Alexander Gwagnin’s Works in French Old Prints and Library Collections. A Contribution to the Study of his Reception in France (16th–18th Century)

Abstract

From the election of Henri de Valois in 1573 to the Third Partition in 1795, the Commonwealth of the Two Nations aroused the interest of French writers. They drew their knowledge of the Polish-Lithuanian state, among other things, from chronicles discovered during Polish-French diplomatic rapprochements. The knowledge of Polish-Lithuanian authors in the Kingdom of the Valois and Bourbons can be traced through commentaries and bibliographical placed references in old French prints. Their presentation is the main purpose of this article.

Among the sources cited by French writers, the works of Alexander Gwagnin occupy a significant place. Together with the chronicles of Marcin Kromer, Jan Długosz and Maciej Miechowita, they were regarded as the primary source of knowledge about the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The information provided by Gwagnin could also be incorporated into political and constitutional arguments, as evidenced by a political treaty published in France at the end of the 16^th century.

To this day, the writings of this polonised Italian are preserved in the collections of French libraries, such as the Bibliothèque Nationale, the Bibliothèque Mazarine and the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève.

The presence of references to Gwagnin’s works in old French prints and copies in libraries is a stimulus for further research into the reception of his work in the West.