Sponsorowana pochwała. Funeralia Radziwiłłowskie z XVII wieku napisane na zamówienie

Abstract

The aim of the article is to depict the material and creative background of funerary art in the Baroque era. It presents the circumstances of the origins of some of the works written after the death of Krzysztof Radziwiłł Piorun and his son, Janusz, which were commissioned by the family of the deceased. The memory of the Voivode of Vilnius Voivodeship was honoured in 1604 by lecturers from Leipzig and Basel, including, among others, the author of the funeral speech, Mateusz Dresserus. From the correspondence, it emerges that he was provided with the materials necessary to draw it up by the Radziwiłłs’ servant, Salomon Rysiński. It was also Rysiński who was asked for assistance by Caspar Dornau, an academic from Brzeg, who was listing the information he needed in order to write a funerary panegyric for Janusz Radziwiłł. Rysiński pointed to other potential creators of occasional texts, mainly the clients of the Biržai court. Foreign authors were remunerated for their funerary panegyrics, whereas the court poets could expect a bequest or an annual payment for their service.