NIEMCEWICZ Julian Ursyn (1758-1841)
HISTORICAL SONGS
with notes by Lelewel
Kraków 1835, Printed and Circulated by Józef Czech, pp. [10], XIII, 485, [1]; format 13x21 cm
A work from the canon of Polish patriotic literature of the 19th century, the collection was first published in 1816. The book had more than a dozen editions in the nineteenth century. Here the edition with Lelewel's notes
A series of historical and patriotic songs by J.U. Niemcewicz first published in 1816, creating an idealized vision of Poland's past.
Niemcewicz wrote his work between 1808 and 1810, commissioned by the Society of Friends of Science, of which he himself became president in 1827.
The work consists of 32 songs dedicated to major historical figures (mainly rulers) and important events in Polish history. The titles of the individual songs (chapters) include Bogurodzica (in the Cracow message, 13 - stanza, inaugurating the cycle), Bolesław Chrobry, Zawisza Czarny, and the Funeral of Prince Józef Poniatowski (the song closing the whole). As can be seen, Niemcewicz composed the work in such a way as to give a synthesizing picture of the history of the "Polanian state."
The songs are written in precise, unambiguous language. They realize the postulate of classic didacticism manifested in the maintenance of national consciousness through the updating of knowledge of Poland's past, while this reminding was based on the formation of a simplified image, so that it fell more easily into memory and its popularization became wider. Therefore, the construction of the songs is uncomplicated (of course, not counting Bogurodzica which is a kind of invocation), one can see the striving for simplicity characteristic of Enlightenment classicism.
HARDCOVER IN PERIOD HALF LEATHER, FLAT SPINE WITH EMBOSSING AND GILDING
Condition DB/ spine after conservation, replaced boards, cover scuffs, small stamps and pencil paraphrase, rust spots (foxing), minor soiling of pages, pencil scribbles on ost.k.
