Rafał Jankowski - Diaries of so-called Warsaw Archive of Radziwiłł Family


Significant a part of so-called Warsaw Archive of Radziwiłł Family - formerly part of collection of Nieśwież library and archive of this family - kept at present in The Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw are published materials. They had a unique value in Nieśwież archive, since they were applied as a tool of political activity on a country scale. In Nieśwież archive have retained big amount of materials, which might be called a dossier of old-Polish politician; it made easier to get bearings in the court, provided with model public speeches etc., which consists of correspondent news, written bulletins, so-called "silva rerum" as well a parliament diaries. Therefore collecting of them was purely practical activity, and only with time they became desirable collector's materials. There is also for example, covered with legend, archive of The Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Section 6 of so-called Warsaw Archive of Radziwiłł Family contains parliamentarian and private diaries form years 1613-1770 [1807] and no dated, written mainly in Polish and Latin. In two units found is also French. At present the section contains 40 archival units, mostly tomes of parliamentarian and private diaries, which make up ca. 2 running meter of materials. From possessed information appears lack of parliamentarian diary from 1754, in comparison to the state from interwar period. Analysis of covers, endorsements of diaries, and similar layout of description on backs of books, hint that originally all of them were placed in library of Anna Katarzyna Radziwiłłowa of Sanguszkos in Biała and were sent to the archive and library of Family Radziwiłł in Nieśwież, which was most probably executed by Hieronim Florian Radziwłł (1715-1760), Lithuanian cupbearer in fourties of eighteenth century. As a result of cataloguing works in Archive of Radziwiłł Family, in nineteenth and early twentieth century, into the section includes were private and office diaries of Radziwiłł Family (in the section already had been tome of hearth-tax from 1650 and abiuraty from 1690 of The Grand Duchy of Lithuania, diary of Tarnogród confederation from 1715, and diaries of Kurlandia Committee from 1727), tome of Sigillaty form years 1709-1719 and some other less significant published materials. Ti has to be mentioned here that parliamentarian diaries from the section, as was the common custom, contain also copies of public letters, diplomatic correspondence, and leaflets, etc.

The section contains tomes, except for office diary by Janusz Radziwłł, voivode of Vilnius and hetman of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Autobiography by Bogusław Radziwłł, Lithuanian equerry and general governor of Ducal Prussia and fragments of diaries from seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The entire archival material is retained in good condition, except for few units, which require conservation.