Współczesna legenda Barbary Radziwiłłówny

Abstract

The aim of the dissertation is to verify the extent to which Barbara Radziwiłłówna’sbiography meets the criteria for becoming the subject of legend. Her observation encompassesthe shaping of this cultural category as such, not in literary works but incontemporary academic and popular texts, the latter having the advantage of making284 Dominika Fessera greater impact and being more likely to leave an imprint in the collective consciousness.The criteria included in the analysis are legend‑formativefactors as highlightedby Andrzej Makowiecki (Trzy legendy literackie. Przybyszewski, Witkacy, Gałczyński / ThreeLiterary Legends. Przybyszewski, Witkacy, Gałczyński, 1980) and conditions enabling thecreation of a legend. Confronting Barbara Radziwiłłówna’s biography with the set offactors that allow for the formation of a legend confirm that the life of Zygmunt August’ssecond wife included practically all them. What is more, the authors of the referencedtexts, by accentuating particular moments and aspects of Radziwiłłówna’s life andemploying the expressive repertoire of the belles‑lettres,move beyond the paradigm ofobjectivity – they let their emotions have the lead which, in effect, perpetuates Barbara’sbiographical legend.