Manuscript "Happy Belarusian Nobleman" XVII–XVIII Centuries from the Collection of Ivan Franko

Abstract

This article analyzes the memoirs of Toma Konstanty Dusiatsky-Rudomyna – the 17th/18th-century “Happy Belarusian Nobleman” – published by Ivan Franko. This brief manuscript is composed of various short stories, and contains elements of a diary, an autobiography, and a family chronicle. From the point of view of the history of everyday life and mentality, this text constitutes not only an interesting document of general historical significance but, above all, a glimpse into the private life of a Belarusian representative of the Baroque era. The author of the diary attempts to insert his own microhistory in the frame of the turbulent macrohistory of the Polish Commonwealth in the last three decades of the 17th century, as well as the early 18th century. The author projects his own biography onto a broad background of the political conditions of his era; his personal story, however, gets lost among the historical events that he describes. In terms of structure and composition, his biography appears slightly flawed. The memoirs of Dusiatsky-Rudomyna constitute an interesting source of not just historical facts as such, but also of their interpretation within various segments of society. The diary also contains details based on gossip and speculations that grew around famous figures contemporary to its author. The analysis allows for the reconstruction of the reality left unrecorded by official historical sources. The memoiristic sources, based on gossip, rumors and legends, offer a view into the everyday life and the social structures of the 17th–18th century.