J.I. Kraševskis - Lietuvos istorikas

Abstract

J.I.Kraszewski is well known as the most productive nineteenth century historical fiction writer. His historical works concerning Lithuanian history Wilno od poczqtkow Jego do roku 1750, Litwa za Witolda, Litwa and three volumes dealing with the history of partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian state Polska w czasie trzech rozbiorow have been neglected for a long time by historiography critics and researchers. However, these texts had a significant influence on nineteenth-century Lithuanian historiography and on the modem vision of Lithuania's past. Therefore this study focuses on Kraszewski's historical texts as a considerable testimony of Lithuanian culture and tends rather to analyze the epistomological, aesthetic, ethic background of these texts than to criticise them or to consider their proximity to modem historical thinking. Describing the historian's method and his view of historical process, this study shares H. White's opinion, that nineteenth century historiography is determined by the author's ethic or aesthetic choice. The first part The Value of Historical Truth describes Kraszewski's attitude towards the writing of history. According to him, history has sense as far as it can teach something, and it can teach as far as it is true. That is the source of the Romantic historian's concern with historical truth. The second part The Semantics of Historical Fact explains the historian's work with sources as the synthesis of fictional and rational methods. The third part The Syntaxis of Historical Process studies the roles which Kraszewski prescribed to the various components of the historical process: man, nation, people, aristocracy, nature, laws of history. It tries to explain, why certain epochs and facts of Lithuanian history gained certain emotional and moral judgements in Kraszewski's historical works.