Stanisław Grodziski

The article is based on the source that has hitherto not been exploited. The source which is a fragment of the diary that was taken down by professor Stanisław Tarnowski. The fragment covers the years 1846–1873 and makes up so called Dzików Chronicle that had survived the fi re that broke out in Dzików in 1927. It functions as a supplement to the biography of this eminent scholar whose research was focused on the history of Polish literature.
The described developments as seen by the representative of big landowners, were juxtaposed with another known diary, that written by Jan Słomka, a peasant who was the inhabitant of the aforementioned Dzików. What is interesting is the comparison on opinions of two individuals: the one who was the inhabitant of the Palace and the other who was his subject and who lived in the village that belonged to the Palace. The comparison in question referred to the developments of 1846, 1848 and 1863. In a lot of details the opinion uttered by the two coincided. The present contribution is therefore a slight supplement to the history of conservatism in Galicia.

Professor Dr. Michał Patkaniowski (1907–1972), a distinguished professor at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the Jagiellonian University, had deserved his right to fame as an outstanding scholar and efficient organizer of academic life. His silhouette has been presented in numerous biographical notes, including the Polish Biographical Dictionary. Yet what seems particularly worthy of recalling here are his efforts to expand the library collection of the historical and legal chairs. Thanks to his efforts, the collection became enlarged by over 3000 books which had been withdrawn from the libraries of Krakow courts as well as from the libraries of other courts in Krakow’s surroundings.

Revolutionary atmosphere of the Revolutions of 1848 reached Galicia directly after the bloody events of 1846, thus it was considerably less intense. It was due to the uncertainty about how would peasants react to that revolutionary wave and the fact that numerous local activists either died or dispersed. Despite that, political animation, apart from Cracow and Lviv, reached the Sącz region as well. The present article discusses revolutionary activity on the basis of local source materials preserved in private collections of landowners and representatives of intelligentsia. Those activists (their interesting letters and manuscripts have been preserved) did not aim at armed combat, instead they demanded the abolishment of the privileges of the nobility and serfdom of the peasants and postulated agrarian reform. “National Council of the Sącz District” developed its activity, which later had a big influence on the development of Galicia’s independence.

It was in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy that, on the basis of the ordinance of 1888 those young individuals who completed their education at the high school or university levels with top distinction, could apply for the diploma sub auspiciis imperatoris.

The motion for such a diploma was drawn up by the Academic Senate while the decision was taken by the Ministerium für Cultur und Unterricht, the diploma being signed by the emperor himself. The laureate received therefore the diploma that was solemn in its form. Likewise, he received, from the emperor, the ring with the imperial coat of arms and monogram.

This distraction, stimulative of the ambitions of young people, was of considerable significance in the further career of the laureates. This distinction was introduced at the time when the old class structure of the Habsburg Monarchy was already being deprived of its legal foundation. As a result, the armorial signet rings in informative of the nobiliary affiliation could, in the course of time, be replaced by those obtained with one’s own knowledge and value. This, in its turn, would lead to the forming of the elite whose origin would not rely on birth but on merits.