Some
information about the Lithuanian Society, founded in Paris in 1831, known as Towarzystwo Litewskie i Ziem Ruskich or Société Lithuanienne et des
Terres Russiennes
This is a page in English of the French blog
Frédéric Chopin Questions historiques et biographiques.
Frédéric Chopin Questions historiques et biographiques.
Introduction
The
Lithuanian Society was founded by César Plater in December 1831 in Paris with
the following names (in Polish and French) Towarzystwo
Litewskie/Société Lithuanienne, but in 1832, the official names became Towarzystwo Litewskie i Ziem Ruskich/Société
Lithuanienne et des Terres Russiennes.
It seems that these latest forms have no
equivalent in the English historiography (they could be translated « Lithuanian
and Ruthenian Society » or « Society of Lithuania and of the Ruthenian Lands »).
There is a problem in English because it is not possible to make a difference
between « Russien » and « Russe » (« Russian ») ;
« Russien » (which is no more in common use in French) must then be translated by « Ruthenian ».
The name of
the Society (Towarzystwo Litewskie i Ziem Ruskich/Société Lithuanienne et
des Terres Russiennes) concerns the territories of former Poland (more
exactly of the « Republic of the Two Nations ») annexed by Russia
after the partitions of 1772, 1793 and 1795, territories which the Poles called
Ziemie Zabrane (« Stolen Lands ») and the Russians Западный
край/Zapadnyj kraj (« Western district »).
Blog links
The
following contents are a simplified translation of the page (in French)
and a
complement to the pages
Contents
1) Main
source : a commemorative book (1832)
2) Second
source : the statutes of the Society (1832)
3) Other information
1) A
commemorative book
Reference
*Les Polonais, les Lithuaniens et les
Russiens célébrant en France les premiers anniversaires de leur révolution
nationale du 29 novembre 1830 et du 25 mars 1831, Paris,
Hector Bossange, 1832.
This book
is a collection of speeches made in Paris on the 29 November 1831 (commemoration of the Polish
Uprising of the 29 November
1830 ) and on the 25
March 1832 (first year of existence of the Lithuanian Society).
Some
historical information can be found in the page 26.
According
to this book, the Lithuanian Society was founded on the 10 December 1831 and its Statutes
(infra) were published on the 10
March 1832 (with the new name).
The Society
had the aim « to collect sources and documents about the revolution of
these provinces, in order to write a complete relation of it ; to make a
historical and statistic description of the country ; and last, to care
for the common nationality of those same regions. » (p. 26).
The
direction was formed by : César Plater (president), Lafayette (honorary
president), Leonard Chodzko (secretary).
Some
important members (who spoke on the 25 March) were : François Szemioth,
Wladislaw Plater, Charles-Edouard Wodzinski, Marc-Antoine Jullien.
Notes
*César Plater (Cezary Augustyn Plater,
1810-1869).
*Lafayette (Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette,
1757-1834), founder and president of the Comité central en faveur des Polonais
(1831)
*Léonard Chodzko (Leonard Chodźko, 1800-1871), member
of the Comité
central en faveur des Polonais
*François Szemioth (Franciszek Szemiot, 1803-1882)
*Wladislaw Plater (Władysław Ewaryst Broel-Plater,
1808-1889), César's brother
*Charles-Edouard Wodzinski (Karol Edward Wodziński,
1807-1837) (not related to the family of Maria Wodzinska)
*Marc-Antoine Jullien alias Jullien de Paris (1775-1848),
member of the Comité
central en faveur des Polonais
The
ceremonies of the 25 March
1832
Quotation
of the same book:
« The
first anniversary of the Lithuanian and Ruthenian revolution was celebrated in Paris on the 25 March 1832 , at the house
n° 18 rue de Rivoli. The hall, with more than 400 people, had been ornated with
French and Polish flags, and also with the two American flags, which had been
destinated to the Polish legions, and had been offered to the Poles on the 29 November 1831 . […] With
the ladies and the many friends of Poland, - French, Germans, Italians,
Spaniards, Portuguese, Irish, English and American -, it was a brilliant assembly.
Mrs. César Plater, Joachim Lelewel, François Szemioth, Wladislas Plater,
Léonard Chodzko, Charles-Edouard Wodzinski and M. A. Jullien de Paris,
pronounced the speeches […] »
Notes
*n° 18 rue
de Rivoli : between the Hôtel-de-Ville of Paris and the place
de la Bastille
*the two
American flags : they had been brought in Europe
by Samuel Gridley Howe in 1831 (see the page The American Polish Committee)
2) The
Statutes of the Society
Reference
*Statuts de la Société Lithuanienne et des
Terres Russiennes, Paris, Pinard, [1832?], 17 p.
After an
introduction in French, the text of the statutes is given both in Polish and in
French.
About the « Terres russiennes »
The front
page gives a quite detailed explanation about the « Terres
russiennes » :
« The inhabitants of Polish
Russias : of White-Russia
(Biała-Ruś), of Black-Russia
(Czarna-Ruś), of Red-Russia (Czerwona-Ruś), of Wolhynia, of Podolia
and of Ukraine ,
are Russiens, or Ruthéniens or Rousniaques,
according to the different authors who have given a name to those peoples.
These Ruthenian provinces must not be identified with the Empire of Russia
itself (Rossya or Rassiéia), formerly named Tzarat
of Moskovia. […]
The
Lithuano-Ruthenian Society includes the Duchy Starostia of Samogitia and the following Palatinates : 1° Wilna, 2° Troki,
3° Mińsk 4° Polock, 5° Livonia, 6° Witebsk, 7° Mścisław,
8° Nowogrodek, 9° Brześć Litewski, 10° Wolhynie, 11° Kiow,
12° Czernichow, 13° Braclaw, 14° Podolie, 15° Russie
(Halicz), 16° Bels, 17° and the Land of Chelm. »
Prologue
Page
3, line 11 :
« [...] the Lithuanian refugees living in Paris
have established (on a proposition from César Plater), on the 10 December 1831 , a society
which, initially with only ten members, has quickly got rich of a greater number
and is growing every day.
Some
children from the Ruthenian
Lands , Red-Russia, Wolhynia,
Podolia, and Ukraine ,
being in the same position as their Lithuanian brothers, […] have believed they
were welcome to take part to the activities of the Society. […]
The Society
took the name of Society of Lithuania and of the Ruthenian Lands ; its
objectives and statutes have been approved on the 10 March 1832 […] ».
Introduction
Page 4
« The objective
of the Society of Lithuania and of the Ruthenian Lands is : 1° the
collection of sources and documents about the revolution of Lithuania and
of the Ruthenian Lands, in order to write a complete relation of it ; 2°
the historical and statistic description of the country ; 3° the common
nationality of those same regions. »
Articles
There
are 31 articles concerning :
a) the
organisation of the Society (I to XII),
b) the
conditions of adhesion (XIII à XVIII),
c) the
conditions of publication by members of works related with the objectives of
the Society (XIX à XXIII)
d) some
issues of internal proceeding (XXIV à XXVIII)
e) the
feast of the Society (25 March) (XXIX)
f) the
extraordinary sessions (XXX et XXXI).
The signatories
After that, there is the list of the people who signed the statutes (page 9) :
César
Plater, Wladislas Plater, Antoine Przeciszewski, Adam Kolysko, Joseph
Zienkowicz, Louis Zambrzycki, Valérien Pietkiewicz, Jean Grotkowski, Antoine
Hluszniewicz, Charles-Edouard Wodzinski, Joachim Lelewel, Alexandre
Wolodkowicz, Joseph Straszewicz, Jules Slowacki, Eustache Januszkiewicz,
Cajétan Leszczynski, Michel Skibicki, Ignace Chodkiewicz, Boleslas Dobrowolski,
Pierre Kopczynski, Joseph Mikulski, Xavier Oranski, Erasme Rykaczewski, Michel
Wollowicz, Lucien Kollupaylo, Michel Lisiecki, Albert Sowinski, Jean Népomucène
Uminski, Henri Dmochowski, Edouard Mokrzecki, Constant Zaleski.
Elementary
biographical datas (alphabetical order)
*Ignace
Chodkiewicz (Ignacy Chodkiewicz, ??)
*Henri
Dmochowski (Henryk
Dmochowski, 1810-1863)
*Boleslas
Dobrowolski (Bolesław
Kazimierz Dobrowolski, ??)
*Jean
Grotkowski (Jan or Jan
Wojciech Grotkowski, ??)
*Jules
Gruzewski (Juliusz Grużewski, 1808-1865)
*Antoine
Hluszniewicz (Antoni
Hluszniewicz, 1793-1861)
*Eustache
Januszkiewicz (Eustachy
Januszkiewicz, 1805-1874)
*Lucien
Kollupaylo (Lucjan
Kołłupayło, 1808-1872)
*Adam Kolysko (Adam
Kołyszko, 1796-1870)
*Pierre
Kopczynski (Piotr Kopczyński, ca 1793-ca 1859>)
*Joachim
Lelewel (1786-1861)
*Gaëtan
Leszczynski (Kajetan
Leszczyński, ??)
*Michel
Lisiecki (Michał
Lisiecki, 1803-1882)
*Joseph
Mikulski (Józef
Mikulski, 1800-1856)
*Edouard
Mokrzecki (Edward Mokrzecki, ??)
*Xavier
Oranski (Ksawery
Orański, 1811?-??)
*Valérien
Pietkiewicz (Walerian
Pietkiewicz, 1805-1843)
*Antoine
Przeciszewski (Antoni
Przeciszewski, 1797-1856)
*Erasme
Rykaczewski (Erazm Rykaczewski, 1803-1873)
*Michel
Skibicki (Michał Skibicki, ??)
*Albert Sowinski (Wojciech
Sowiński, 1805-1880)
*Joseph Straszewicz (Józef Straszewicz, 1801-1838)
*Jean
Népomucène Uminski (Jan Nepomucen Umiński, 1778-1851)
*Michel
Wollowicz (Michał Wołłowicz, 1806-1833)
*Alexandre
Wolodkowicz : either Alexander Wołodkowicz (1806-1861), or Alexandre
(Vitold Henri) Wolodkowicz (1805-1875)
*Constant
Zaleski (Konstanty Zaleski, ??)
*Louis
Zambrzycki (Ludwik
Tadeusz Zambrzycki, 1803-1834)
*Joseph
Zienkowicz (Józef
Zienkowicz, 1807-1833)
3) Other
information
The Polish Wikipedia page
In the
Polish Wikipedia, there is one page concerning the Society ; for the most part it
is a quotation from Lubomir Gadon’s book, Emigracya polska (1901-1902).
Introduction
« The
Lithuanian and Ruthenian Society is a Polish organisation of the Emigration,
formed of citizens of the stolen country*, who, when the November insurrection
had been defeated, were in a situation of exile. »
Note
*stolen country :
kraj zabrany (cf. supra Ziemie Zabrane).
Lubomir Gadon’s
text :
« The
Lithuanian Society was founded in Paris, as soon as the 10 December 1831, on
the initiative of César Plater and of some Lithuanians who had joined him. The
reason for that was that the Lithuanian had the desire to inform – considering
the gaps and the errors in the way Europe thought of their
country since its separation from Poland – that they were and could not cease
to be a European people, which had formerly constituted the half of the Polish
Republic. The ends of the Society, defined by its Statute, were : the
reunion of material and of documents in relation with the Revolution of
Lithuania and of the Ruthenian Lands, in order to write a complete report of
it ; the historical and statistical description of these countries ;
the preservation of their common nationality ; besides, there was the idea
that the texts written about these themes should not create a risk of
persecution by the Russian government for the brothers who had remained in the
country.
The
president of the Society was César Plater ; in a first period, Léonard
Chodzko was secretary, before he was replaced by Félix Wrotnowski*.
From the 4
March 1832, compatriots from Volhynia, Podolia and Ukraine joined the
Association, and that’s why it took the name of Society of Lithuania and of the
Ruthenian Lands.
A notable
thing is that at the beginning of the Emigration, the people from the Kingdom of Poland* did
not show much brotherhood towards the Lithuanians, as they considered
themselves as a higher sort of Poles and felt some contempt towards their
compatriots from beyond the rivers Niemen and Bug. Probably this
attitude of the people from the Kingdom of Poland was one of the reasons which made the Lithuanians
think of uniting each other in an association.
[…]
It must be
said that the Society did not attract only Lithuanians, Volhynians and
Podolians ; some members came from other parts of Poland : for
instance Lelewel, general Uminski, colonel Potulicki, Aloysius Biernacki, André
Plichta, Stephan Kozmian and others. Two of our great poets joined it :
Julius Slowacki on the 8 January 1832 and Mickiewicz, introduced as an active
member by Januszkiewicz, attended for the first time on the 13 August ; in November of the
same year, he made a lecture about : « Where and how is it convenient
to look for national spirit ? », and on the 10 December, he was
chosen as the vice-president of the Society. […] »
Notes
*Lubomir Gadon (1831-1908), a jurist
from Lithuania ; a protagonist of the 1863 insurrection ; exiled in
Paris ; director of the Polish Library ; from 1894 in Cracow (then under Austrian domination)
*Félix Wrotnowski (Feliks Wrotnowski, 1803-1871)
*people from the Kingdom of Poland : the original word is Koronarze (the people of the Crown)
*Félix Wrotnowski (Feliks Wrotnowski, 1803-1871)
*people from the Kingdom of Poland : the original word is Koronarze (the people of the Crown)
Biographical precisions
*général Umiński :
supra
*colonel
Potulicki : not found
*Aloïs
Biernacki (Alojzy Prosper
Biernacki, 1778-1854)
*André Plichta (Andrzej Antoni Plichta, 1797-1866),
*Stanislas Kozmian (Stanisław Egbert Koźmian,
1811-1885),
*Jules
Slowacki : supra
*Mickiewicz :
Adam Mickiewicz (1799-1855)
Creation : 6 August 2016
Update :
Corrections : 3 July 2017
Author : Jacques Richard
Corrections : 3 July 2017
Author : Jacques Richard
Blog :
Sur Frédéric Chopin Questions historiques et biographiques
Page : 279 The Lithuanian Society (1831)
Link: http://surfredericchopin.blogspot.fr/2016/08/the-lithuanian-society-1831.html
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