Czy chłopi zostali skolonizowani przez Sarmatów? O genezie i uporczywym trwaniu pewnego mitu historiograficznego

The article is dedicated to the so-called “theory of conquest.” In the context of Old Polish literature (texts in Polish and Latin from the 16th and 17th centuries), this broad term refers to the belief that at the dawn of the nation’s history, the Sarmatian nobility invaded and subjugated the indigenous people, thus turning them into slaves (peasants). Such an alleged mythical narrative is sometimes equated with Sarmatism. The “theory of conquest” – in the eyes of many contemporary researchers and journalists – was to become the key exclusive myth of the civil elite, used by the nobility to justify its privileged position in the state. The author of the article argues that the claims of the popularity and even of the very existence of “conquest theory” in the indicated historical period are not supported by sufficient source evidence. Therefore, it should be considered rather as a problematic 20th-century interpretative framework or even a modern historiographic myth. Citing quotes from modern scientific literature, journalism, and popularizing texts, the author discusses the broad diffusion of the 20th-century “theory about the existence of theory.” By confronting the latter with source texts, she tries to prove its incompatibility with early modern discursive practices which were constructed to justify the erstwhile hierarchical social order. The article also tries to explain the origins and reasons for the popularity of the “theory of conquest” as an interpretative framework.