The aim of this article is to examine the circumstances of Hadrian’s assumption of power after the death of Trajan. Wojciech Wierzbicki has analysed the numismatic material of the emperor Hadrian dating mainly from the first years of his reign. These contents, the issue of the imperial mint, clearly indicate the desire and need to legitimate the power of the new princeps. Wierzbicki also presents the background to the political events of the period as well as the most important figures involved in sharing power, both supporters and opponents of the emperor.

In his article, Maciej Woźny presents an unknown document, a diploma, issued by the Duke of Opole, Jan II, concerning the sale of the Pawonków settlement. The diploma, which was kept at least until 1955 in the archives of the parish of St. Nicholas in Lubliniec, is now lost. This is not the only document that once belonged to the collections of the Lubliniec parish. In 1950, there were four medieval diplomas; at the beginning of the twenty-first century, only one remained, and now there is none. The article contains an edition of the title source based on a copy from the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, supplemented in 1955. The copy which was kept in the archives of the Lubliniec parish until 2010 is now also lost.

The image childhood of royal children is a necessary addition to that of childhood in medieval and modern Poland. It should be noted that the expectation of a royal child had two dimensions, a readily apparent public one and a difficult-to-trace private one. A queen’s destiny for motherhood was emphasised in the process of her becoming the queen, which was divided into stages. In the history the Jagiellonian wives as mothers — six out of eleven wives were also mothers — there were numerous successful deliveries but there were also some miscarriages. The important issues in the research on this period include the queens’ behaviour during their pregnancies, their relationships with the husbands, their following of medical, healthcare, and midwife recommendations, their undertaking of various activities, the securing of the needs of the expected child, and, finally, the way they used this time to build their position and the image of queenship.

The aim of the article is to present the process of educating the future ruler shown in two humanistc pedagogical treatises. The first of them, De institutione regii pueri (1502/1503), was probably inspired by Elżbieta Rakuszanka, who was awaiting the birth of the firstborn child of her son Władysław Jagiellończyk. The treaty is a practical approach to educating the future ruler in terms of expected values, attitudes and behavior. In contrast, Institutio principis christiani (1516), by Erasmus of Rotterdam, was written for Prince Charles Habsburg, the future spanish king and emperor. His work shows the vision of an ideal christian ruler, difficult to achieve in reality.

The article explores the issue of participation of juvenile representatives of the nobility in conflicts conducted in the 16th century. It reflects on the training of youth in the craft of war at the courts, the first military experiences and practical learning of the art of war implemented through participation in war campaigns and familiarization with the realities of camp life and the hardships of marches. The publication is a summary of analyses of the presence of underlings in popular defense forces and an overview of military normative documents discussing the rules of their presence in a military unit, the tasks assigned to them and regulating responsibility for their safety and training. An important element is also the identification of age as a reason for the exemption from the obligation to participate in military expeditions used by the nobility throughout the 16th century.

In her article, Aleksandra Barwicka-Makula discusses King Sigismund III in the role of a father. She analyses this monarch’s attitude to the offspring born from his marriage to Anna Habsburg and focuses on the period after the death of his first wife, which provides an opportunity to present how the king fulfilled the task of a single father and what emotions accompanied his fulfilment of this task. A characteristic feature of Sigismund III’s upbringing style is that it was based on Habsburg models, developed at the Graz court by Archduchess Maria of Bavaria. The monarch consciously sought to strengthen family ties with the Styrian Habsburgs. In his will of May 19th, 1598, he appointed his mother-in-law and his brother-in-law, Archduke Ferdinand, later to become the emperor, as legal guardians of his offspring in the event of his own death. He hoped that his active contacts with the court in Graz, and through it with other European courts, would in future provide his children with appropriate connections to enable them to reach high dignities and honors.

April 1st, 1594, saw the birth of Tomasz Zamoyski, the long-awaited heir to the name and fortune of the chancellor and Grand Hetman of the Crown Jan Zamoyski, born of his fourth wife, Barbara née Tarnowska. In view of the fact that Jan Zamoyski’s numerous offspring born from previous marriages died early in his life, he had undoubtedly lost faith in ever being able to sire a healthy male child. The birth of Tomasz undoubtedly filled the chancellor with joy and hope, but fatherhood itself, especially at such a late age (he was 52 when Tomasz was born), was probably not something he intended to devote himself unreservedly, especially since at that time he was actively involved in the political life of the country. These circumstances were not conducive to building a close relationship between father and son. Jan Zamoyski took care of the proper education of Tomasz, provided him with connections at the royal court, and finally left him a huge fortune. Yet in all these actions it is difficult to detect feelings that should unite parent and child. Zamoyski’s relationship with his son resembled that of a demanding preceptor with a diligent student, the latter throughout his life trying to live up to an unattainable model.

Jean Héroard was appointed physician to Louis XIII before that latter was born, a position he held until his death in 1628. Taking up his duties at the side of the heir to the throne, Héroard began to write a diary, which he kept for the rest of his life. Detailed notes on the everyday life of the ward, then a young man and a mature man have given researchers unique insights into the world of the court and the surroundings of the heir. Héroard’s observations create astonishing images of the prince’s everyday life, his illnesses, diet, clothes, toys and games, education, interests and passions, reactions to people and animals, troubling emotions, and even attempts to manipulate the people he encountered. They also describe the undertaking of social roles by the heir and subsequent ruler. Aleksandta Skrzypietz’s article is limited to the years 1601—1609, the period spent by the Dauphin in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, before he moving to Paris, where his guardianship was taken over by men. Héroard’s diary is rich in varied content, which does not mean that it is devoid of shortcomings. In fact, its concern with details raises the objection of the so-called trap of everyday life. Reading the diary has led researchers to very different, often contradictory conclusions, which is worth emphasizing, because it is precisely this aspect that indicates the multifarious nature as well as the ambiguity of the message contained in the work.

Monika Szamik aim in this article is to analyze childhood from the perspective of the father and his role in the life of children in the modern family. Lack of studies on this subject results, among other reasons, from the fact that relevant narrative sources are mostly produced by women over rather than men. Against this background, the poorly known diary of the Zamość burgher Basil Rudomich (approx. 1620—1672) stands out, containing numerous notes about his participation in the upbringing of children and their everyday life. The analysis undertaken by Szamik sheds new light on the role of the father in the modern family, enabling comparisons of different ways of fulfilling this role.

The article is devoted to the efforts made by Karol Stanislaw Radziwiłł, the Grand Chancellor of Lithuania, and his clients to protect his estates from the Swedish and Polish armies. There is no doubt that Radziwiłł’s transition from the camp of supporters of Augustus II to the pro-Stanislav party in 1706 was due to his desire to prevent his estates from being destroyed by the Swedish army. He sent his residents to the court of the new monarch to represent his interests. Among their tasks was that of the protection of Radziwiłł’s estates from military quartering, contributions and robberies carried out by both the Swedes and Leszczyński’s Polish supporters. The residents’ interventions, however, were unsuccessful. The Swedish commanders treated the exploitation of wealth as a wartime necessity and did not keep their promise to limit contributions and requisitions. Dependent on the Swedish military power, king Stanislaus was helpless in the face of the destruction wrought by the Swedes. The efforts made by the residents were thus little more than demonstrations of the Radziwiłł’s dedication as Leszczyński’s supporter.

In his article, Dawid Madziar describes the organization of cavalry training in the Duchy of Warsaw in the years 1809—1811. It shows how, in the absence of central regulations, regimental commanders coped with the organization of training and drills. The material studied by Madziar consists of the orders issued by the commander of the 9th lancer regiment, Colonel Feliks Przyszychowski. They illustrate the influence of the instructions sent to the detachment by the General Inspector of Riding, General Aleksander Rożniecki. The colonel’s dispatches contain several valuable remarks concerning the organization of the uhlan drill, the applied triangular system, lance exercises, flanking, company and squadron maneuvers, the soldier’s school on foot and on horseback, preparations for the regiment’s vetting by the general riding inspector or advice for officers on how to conduct a “small war”.

Walenty Fojkis (1895—1950) was a leading figure in the interwar movement of veterans of the Silesian Uprisings. In the years 1921—1930 he played an important role in shaping its ideological profile. Fojkis should be credited with maintaining the separation of the Association of Former Insurgents from the legionary movement. After organizational and ideological divisions, he was instrumental in the temporary unification of the movement within the Association of Silesian Insurgents. Faced with another splitting, he initially sided with the supporters of Wojciech Korfanty, but over time he switched to the positions represented by Piłsudski and Sanation, popular among veterans. After 1930, he was a member, and no longer the leader, of numerous organizations operating in the environment of former insurgents (Association of Reservists, Association of Peowiaks, Riflemen’s Association, Polish Union of Defenders of the Fatherland). Although his motivation to act had an obvious ideological motivation, the choices he made were also related to the course of his political career, personal animosities and interests.

The article focuses on covering the functioning of German schools in the interwar Galicia, which developed in less favorable conditions than those in other Polish territories. This was due to the fact that the Polish authorities pursued different national, linguistic, and educational policies towards Germans in various areas inhabited by this minority. As a result, the German population of Galicia underwent assimilation, while German-language schools of the land were partially converted to utraquist schools by the government. Attempting to resist such policy, German public, political, and religious activists focused their activities on the development of private German-language educational establishments of various kinds, having achieved about 60 % of German children in the areas receiving primary education in their native language.

The institution of the Upper Silesian Pantheon was established in Katowice in 2020. Its statutory purpose is to commemorate, preserve and disseminate cultural heritage by commemorating personages who have left their mark on the Polish identity of the Upper Silesia region, with special focus on artists, scientists, politicians, soldiers, and the clergy. In 2022, in fulfilment of its cultural mission, the Pantheon opened a public exhibition in the vaults of the Cathedral of Christ the King in Katowice, “Upper Silesian Pantheon”. Its goal is formative and educational and it exhibits the achievements of prominent 20th-century residents of Upper Silesia. The biographies of these figures are intended to serve as role models, useful to visitors, especially the young, in the process of emulation. Transgression ranks topmost among the features promoted by the exhibition. According to the psychological concept of Józef Kozielecki, transgression consists in overcoming one’s own limitations and going beyond the assigned social role. The authors of the exhibition, referring to the examples of distinguished Upper Silesians, seek to prove that, although difficult, transgression of this type is possible and should challenge every young person to thinking about his or her future.

The review concerns an extensive, collective monograph on the altar of St. Anne from 1519—1524, made by a Bavarian sculptor known as Monogramist IP. The relief was commissioned by the Bohemian lord, Zdenek Lev of Rožmitál, who was a leading figure in the political life of the Crown of the Kingdom of Bohemia in the first thirty years of the 16th century. The review proposed a different motive for commissioning the work. Its content related to family and motherhood suggests that it was created as a gift from a father to his son Adam and his wife, a Silesian noblewoman, Anna Haugwitz of Biskupice, in 1518. The review emphasized the extraordinary values of the publication, both scientific and editorial.