Anna Markiewicz

Some remarks on the grand tour of the young Tarłos (1663)

In the second half of the 17th century, the educational journey, the grand tour, constituted the last stage of education of the European elites. To travel abroad was also important for young noblemen and aristocrats from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the grand tour became an established part of the educational canon of the period. It was also considered the key to a future career and successful participation in court and public life. Autograph books (alba amicorum) are a valuable source for discovering and reconstructing the course of an educational journey. The rich collection of the British Library in London holds an extremely interesting autograph book of a nobleman, probably of German origin, residing in Florence in the 1660s (Add MS 4976). Among over eighty entries, the album includes 3 names of Polish contributors, namely young Adam, Karol and Aleksander Tarło. The album is a valuable source that provides important details of the journey undertaken by the young Polish noblemen and insights into the contacts and routes of their grand tour.
 

The Educational Journey of Adam Mikołaj Sieniawski to Western Europe (1684–1686)

In the eighties of the 17th century many young noblemen and magnates from the Polish Commonwealth of the Two Nations set out on an educational grand tour of Western Europe. The above tour constituted the last stage in the educational process of the young elites; it was embarked on for the purpose of acquiring experience, getting to know the world and unknown countries, their culture, customs and language. Adam Mikołaj Sieniawski (1666–1726), the subsequent voivode of Bełz, Grand Hetman and Castellan of Krakow also received a similar education. Initially, this son of the Crown Field Hetman Mikołaj Hieronim and Cecylia Maria Radziwiłł attended the schools in Lvov and subsequently, he began his studies at the University of Krakow. In the years 1684–1686, the young subprefect of Lvov set out on a tour of Western Europe; in the autumn of 1684, he travelled from Prague to Paris. During this journey, two governors – Fox and Woynarowski took care of the young Sieniawski. A diary of the journey conducted by two brothers, Aleksander Jan and Jan Stanisław Jabłonowski, who also visited Western Europe at the time, makes it possible to complete the missing details of Sieniawski’s stay in the capital of France. In the diary there are frequent allusions to the meetings with the young Lvov subprefect. While in Paris, Sieniawski did not only concentrate on studying but also spent time on social visits, entertainment and simply sightseeing. Towards the end of April 1685, he went for a trip to England where he participated in the coronation celebrations of James Stuart II. In the autumn of the same year, he also visited the north of France and the Netherlands. Towards the end of 1686, Adam Mikołaj Sieniawski returned to the Polish Commonwealth; one can only assume that on his way back, he also visited Rome and Venice