EXC 2060 B3-9 - Towards a literary history of Polish tolerance in Early Modern Times (from the advance of the Reformation until the expulsion of the Arians)

Keywords
history of literature; tolerance; polish Early Modern Era; religion; politics
Period
Status
In Process
Funding Source
DFG - Cluster of Excellence
Project Number
EXC 2060/1

  • Description

    In Poland, the Reformation was protected by a „state without burning funeral pyres" - until 1600, when it fell back to cities such as Danzig or Thorn. Politics in the formerly tolerant „Paradise of the Heretics" is subject to Catholic determinated nationalisation: the ban of heterodox schools in 1638 was followed in 1658 by the expulsion of the "Brethren" from Poland. The emigration of the Arians to Amsterdam and their contribution to European early period of the Age of Enlightenment have been well researched. But the research situation is different in relation to the ‚internal emigration' and to the Nicodemism of those who remain in Poland. The project explores these phenomena in close connection with the history of literature - following the desideratum formulated by A. Brückner, that claims that research has to take into account actors and opponents of the Reformation beyond the theological and church-practical teachings and that science has to appreciate them also for their aesthetics, rhetoric and poetry. In addition to (a) the literary examination of Baroque poems, dialogues and sermons, the project will examine (b) the poetry since J. Kochanowski, but especially (c) the media practice and aesthetics of religious dissidents (including S. Przypkowski, Zb. Morsztyn, W. Potocki). Research interests are also focused to the topic how the performing of confessional aesthetic practices and of confessionally influenced aesthetic practices in Poland is shifting from the public and the congregations to the private sphere. After exploring the question of whether the texts show an evolution of purely individual religious practice („inwardness") follows an examination of late Baroque Libertine literature in front of the background of religious dissidence and skepticism.

  • Persons