Vision of the Cossacks in Polish and Ukrainian historiographic prose of the Baroque period

Abstract

The article discloses the peculiarities of the Baroque Ukrainian chroniclers’ vision of the Cossacks in response to the negative stereotypes formed by the Polish chroniclers. The authors of historiographic works at the end of the 17th – beginning of the 18th century (Samovydets, Hryhorii Hrabianka, Samiilo Velychko) argue in favor of the Cossacks being a special social and military (chivalrous) unit and interpret the Cossacks’ liberation movement in order to give it a reasonable estimation. Free will, fairness, wisdom, courageousness, spiritual fullness and love for the others are at the core of Samovydets’ conception. Samovydets considers the Cossacks’ reaction to the enslavement in Ukraine as a key factor of their characterization. Relationships in the troops and lawlessness are depicted as negative traits of the Cossacks’ collective image. In Hrabianka’s works, the Cossacks appear to be an effective force distinguished by such features as labour, military bravery, love for the native land, passionarity, defence of rights, endurance and courageousness aimed at achieving the only goal – freedom. The author considers trustfulness and political shortsightedness to be their negative traits, which had led to serious historic failures. Samiilo Velychko represents the Cossacks as a powerful and effective social force characterized by initiative, determination, courageousness, ability to act dynamically and self-awareness as a significant political force capable of making a considerable impact on Ukraine’s future. The attitude to Cossacks in the chronicle becomes of a specific Cossack-centric character.