Michał Czerenkiewicz

Relationships between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Netherlands have absorbed Polish researchers for almost a century (Kot 1926) both in terms of politics (Czapliński 1952, 1966), economy (Mączak 1972), and art (Ojrzyński 1978; Hrankowska 1995). 1 In the last few decades a literary movement dominated by Andrzej Borowski – a real Spiritus Litterarum Neerlandicorum Polonorum (Kiedroń 2015: 9-23) – and his followers, has come to the forefront. In his book Iter Polono-Belgo-Ollandicum published in 2008 Borowski presents cultural relations between humanists and writers from Poland and Seventeen Provinces, with distinction between the Southern Netherlands and the Northern Netherlands. It is a comprehensive work based on a long-term research that extends beyond one discipline. Thus, it might seem that every consecutive attempt to face the issues discussed in Iter Polono-Belgo-Ollandicum will turn out to be secondary. Michał Czerenkiewicz’s Belgijska Sarmacja, staropolska Belgia takes up this challenge. While Andrzej Borowski included in his work the broadest possible range of relationships between Poland and the Netherlands, Michał Czerenkiewicz focused his attention on literary relations between Poland and the territories which were under Habsburg rule after 1585, namely today’s Belgium. The Author narrowed down the chronological frame of his research to the years 1609-1649, which are determined by death dates of Justus Lipsius and Nicolaus de Vernulz, while making remarks about earlier and later periods. The decision, by all means, seems to be well-aimed. It was a time when the division into Catholic South and independent, protestant North, in which opposing cultural models were developing, became established. The book published by the Wilanów Palace Museum is comprised of three independent, essayistic chapters, which in a certain part constitute the development of texts