Published : 2025-08-04

The Image of Middle Dutch Literature in Polish Literary-Historical Texts

Abstract

The article focuses on the image of Middle Dutch literature in Polish literary-historical studies in the 20th and 21st centuries. For this purpose, references to Middle Dutch literature in Polish literary histories, literary lexicons and thematic literary-historical works are examined. Polish publications that synthesise European or global literature were selected for the analysis, while studies focusing on Dutch literature (in other words, histories of Dutch literature) were excluded. Based on the selected texts, the canon formation of Middle Dutch literature is examined, with particular attention to the historical changes between 1887 (the oldest text discussed is Dzieje literatury powszechnej z illustracyami, ed. Ignacy Radliński) and 2021 (O literaturze dawnej polskiej i europejskiej opowieść: tradycje – kierunki – style, ed. Andrzej Borowski). To this end, the article examines links with a broader context of the presentation of medieval works or authors, looks at the extent to which intertextuality is noticeable and, finally, examines which primary and secondary sources were used. This analysis clearly shows that a major change is noticeable in the post-war period when the first university studies of Dutch in Poland emerge. At the same time, it clearly shows how short, broad-ranging texts from the language area (see, e.g., Geïllustreerde Nederlandsche letterkunde by Jacob Prinsen) have been of enormous influence for the perception of Middle Dutch (but also more broadly Dutch) literature abroad. The article outlines the indirect reception of Middle Dutch literature and the changing image of Middle Dutch literature in the Polish context.

Keywords:

reception, literary history, lexicon, Middle Dutch literature, historical literature



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Roczniki Humanistyczne · ISSN 0035-7707 | eISSN 2544-5200 | DOI: 10.18290/rh
© The Learned Society of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin & The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Faculty of Humanities

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