History of Lithuania in Authors’ Research in “Kwartalnik Historyczny” Lviv Magazine (1887 – 1939)

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to trace the evolution of authors’ research interests in history of Lithuania in the “Kwartalnik Historyczny” magazine during the Lviv period of its activity (1887 – 1939). The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, systematicity, scientificity, verification, authorial objectivity, moderate narrative constructivism, as well as the use of general scientific (analysis, synthesis, generalization), special historical (historical genetic, historical typological, historical systemic) methods. The scientific novelty is that for the first time, on the basis of historiographical sources, the development of Lithuanian studies is traced in the studies of scholars focused on the Polish specialized historical journal “Kwartalnik Historyczny”, which was published in Lviv during the period of 1887 – 1939. The Conclusion. The magazine “Kwartalnik Historyczny” – the printed organ of the Lviv Historical Society was the intellectual centre around which professional researchers of history gathered. The priority areas of interest of the authors of this edition were the past of the Red rus, with the ambitious goal of covering all printed products of the history of Poland. One of the important thematic areas of the magazine was also the history of Lithuania, in particular those issues related to the common Polish-Lithuanian past. Both during the first and second periods of the periodical’s existence, on its pages there were discussed issues of the ancient history of Lithuania, Polish-Lithuanian relations, and socio-economic development of territories. The topics of the Polish-Lithuanian unions as decisive for the history of both states were the most debatable. These studies, written in the spirit of positivism, lacked broad generalizations, demonstrated mastery of source criticism and a certain micrographicism. In the interwar twenty years, with Poland gaining independence, these themes took on a new tone. In particular, the problem of researching the history of the Jagiellonian era, which is relevant for the Polish society, and in it the idea of joint political coexistence of the Poles with the Lithuanians, reached new stages of development.