‘Echoes of Sobieski’ | Commemorating the Battle of Vienna скачать в хорошем качестве

‘Echoes of Sobieski’ | Commemorating the Battle of Vienna

On this day in 1683, the history-changing Battle of Vienna took place, & today we’ll examine its special significance for generations of Poles during the Partitions. As P Dabrowski writes, ‘References to the valiant king did not cease with the disappearance of the Polish state. Echoes of Sobieski surfaced in various revolutionary periodicals. Before leading his troops to battle in 1794, Tadeusz Kościuszko requested that his sabers be blessed by a clergyman, just as Sobieski had done… In 1830, Poniatowski’s monument to Sobieski served as a meeting place for insurrectrionists… Images of the Relief of Vienna, thus, were superimposed on the struggle for national liberation, & the Poles’ military efforts were redirected from the enemies of Christianity to the enemies of the nation. ‘The commemoration in 1883 shaped perceptions of the Sobieski legend in different ways… The downtrodden Polish nation might take pride in, or consolation from, its recollection of a greater age or – conversely – beat its collective breast in anguish over its decline. The descendants of the besieged Viennese, however, were long since masters of their fate… [and] saw fit to discontinue annual celebration of the city’s liberation after Poland was partitioned. The 1883 celebration, then, illuminated attitudes of 19th century Poles & Austrians. ‘It also had implications that transcended the borders of the Hapsburg Empire. Key to an understanding of Sobieski’s role in 1883 as well as in 1693 was the Poles’ image of themselves as defenders of Christendom… The Relief of Vienna was touted as one of the nation’s greatest international achievements… Intrinsic to the celebration, thus, were notions of the Poles’ relationship to the West… as well as to Catholicism. Poles likewise grappled with their relationship to that past… celebrating the Relief of Vienna was… a way to figure out how to address the future. In the course of redefining what it meant to be Polish in 1883, Poles also grappled with their relationship to the East & to Slavdom. In sum, the Poles’ celebration of the bicentennial of the Relief of Vienna had important repercussions in 3 realms: imperial, national, & international.’