Epistolary heritage of Panteleimon Kulish from collections of Ossolinski National Institute in Wroclaw

Abstract

In the library of the Ossoliński National Institute in Wroclaw, 10 letters of Panteleimon Kulish that have not yet been entered into academic use were discovered. The goal of the research is to determine the circumstances in which these letters were written, analyse their content, and, in some cases, establish the addressee and date of the documents. Methodology. By comparing the facts from the letters with data from other sources, the author of the article found out to whom and when the letter was sent, unless it is indicated in their text. A comprehensive analysis of Panteleimon Kulish's life and work and a comparison of known data with the information from the letters allowed us to expand our understanding of his activities in certain periods of his life, in particular, the contacts he established and the transformation of his views. Academic novelty. As a result of the research, letters of Panteleimon Kulish from the 1860s and 1880s to members of Polish intellectual circles such as Michał Grabowski, Karol Szajnocha, and Ludwik Kubala, with whom the Ukrainian intellectual maintained relations, were introduced into academic usage. Conclusions. In the 1860s, Panteleimon Kulish continued correspondence with Michał Grabowski, discussing his academic findings and plans with him. At that time, Panteleimon Kulish's views on the history of Ukraine transformed, what was reflected in his letters. His interest in historical topics is also reflected in the second letter of this period addressed to the famous Polish historian Karol Szajnocha. Alongside with his administrative work in Warsaw, Panteleimon Kulish found time to collect materials for his research and exchange them with his Polish colleagues. Letters to the historian Ludwik Kubala from the 1880s contain some information about Kulish's further research, literary and translation activities, as well as the problems of Polish-Ukrainian understanding that Kulish tried to initiate, and the issues related to his transition to Austrian citizenship and obtaining concession for a printing house in Lviv. His regular correspondence with Ludwik Kubala shows that they were quite well acquainted and that the Polish scholar was determined to help Panteleimon Kulish in making contacts and solving bureaucratic problems.

Keywords

• panteleimon kulish, correspondence, polish-ukrainian relations, ukrainian culture, ukrainian and polish historiography, 19th century, michał grabowski, karol szajnocha, ludwik kubala.