Jan Stanisław Bystroń’s "Old Easter Traditions"

Abstract

For many years, the view prevailed that Dawne zwyczaje wielkanocne [Old Easter traditions] was the first ethnographic study by Jan Stanisław Bystroń. Published in the journal Wiedza in 1905, it was considered to be the harbinger of a future scientific career of the young schoolboy from Cracow. My central point is that not only has the title of the periodical in which the text appeared been determined incorrectly, but also the authorship has been erroneously attributed to Bystroń. I demonstrate how both of these mistakes came into being, and call attention to two factors which have determined the perpetuation of these false beliefs.

Keywords

• history of Polish ethnography
• Jan Stanisław Bystroń