Wojciech Paszyński


Wojciech Lucjan Paszyński is a Polish historian specializing in the history of science and the history of medicine.

Education

Since November 2015, he is a doctor of humanities in history. He studied at the Jagiellonian University and at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.

Scientific achievements

His academic work focusing on the history of science, history of medicine, historiography and the culture of Polish nobles with a particular emphasis on Sarmatism.
Wojciech Paszyński has investigated the subject of the first Polish encyclopedia called 'Nowe Ateny', written by Benedykt Chmielowski.
PhD thesis of Wojciech Paszyński is: "Sarmaci i uczeni. Spór o pochodzenie Polaków w historiografii doby staropolskiej". Scientific research included last millennium of Polish historiography on the issue of the hypothesis about origin of Poles :
"The analysis of the Polish chronicles of the Old Polish Period leads to the conclusion that Polish scholars, far from being the creators of the theory of Sarmatian ethnogenesis of Poles, used it in a very creative way. Their analysis of ancient sources was very insightful and their contribution to the problem was extremely innovative. Whilst the Sarmatian theory was already known in the Middle Ages West it was spread first time broadly, throughout whole Europe, by works of Polish scholars. Familiarizing well with the legacy of Greek and Latin authors who described the future Polish lands, and comparing it with the achievements of the Old Polish Period historiography, we will see how it was thoroughly known to Polish scholars. As for the pre-Darwinian, pre-archaeological knowledge, their erudition and research methodology is really impressive. Unfortunately, in further, turbulent centuries Polish science just wandered off from their earlier standard, which was truly at the global level.
Searching for the roots of the Sarmatian theory, we should look back in the late Middle Ages. Even in the Renaissance it was still functioning along with the older theory of Germanic origin of Poles. Therefore, it is wrongly attributed to the 16th-century scholar, Miechowita. He was also of plebeian origin and is thought to have developed an ideology supporting the privileged layer of the Polish gentry, which was not in his interest, as he was not one of them. Apart from geographical references to the great ancient geographer Claudius Ptolemy, there is no allusion or even hint about Sarmatian provenance of gentry or Poles/Slavs in his tractate.
The dispute over the Sarmatian and Vandalian concept lasted for most of the sixteenth century, and the final result was not so obvious until the end of the Renaissance period. Scientists who created the Sarmatian theory, originated mostly from the outside of the circles of nobility, and the only Blue Bloods – Bielski and his son, were particularly skeptical of the orthodox version of the new theory. Supporting a moderate version, which combines the old and new concepts in a very careful way, they gave a great testimony of erudition and proficiency of their scientific methods. Marcin and Joachim Bielski argued with Kromer – the main supporter of the new theory. In the heat of this dispute developed a new version of it, which in the future would evolve into a highly original cultural formation, known as Sarmatism, combining elements of the East and West.
The genesis of the victory of the Sarmatian theory is complex and goes far beyond the framework of contemporary science, touching on geopolitics, socio-economic factors and the culture in a broad sense. Contrary to the common beliefs, continuations in the late Renaissance and Baroque periods were not always so uncritical. However, providing research was not much essential in developing the thesis of the oldest Sarmatian theory, and authors were not able to create and try to prove other alternative versions of it. This gullibility therefore, refers to the continuous of the former theory, except a few, maybe more creative examples.
It is impossible to estimate the invaluable contribution of the Sarmatian theory to the formation of the Polish national culture. Its genesis lies, paradoxically, in the completely innocent pursuits of the sixteenth-century scholars, which – contrary to their intentions – were used in the next century by the growing in strength nobility. At the same time it should be considered that, contrary to former beliefs, this theory was not in the Renaissance something entirely new, and one can even talk about uninterrupted continuation since the ancient times. It is also amazing that today, in the light of the multitudinous, often completely contradictory, theories about the ethnogenesis of the Slavs, one cannot completely reject the ancient Sarmatian claims, which are even partially confirmed in heraldry, linguistics and even... genetics!"

Publications

Lecture: „Edeljude”. Cudowne ocalenie lekarza Eduarda Blocha .
Lecture: „Egipcjanin Sinuhe” – starożytny lekarz dworski w powieści Miki Waltariego .
Lecture: Smoliste panaceum. Dziegieć drzewny w XIX-wiecznych przekazach źródłowych .
Lecture: Slavia-Sarmatia. Praojczyzna Słowian w świetle wiedzy staropolskiej .
Lecture: Etos wymarły czy wiecznie żywy? Szlachetność i rycerskość a kultura masowa .
Lecture: Obcy oczami "eremity lasów firlejowskich". Świat i jego mieszkańcy na kartach "Nowych Aten" Benedykta Chmielowskiego .
Lecture: Gdy Polaków-Sarmatów Wandalami zwano. Koncepcja wandalska a średniowieczne losy pojęcia Sarmacji .
Lecture: Polska jako "Antemurale" i "ojczyzna świętych". Motyw przedmurza w "Nowych Atenach" księdza Chmielowskiego .