Centres of Culture, Centres of Diplomacy I, UK, Oxford, 21-22 September 2015: Final reports of papal diplomats as a cultural message – the case of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (original) (raw)

Abstract

In my paper I would like to focus on cultural and political importance of papal nuncios’ final reports (relazioni finali), as one of the basic sources of knowledge about the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in Roman curia. The final report was a document, a summary, stipulated by a diplomat at the end of his mission (or immediately after). During the creation of the permanent nunciature office, the practice of preparing the final report often took place orally. Gradually, it evolved into a written version. Throughout the XVIth century, when knowledge about Poland-Lithuania in Rome was rather poor, the relazioni finali used to consist on colourful descriptions of geography, history, as well as social and political relations of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. During the XVIIth century, this kind of document received more political character. It related directly to activities of the papal diplomats, ceremonials and any particular problems regarding the missions, rather than in curiosities. Especially during the XVIth century, when the papal permanent diplomatic service had just been stabilised in Poland-Lithuania, the final reports were an important contribution to future missions. Newly designated nuncios have willingly used this extremely important piece of information then. The practice of writing relazioni finali made easier for the Holy See to conduct a longer-term diplomacy in the Early Modern Central and Eastern Europe. It also permitted an approach to social and political features of the enormous “noble” republic. Poland-Lithuania was in this epoch a crucial territory to the papacy, because of the plans of the creation of a new catholic league against the Ottoman Empire. Additionally, the final reports were willingly transcribed by members of noble Italian families. The presence of relazioni finali is testified in the archives of Strozzi, Chigi, Borghese, Corsini and Ottoboni. Their diffusion permitted to spread the lore about Poland-Lithuania across Italy and the whole Western Europe. The aim of the paper is in fact to prove social and political importance of relazioni finali as a form of cultural message. I would like to present this typology of document as a rich source of information, a kind of future instruction for the following nuncios and a cultural contribution, created to fulfil the knowledge gap in Roman curia.

Dorota Gregorowicz hasn't uploaded this conference presentation.

Let Dorota know you want this conference presentation to be uploaded.

Ask for this conference presentation to be uploaded.