„Gdyby przynajmniej statut wziął do ręki […]”. Prawo szlacheckie w gawędach Władysława Syrokomli

Abstract

The article addresses the legal problems present in the tales by Władysław Syrokomla. In his works, the poet used to include topics inspired by the laws of the Polish gentry binding in the first Polish Commonwealth. What sparked his particular interest were legal relics functioning after the Partitions of Poland. Syrokomla touched upon the issues of civil law, especially those regarding the law of succession (Dyferencja) and the situation of the tenancy class formed by landless nobles (Zaścianek Podkowa). He frequently portrayed and criticized court procedure and the character of a barrator, often represented among the gentry. To show the difficulties faced by petty Lithuanian nobles living under the Russian partition, Syrokomla metaphorically depicted the legimitization of nobility and how this procedure affected the identity of the protagonists. A special place in Syrokomla’s tales was occupied by the Third Statute of Lithuania that symbolized continuity with the tradition of Pre-Partition Commonwealth. Interestingly, legal awareness of the nobles was in Syrokomla’s works interconnected with the marvelousness of Romantic ballads and gothic-inspired aesthetics (e.g. a barrow in Urodzony Jan Dęboróg).