Klaipėdos universitetas

This article analyses how the literary legend “The Queen of the Baltic Sea”, authored by Ludwik Adam Jucevičius, spread in Lithuania and Poland in the 19th and 21st centuries. The literary legend was first published in 1839 in Polish with a Lithuanian text of the sea goddess song. In this article, we focus on the spread of this work in non-academic Polish folklore collections. The research reveals how the text of the legend changed in the collections of legends, tales and fairy tales, how lituanistic details were preserved or lost, and who was referred to as the author of the work. The work shows the significance and problematics of folklore sources and their relationship with children’s literature.

Many changes took place in the upper echelons of Lithuanian society at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries: a divide began to emerge between the conservative aristocracy and the supporters of Enlightenment ideas. The latter sought reforms, the independence of the state and progress in society. The former did not support the changes, and sought to preserve the former structure of society, often seeking the support of politicians in the Russian Empire. It is important to study not only the actions of the elite of that period in the field of politics, but also their households and lifestyles. The paper explains what can be learnt about factors that may have influenced the health of Ludwik Skumin Tyszkiewicz (1751–1808), one of the most prominent Lithuanian political figures at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. The main character in the article is regarded in historiography as a noble with conservative views, who focused on the accumulation of material goods. The paper investigates what is known about the health problems of the count. It also explains what products were used in his kitchen, and what the stresses were in his life that could have affected his health. The circumstances of his death and funeral are also mentioned.

В статье исследуется жизненный путь одного из аристократов Великого Княжества Литовского позднее ставшего подданным Российской империи Людвика Скумин-Тышкевича (1748–1808). Это был человек, которому повезло не только избежать репрессий или лишений во времена суровых перемен, но и войти в элиту тогдашнего общества, получить доверие новой власти. В исследовании анализируется карьерные траектории аристократа и изучается причины, благодаря которым представитель не самого могущественного рода Литвы сумел попасть в элиту тогдашнего общества.