Work on the Historical Atlas of the Sixteenth-Century Poland

Polish Cartographical Review Vol. 50, 2018, no. 4, pp. 223–231 DOI: 10.2478/pcr-2018-0015 Received: 07.01.2019 Accepted: 29.01.2019 HENRYK RUTKOWSKI Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of History Department of Historical Atlas Warsaw, Poland [email protected] Work on the historical atlas of the sixteenth-century Poland Abstract. The author begins with presentation of a programme of creating the detailed cartographic picture of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th century, proposed by Stanisław Smolka from the Jagiellonian University at the first congress of Polish historians in Cracow in 1880. This initiative was partially realised in the atlas of Ruthenian lands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the turn of the 16th and 17th century created by Aleksander Jabłonowski and printed in 1904 in Vienna. When Poland regained its independence, it became possible to organize further works. As their results two maps were designed, prepared and issued in the interwar period: the general map of the sixteenth-century Grand Duchy of Lithuania created by Jan Jakubowski, published in 1927 and 1928, and the map of Cracow Voivodship of the Four-Year Sejm period (1788–1792) elaborated by Karol Buczek with cooperation of several other persons and published in 1930 in Cracow. The main topic of this article is a series of maps with commentaries prepared collectively in the Institute of History of Polish Academy of Sciences, entitled Atlas historyczny Polski. Mapy szczegółowe szesnastego wieku (Historical Atlas of Poland. Detailed maps of the 16th century) which includes Polish lands of the Crown. From the planned eight volumes with maps of individual voivodships or their groups, six were published suc- cessively in the years 1966–2018 and the last two are prepared for publishing in 2020. The author presents subject of the series and particularly contents of the main maps at the scale of 1:250,000. This most detailed geographical and historical analysis of a large part of old Poland depicts the area in the 16th century, but it can also facilitate the process of gaining deeper knowledge about the history of these lands in the earlier and later centuries. Keywords: historical cartography, Historical Atlas of Poland, sixteenth century, detailed maps Historical Atlas of Poland. Detailed maps of political and judicial ones. Taking into consider- the 16th century is an on-going project of the ation the issue of sources and relative stability Institute of History of the Polish Academy of of the former internal boundaries, he suggested Sciences based on the original programme the 16th century should be a suitable period adopted in 1964. This still unfinished work falls for the analysis. He stated that, as far as this within the scope of historical geography, but century was concerned, “the depiction of the the six volumes published in 1966−2018 can territorial organisation [...] for the purposes of be analysed as an example of a historical atlas historical studies of the history of subsequent from the recent past. periods could be here and there corrected, The genesis of this atlas can be traced back and would constitute the necessary starting to 1880 when Stanisław Smolka from the Ja- point for the historical geography of our Middle giellonian University presented his paper titled Ages.” As he referred to the boundaries of voivod- On preparatory works for the historical geography ships, lands and poviats (counties), while at of Poland at the first congress of Polish historians the same time emphasising the importance of in Cracow. According to him, the most urgent the “accurate knowledge of the territorial organ- work was elaboration of a detailed cartographic ization of the land courts,” Smolka may have image of the territorial divisions of the Polish- expected the differences between administra- -Lithuanian Commonwealth – church-based, tive (tax) districts and judicial districts to be 224 Henryk Rutkowski much greater than they turned out to be. His On the other hand, the cartographic work of next postulate was to create a detailed carto- Jabłonowski reached its successful conclusion. graphic presentation of royal and church estates At the 1900 congress of historians, he presented in the 16th century, which would also contribute a finished work, which was printed in Vienna in to the research concerning the subsequent two 1904: Historical atlas of the Polish-Lithuanian centuries and the Middle Ages in general. Commonwealth issued with the support of the Additionally, he noted that it would be desirable Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences. The turn to mark the estates of the most wealthy families of the 16th and 17th century. Part II: Ruthenian “in various periods” to explain their political im- lands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. portance (S. Smolka 1881). The work consisted of 17 sheets of maps at Stanisław Smolka was inspired by the initia- the scale of 1:300,000. The historical content tive of Adolf Pawiński and Aleksander Jabło- was overprinted on the base map which had nowski, who had decided to publish selected been created in the mid-nineteenth-century land tax registers (“rejestry poborowe”), i.e. reg- Paris by Polish emigrants lead by General Woj- isters of a special land tax (“pobór”) which was ciech Chrzanowski. This choice of base map levied by the Sejm primarily to finance the meant that the atlas did not cover parts of the state’s military activities. They wanted to publish basins of Psel and Vorskla rivers (locations of a series of volumes titled The sixteenth-century Hadiach and Poltava), which were located within Poland in geography and statistics, as part of the borders of the Polish Crown until the mid-17th “Studia Dziejowe” (Historical Sources) series. century. A. Jablonowski marked all the localities They generally chose one land tax register for existing around 1600, as well as the borders of each territory from the years of the reign of individual voivodships, lands and poviats. In King Stefan Batory (1576−1586). In addition, addition, he presented the borders of landed when it was necessary, they used also registers estates, distinguishing between the estates be- from other years, as well as other related sources longing to the king, the Roman Catholic Church, (mainly for the eastern territories which had the Eastern Catholic Church, and individual been incorporated into the Crown of the King- noble families (divided by family names, not in- dom of Poland in 1569). They divided the area dividual owners). In October 1904, the author between each other in accordance with a divi- presented a paper at the Polish Academy of sion into two main ethnic regions of old Poland: Arts and Sciences, which was soon afterwards A. Pawiński was responsible for the “area of the published and functioned as a commentary to native Polish and Piast lands”, and A. Jabło- the atlas (H. Rutkowski 2009). nowski, for the Ruthenian lands of the Polish A. Jabłonowski’s work sparked a discussion 1 Crown . The historians characterised individual on what a historical atlas should be, and when territories in the extensive introductions to in- Poland regained its independence, it became dividual volumes. During their research, they possible to organize further works on a basis made use of maps, marking at least part of the of these new methodological foundations. The settlements, drawing boundaries of admini- most important decisions were made in 1921 at strative units and calculating their individual a Cracow conference organised at the initiative areas. Although they had always planned to of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences publish these maps, Pawiński died a premature which established also the central Commission death in 1896 and his unfinished maps were of Historical Atlas of Poland. At the same time, not published. the Warsaw Scientific Society also set up its own commission. Atlas Historyczny Polski (Hist- 1 Ultimately, 13 volumes of the series titled Polska XVI wieku orical Atlas of Poland − HAP) was designed pod względem geograficzno-statystycznym (The sixteenth- to include two series: A – detailed maps, and -century Poland in geography and statistics) were published B – general maps. The Cracow Commission between 1883 and 1915 (“Źródła Dziejowe” vols. 12–24), and it should be noted that their numbering does not reflect suggested that the work should concentrate the order in which they were published. A. Pawiński was on the second half of the 18th century, i.e. the responsible for volumes 1−5 (Greater Poland, Lesser Poland, period with exceptionally rich collection of Mazovia), and A. Jabłonowski for volumes 6−11 (Podlasie, sources. On the other hand, the Warsaw Com- Red Ruthenia, Volhynia and Podolia, Ukraine). Volume 12 (Royal Prussia) was prepared by I.T. Baranowski, and vol- mission was in favour of focusing on the 16th ume 13 (Livonia) by J. Jakubowski and J. Kordzikowski. century. Jan Jakubowski, one of the members Work on the historical atlas of the sixteenth-century Poland 225 of this commission, created a general map of zovia region, presenting selected towns and the mid-sixteenth-century Grand Duchy of Lith- administrative divisions in the context of ele- uania which was published, together with ex- ments of natural environment. However, a de- planations, in 1927 and 1928. The map at the tailed map of the Płock Voivodship circa 1578 scale of 1:1,600,000 depicted the northern part was to be prepared first. The map was meant of Lithuania, without its southern part, which in to have the scale of 1:200,000 and function as 1569 was incorporated in the Polish Crown an experimental case study. In his text written in and was included in the atlas of A. Jabłonowski. the early 1950s, Stanisław Herbst emphasised The map of the Cracow Voivodship of the that the atlas should be foremost an index of Four-Year Sejm period (1788−1792) was edited cartographic facts derived from source mate- by Władysław Semkowicz and created by Karol rials and should avoid their reproduction and Buczek, with cooperation of several other per- interpretation − these tasks should be left to sons, and got published in 1930 in Cracow.

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