„Wjeżdża, ale nie szablę niezgody przynosi”. Poseł moskiewski – poemat dyplomatyczny Jana Żabczyca

Abstract

The article is divided into three main parts. First, the author introduces the subject, genre and historical background of the poem. The main content of the poem is a legation from False Dmitry to Cracow sent in order to keep an alliance with the Commonwealth by wedding per procura of Dmitry and Maryna Mniszech. Similar works of literature from the seventeenth century are also presented. The second part focuses on the details of the poem, referred to as a diplomatic poem, in New Diplomatic History’s language, since the subject of diplomacy determines the structure, the nature of the characters and the main purpose of their actions: agreement and settlement, as opposed to victory over the enemy as the subject of heroic poems. The third part provides a detailed analysis of diplomatic ceremonies, gifts, habits and customs, e.g. speeches and table seating during the wedding. It also proposes an interpretation of the tzar and aristocrat’s wedding as an image of the alliance between Russia and the Commonwealth. It is concluded that Poseł moskiewski is a short but important poem in the history of Polish epics. As a representative of diplomatic literature, it is unique among early modern Polish epic poetry.