatowski. From project of anthology to problems of editing

Abstract

The article presents plans to prepare an anthology of Lithuanian commemorative poetry written during the Reign of Stanisław August Poniatowski. Libraries of Vilnius are in possession of numerous surviving pieces of commemorative poetry from the second half of the 18th century, especially from the years 1762–1794. It is hard to define the number of poems of that kind. Their authors are both students and professors of Vilnius universities, representatives of nobility and the clergy, as well as outstanding poets from that period. The prints serve as evidence of the literary culture of Vilnius, and are a kind of a literary chronicle of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the second half of the 18th century. The reason for their creation were both the major events of that period, such as an inauguration of bishop Ignacy Jakub Massalski (1762), election of Stanisław August (1764), celebrations of anniversaries of the monarch’s election and coronation, his birthdays and name days, the completion of the proceedings of the Main Tribunal of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania – as well as family events and celebrations: baptisms, weddings, name days and funerals of various individuals. There are also compositions devoted to less important events, such as duchess Teofilia Morawska of the Radziwiłłs’ return from a journey to Nieśwież.

                Publishing an anthology of Vilnius commemorative poetry from that period is a chance to create a poetic chronicle of Vilnius and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the second half of the 18^th century. Preparing an anthology requires long preparations of various sort. Some of the poems are stored as separate prints, but in catalogues they appear under different titles, which sometimes have nothing to do with the author of the topic, some of the texts are published jointly with other prints or catalogued as manuscripts. One of the most important tasks is to define the author of all commemorative poems from that period, since they were not signed, but merely supplemented with the place which they came from. Vilnius commemorative poetry from the second half of 18^th century undoubtedly deserves attention. It refers to the major events from political and public life, it is evidence of commitment of those individuals to whom it was addressed, and also constitutes an element of the public life, as the compositions were often presented during various celebrations and referred to the symbols present in the public space.