Józef Andrzej Załuski (12 January 17029 January 1774) was a
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
priest,
Bishop of Kiev, a sponsor of learning and culture, and a renowned
bibliophile
Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. A bibliophile or bookworm is an individual who loves and frequently reads and/or collects books.
Profile
The classic bibliophile is one who loves to read, admire and collect books, often ama ...
. A member of the Polish nobility (''
szlachta
The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...
''), bearing the hereditary
Junosza coat-of-arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its w ...
, he is most famous as co-founder of the
Załuski Library
The Załuski Library ( pl, Biblioteka Załuskich, la, Bibliotheca Zalusciana) established in Warsaw in 1747 by Józef Andrzej Załuski and his brother, Andrzej Stanisław Załuski, both Roman Catholic bishops, was a public library nationalized ...
, one of the largest 18th-century book collections in the world.
Life
Together with his brother
Andrzej Stanisław Załuski he was raised by their uncles (
Andrzej Chryzostom Załuski
Andrzej Załuski Chrysostom (1650 – 12 May 1711) was a seventeenth-century Polish preacher, translator, prolific writer, Chancellor of the Crown and bishop.
Early life
He was born in 1650 in Kiev, into the Junosza noble family, the son of A ...
,
bishop of Warmia
This is a list of Bishops and Prince-Bishops of the Diocese of Warmia ( pl, link=no, Diecezja warmińska, la, link=no, Dioecesis Varmiensis, german: link=no, Bistum Ermland), which was elevated to the Archdiocese of Warmia in 1992.
The Bisho ...
, and
Ludwik Załuski,
bishop of Płock
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
). Józef was educated in the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
(
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
,
Gdańsk
Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
,
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
) as well as abroad (
Sorbonne
Sorbonne may refer to:
* Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities.
*the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970)
*one of its components or linked institution, ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
). He took
Holy Orders in 1727. In his career he was a Great Crown Referendary (''referendarz wielki koronny'') from 1728 and
canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
of Kraków. As a supporter of King
Stanisław Leszczyński
Stanisław I Leszczyński (; lt, Stanislovas Leščinskis; french: Stanislas Leszczynski; 20 October 1677 – 23 February 1766), also Anglicized and Latinized as Stanislaus I, was twice King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and at v ...
he accompanied him to France in the 1730s, where he was a royal
chaplain
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...
in the
royal court
A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...
of Leszczyński's wife, Queen
Katarzyna Opalińska. He controlled some of the Church's property in France; after his return to Poland he became the
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...
of
Wąchock
Wąchock is a town in Starachowice County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland, near Starachowice, within the historical region of Lesser Poland. In 2006, it had 2,777 inhabitants.
History
Wachock received its town charter in 1454, lost it i ...
. In 1759 he became the
bishop of Kiev and in 1762 he led the
synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
of the
diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
.
He was active on the Polish political scene, opposing King
Stanisław August Poniatowski
Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1764 to 1795, and the last monarch ...
,
as well as the interference of the
Russian empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
in Polish domestic matters. For that, in 1767 (at the
Repnin Sejm
The Repnin Sejm ( pl, Sejm Repninowski) was a Sejm (session of the parliament) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1767 and 1768 in Warsaw. This session followed the Sejms of 1764 to 1766, where the newly elected King ...
) he was arrested by Russian ambassador
Nicholas Repnin
Prince Nikolai Vasilyevich Repnin (russian: Никола́й Васи́льевич Репни́н; – ) was an Imperial Russian statesman and general from the Repnin princely family who played a key role in the dissolution of the Polish–Lit ...
, and until 1773 he was imprisoned in
Kaluga
Kaluga ( rus, Калу́га, p=kɐˈɫuɡə), a city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast in Russia, stands on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Population:
Kaluga's most famous resident, the space travel pioneer Konstantin Tsiol ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
.
The greatest passion of Załuski's brothers was
book
A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...
s. Together with his brother
Andrzej Stanisław Załuski (1695–1758,
bishop of Kraków
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
and
crown chancellor) he obtained the collections of such previous Polish bibliophiles as
Jakub Zadzik
Jakub Zadzik (1582 – 17 March 1642) was a Polish Great Crown Secretary from 1613 to 1627, bishop of Chełmno from 1624, Crown Deputy Chancellor from 1627, Great Crown Chancellor from 1628 to 1635, bishop of Kraków from 1635, diplomat, szlach ...
,
Krzysztof Opaliński,
Tomasz Ujejski,
Janusz Wiśniowiecki
Prince Janusz Wiśniowiecki (1598–1636) was Polish nobleman, ''koniuszy wielki koronny'' (i.e. ''High Royal Equerry'') from 1633, starost of Krzemieniec.
In 1631 after the death of Jerzy Zbaraski inherited Puławy.
Marriage and issue
Janusz ...
,
Jerzy Mniszech
Jerzy Mniszech (c. 1548 – 1613) was a Polish nobleman and diplomat in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Member of the House of Mniszech. Krajczy koronny in 1574, castellan of Radom in 1583, voivode of Sandomierz Voivodship in 1590, ...
and
Jan III Sobieski
John III Sobieski ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696.
Born into Polish nobility, Sobie ...
. From the 1730s they planned the creation of a
library
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
and in 1747 the brothers founded the
Załuski's Library (''Biblioteka Załuskich''), considered to be the first Polish
public library and one of the largest libraries in the world at the time.
Located in
Daniłowiczowski Palace in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, it was one of the world's finest libraries, with a collection of about 400,000 printed items and manuscripts.
[ After the death of its founders, the Załuski brothers, the newly formed National Education Commission took charge of the library, renaming it the Załuski Brothers Library of the Republic. Twenty years later in 1794, in the aftermath of the ]second Partition of Poland
The 1793 Second Partition of Poland was the second of three partitions (or partial annexations) that ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition occurred in the aftermath of the Polish–Russian W ...
and Kościuszko Uprising
The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794 and the Second Polish War, was an uprising against the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Pr ...
, Russian troops, on orders from Russian Czarina Catherine II
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...
, plundered the library and took its collection to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, where the Imperial Public Library
The National Library of Russia (NLR, russian: Российская национальная библиотека}), located in Saint Petersburg, is the first, and one of three national public libraries in Russia. The NLR is currently ranked amo ...
was formed a year later.
Załuski was an important member of the Enlightenment in Poland
The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment in Poland were developed later than in Western Europe, as the Polish bourgeoisie was weaker, and szlachta (nobility) culture (Sarmatism) together with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth political system (Gol ...
, one of the founders of the Polish Literary Society (''Towarzystwo Literatów'') in 1765. He convinced Stanisław Konarski
Stanisław Konarski, Sch.P. (actual name: Hieronim Konarski; 30 September 1700 – 3 August 1773) was a Polish pedagogue, educational reformer, political writer, poet, dramatist, Piarist priest and precursor of the Enlightenment in the Polish–Li ...
to start his work on '' Volumina legum'', eight comprehensive volumes of Sejm legislation up to date, continued after his death and reaching eight volumes by 1786. He was co-publisher of Warschauer Bibilothek (1753–1758). He supported the writer Benedykt Chmielowski
Benedykt Joachim Chmielowski (1700–1763) was a Polish priest born presumably in Łuck.
He wrote ''Nowe Ateny,'' the first Polish-language encyclopedia. It was first published in 1745-46; the second edition was supplemented between 1754 and 176 ...
, historian Gottfried Lengnich
Gottfried Lengnich ( pl, Gotfryd Lengnich) (4 December 1689 – 28 April 1774) was an 18th-century historian, lawyer and politician. He became known for writing the 9-volume ''History of Royal Prussia'' and for teaching Stanisław August Poniatow ...
, and sponsored the publication of many foreign books and magazines. He was also a translator himself, translating French drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
s. He was the author of works from the fields of theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
, history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
and library science
Library science (often termed library studies, bibliothecography, and library economy) is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, an ...
(''Bibliotheca poetarum Polonorum'' (1752, 1754), ''Bibliotheca Polona magnauniversalis'' (manuscript destroyed in 1944)).
After his death, the Bishopric
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
of Kiev
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
was taken by Ignacy Franciszek Ossoliński.
References
* Piotr Nitecki, ''Biskupi Kościoła w Polsce w latach 965–1999'' (Church Bishops in Poland from 965–1999), Instytut Wydawniczy Pax, Warszawa 2000
External links
"The Strange Life of One of the Greatest European Libraries of the Eighteenth Century: the Zaluski Collection in Warsaw"
(also available as pdf her
In the House under the Sign of the Kings
More Precious Than Gold: Treasures of the Polish National Library
pdf
Works by Józef Andrzej Załuski
in digital library Polona
Polona is a Polish digital library, which provides digitized books, magazines, graphics, maps, music, fliers and manuscripts from collections of the National Library of Poland and co-operating institutions. It began its operation in 2006.
Colle ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaluski, Jozef Andrzej
Ecclesiastical senators of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
1702 births
1774 deaths
University of Paris alumni
18th-century Polish nobility
18th-century Polish–Lithuanian writers
Polish bibliographers
Polish exiles in the Russian Empire
Honorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences
Canons of Kraków
Abbots of Wąchock
Polish book and manuscript collectors
Bibliophiles
Roman Catholic bishops of Kyiv
Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)
Polish Enlightenment