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Watching the Virtues
Playbills, Drama and the Teaching of Civic Virtue in the Jesuit Theatre of PolandâLithuania
Series: - Library of the Written Word, Volume: 142
- Library of the Written Word - The Handpress World, Volume: 142
Author:
In Watching the Virtues, Jolanta Rzegocka offers an account of the Jesuit theatre in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth through the playbills, which record an astonishing variety of story designs and tales crafted for the stage. Her study reveals the profound role of Jesuit theatre (1564â1773) in the education of Polish-Lithuanian youth, mostly of Catholic but also of other faiths, aiming to instil virtues within the political and social fabric of the Commonwealth.
Drawing from over 800 playbills, college playbooks, diaries as well as newly uncovered plays, Rzegocka paints a picture of a theatre deeply engaged with contemporary political and moral issues. She demonstrates how Jesuit theatre extended beyond educational institutions, influencing broader political discussions and public life, particularly regarding issues of authority, faith, and ethical behaviour. The study presents as a cultural phenomenon the diffusion through Jesuit theatre of Anglo-Scottish themes and narratives in Poland-Lithuania and discusses a hitherto unknown play about Thomas More (1765).
Drawing from over 800 playbills, college playbooks, diaries as well as newly uncovered plays, Rzegocka paints a picture of a theatre deeply engaged with contemporary political and moral issues. She demonstrates how Jesuit theatre extended beyond educational institutions, influencing broader political discussions and public life, particularly regarding issues of authority, faith, and ethical behaviour. The study presents as a cultural phenomenon the diffusion through Jesuit theatre of Anglo-Scottish themes and narratives in Poland-Lithuania and discusses a hitherto unknown play about Thomas More (1765).
Jolanta Rzegocka, Ph.D. (1975), is an Associate Professor of Anglo-American Literature at Ignatianum Jesuit University in Krakow, Poland. She specialises in early modern drama and Jesuit theatre, examining their roles in teaching public virtues and shaping collective memory. She hosted Res Poloniae, a TVP Kultura interview program exploring Poland's cultural connections with Britain, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Italy and Georgia. As wife of the Polish Ambassador in London and Dublin she helped promote literary and cultural events.
Foreword
Acknowledgements
List of Figures and Maps
Abbreviations
A Note on Usage
Key Dates
Introduction
âJesuit Theatre as a Form of Cultural Mediation
âVirtues in Action
âThe Playbill
âThe Jesuit Art of Condensation
âThe Uses of Rhetoric
âPolish-Lithuanian Jesuits and Their Interest in âImages of Great Menâ
âPrinting the Playbills
âSetting the Standard: the Braniewo Printing House
âJesuit Playbills from Vilnius
âPlaybills: Production, Distribution, Print Run, Costs
1 Enter the King: Monarchs as Role-Models and Bearers of Christian Virtues
â1.1âMedieval Kings in Early Modern Jesuit Drama
â1.2âWomen in Jesuit Drama
â1.3âRoyal and Heroic Names in Jesuit Historiography and Drama
â1.4âMonarchs as Role-Models in Jesuit Drama
â1.5âAncient Rulers as Bearers of Christian Virtues: the Case of Duke Mieszko
â1.6âThe Jagiellonians on the Jesuit Stage
â1.7âJesuit Readings of the Life of Saint Casimir Jagiellon
2 The Public Spirit of Jesuit Theatre: the Sejm, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies on Stage
â2.1âThe Public Spirit of Jesuit Theatre
â2.2âThe Sejm, the Senate, and the Chamber of Deputies
â2.3âThe Senate and the Senators
3 Polish-Lithuanian Noblemen in Jesuit Drama
â3.1âPolitics on Stage
â3.2âEnter the Szlachcic
â3.3âSzlachta Ancestors: Champions of Virtue
4 Books and Prize Giving as a Celebration of Knowledge and Virtue
â4.1âThe Genius of the Noble Family in Jesuit Drama
â4.2âThe Family Coats of Arms on Stage
â4.3âHeraldic Emblems
5 Legality, Law, and the Tribunal on the Jesuit Stage
â5.1âAuthority in Epitome: St. Stanislaus Play, Lublin 1638
â5.2âGrandia monumenta, Lublin 1726
â5.3âConclusion
6 The Earliest Jesuit Theatre in Poland-Lithuania: Themes and Contexts
â6.1âFrom Local to Universal
â6.2âThe Earliest Jesuit Theatre in Poland-Lithuania: Themes and Contexts
â6.3âBraniewo â the Mission in the North
â6.4âSaving the Virtuous: Susanna Play in Braniewo 1569
â6.5âAddressing the Waivering in Faith: the Evangelicus fluctuans Play in Braniewo in 1570
â6.6âChastity as Political Virtue: the Earliest English Link
7 English and Scottish Catholics in Poland-Lithuania: Geography and Stage
â7.1âEnglish and Scottish Catholics in Poland-Lithuania
â7.2âEnglish and Scottish History on Jesuit Stage
â7.3âCampion in Kalisz
â7.4âThe Two Traditions of English Theatre in Poland-Lithuania
â7.5âPoznaÅ: Franciscus Valsingamius 1619
â7.6âEnglish History as Shrovetide Entertainment: the War of the Roses
â7.7âSt Alban Play Vicarius Christi (Warsaw, 1701)
â7.8âJesuit Theatre and the Scottish History
â7.9âKing Coenred of Mercia: Jesuits and the Echoes of Morality Plays
â7.10âEnglish History and the Rewards of Learning on the Jesuit Stage: NieÅwież (1724) and Mohylev (1732)
8 Thomas Pounde and Vandamorillus in the Eighteenth-Century Polish-Lithuanian Jesuit Theatre
â8.1âLusus in seria (Vilnius 1733)
â8.2âJózef Katenbring, PróżnoÅÄ nad próżnoÅciami (Vanitas vanitatum) (NieÅwież, 1755)
â8.3âJan Bielski, Vandamorillus, Kalisz 1747
9 Thomas More Plays from Poland-Lithuania
â9.1âMessis immortalium trophaeorum Thomae Mori (ZamoÅÄ, 1736)
â9.2âMorus Angliae Cancellarius (Lviv, 1765)
Conclusions
Appendix 1: Jesuit Playbills Printed in Vilnius: a Chronology
Appendix 2: Anglo-Scottish Themes, Authors and Sources in the School Theatre of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth [1597â1755]
Glossary
Gazetteer
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgements
List of Figures and Maps
Abbreviations
A Note on Usage
Key Dates
Introduction
âJesuit Theatre as a Form of Cultural Mediation
âVirtues in Action
âThe Playbill
âThe Jesuit Art of Condensation
âThe Uses of Rhetoric
âPolish-Lithuanian Jesuits and Their Interest in âImages of Great Menâ
âPrinting the Playbills
âSetting the Standard: the Braniewo Printing House
âJesuit Playbills from Vilnius
âPlaybills: Production, Distribution, Print Run, Costs
Part 1: Through the Looking Glass: the Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania Viewed through a Jesuit Theatrical Lens
1 Enter the King: Monarchs as Role-Models and Bearers of Christian Virtues
â1.1âMedieval Kings in Early Modern Jesuit Drama
â1.2âWomen in Jesuit Drama
â1.3âRoyal and Heroic Names in Jesuit Historiography and Drama
â1.4âMonarchs as Role-Models in Jesuit Drama
â1.5âAncient Rulers as Bearers of Christian Virtues: the Case of Duke Mieszko
â1.6âThe Jagiellonians on the Jesuit Stage
â1.7âJesuit Readings of the Life of Saint Casimir Jagiellon
2 The Public Spirit of Jesuit Theatre: the Sejm, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies on Stage
â2.1âThe Public Spirit of Jesuit Theatre
â2.2âThe Sejm, the Senate, and the Chamber of Deputies
â2.3âThe Senate and the Senators
3 Polish-Lithuanian Noblemen in Jesuit Drama
â3.1âPolitics on Stage
â3.2âEnter the Szlachcic
â3.3âSzlachta Ancestors: Champions of Virtue
4 Books and Prize Giving as a Celebration of Knowledge and Virtue
â4.1âThe Genius of the Noble Family in Jesuit Drama
â4.2âThe Family Coats of Arms on Stage
â4.3âHeraldic Emblems
5 Legality, Law, and the Tribunal on the Jesuit Stage
â5.1âAuthority in Epitome: St. Stanislaus Play, Lublin 1638
â5.2âGrandia monumenta, Lublin 1726
â5.3âConclusion
Part 2: Fact and Fiction: English and Scottish-Themed Plays in Polish-Lithuanian Jesuit Drama
6 The Earliest Jesuit Theatre in Poland-Lithuania: Themes and Contexts
â6.1âFrom Local to Universal
â6.2âThe Earliest Jesuit Theatre in Poland-Lithuania: Themes and Contexts
â6.3âBraniewo â the Mission in the North
â6.4âSaving the Virtuous: Susanna Play in Braniewo 1569
â6.5âAddressing the Waivering in Faith: the Evangelicus fluctuans Play in Braniewo in 1570
â6.6âChastity as Political Virtue: the Earliest English Link
7 English and Scottish Catholics in Poland-Lithuania: Geography and Stage
â7.1âEnglish and Scottish Catholics in Poland-Lithuania
â7.2âEnglish and Scottish History on Jesuit Stage
â7.3âCampion in Kalisz
â7.4âThe Two Traditions of English Theatre in Poland-Lithuania
â7.5âPoznaÅ: Franciscus Valsingamius 1619
â7.6âEnglish History as Shrovetide Entertainment: the War of the Roses
â7.7âSt Alban Play Vicarius Christi (Warsaw, 1701)
â7.8âJesuit Theatre and the Scottish History
â7.9âKing Coenred of Mercia: Jesuits and the Echoes of Morality Plays
â7.10âEnglish History and the Rewards of Learning on the Jesuit Stage: NieÅwież (1724) and Mohylev (1732)
8 Thomas Pounde and Vandamorillus in the Eighteenth-Century Polish-Lithuanian Jesuit Theatre
â8.1âLusus in seria (Vilnius 1733)
â8.2âJózef Katenbring, PróżnoÅÄ nad próżnoÅciami (Vanitas vanitatum) (NieÅwież, 1755)
â8.3âJan Bielski, Vandamorillus, Kalisz 1747
9 Thomas More Plays from Poland-Lithuania
â9.1âMessis immortalium trophaeorum Thomae Mori (ZamoÅÄ, 1736)
â9.2âMorus Angliae Cancellarius (Lviv, 1765)
Conclusions
Appendix 1: Jesuit Playbills Printed in Vilnius: a Chronology
Appendix 2: Anglo-Scottish Themes, Authors and Sources in the School Theatre of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth [1597â1755]
Glossary
Gazetteer
Bibliography
Index
This study will interest those exploring the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's history and culture, as well as scholars of Anglo-Polish and Scottish-Polish cultural connections and related Jesuit dramas. This book shows that Jesuit drama had interests that went far beyond pedagogy, and were intertwined with public life and political virtue in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Keywords: Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Rzeczpospolita, 1564â1733 AD, Kingdom of Poland, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Sir Thomas More, Edmund Campion, Jesuit education, ÐÑвÑв, Lviv, Lwów, Leopolis, Vilnius, Wilno, Vilna, English Catholics, Scottish Catholics, Dissolution of the Society of Jesus, RadziwiÅÅ, Polonius, coat of arms.