Śledzenie Juliana Ursyna Niemcewicza. O historiografii i misji powierzonej autorowi Śpiewów historycznych – próba rewizji

The aim of the study is a re-reading of the contexts of Śpiewy historyczne [Historical Songs], with the assumption that the remarks on the collection made to date seem too often to suppose that it is first and foremost a cycle of patriotic poems for young people. Not arguing with this view (which is true to an extent), the author of the article decides to draw conclusions from the fact that the poet named his lyrics ‘historical’, which, naturally, had to lead to the concept of the collection to be placed within Enlightenment historiography. It is also established that Śpiewy can still be a considerable philological puzzle for the researcher, if one notices the extra-artistic circumstances in which the collection was constructed. To persuade the reader to agree with this outlook, the article presents, in the first instance, the important facts related to the inclusion of Bogurodzica [Mother of God] as an introduction to the text. It then discusses the events that led to this decision. Finally, the article tries to apprehend how the ‘mother of the song’ would be read in the era of Niemcewicz. The conclusions of this part of the article show that some of the opinions repeated in scholarly studies can be replications of a myth, ascribed to his work by Niemcewicz himself. Śpiewy historyczne are, however, worthy of attention, also because of their techniques of constructing a narrative of the past. These include: a tendency to quote respected figures, prevalent throughout the collection, a careful comparative reading of historical sources, and, finally, Niemcewicz’s own idea that the olden days corresponded to Enlightenment principles (as is the case in the song of Piast). The concept of the collection, as shown in the final passages of the article, was gradually evolving. The historiographic and artistic premise of Niemcewicz’s work was also influenced by the politics of the time, as well as by facts previously not connected to Śpiewy, such as the debut of Joachim Lelewel among the scholars associated with the Warsaw Society of Friends of Learning. Historical musings, as well as these contemporary circumstances, seem to have had a significant impact on the final message of Śpiewy historyczne.