Old Polish Military Education in the Context of Nobility Axiology. Jan Ryś, Żołnierska paideia. Wychowanie i szkolenie wojskowe w Polsce XVI–XVII wieku, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Akademii Ignatianum w Krakowie, Kraków 2019, pp. 752.

Abstract

The monograph by Jan Ryś deserves recognition owing to a number of reasons. It is due to the references to numerous sources, interdisciplinary narration, and therefore, the wide-ranging discourse that includes previous findings, which are complemented by the authorial novum. Thanks to the undertaken measures, the reader is granted a complementary, comprehensive publication, inclusive towards a broad research perspective, at the same time based on a consistent argumentation, which ultimately resulted in a coherent, firmly established in the atmosphere of the epoch, work. Texts of this kind, as opposed to those of a narrow scope of interest, are particularly valuable as they inspire scientific discussions. In the case of Żołnierska paideia one should consider an opinion, popular, though controversial as it is presented in the literature on the subject, that for the benefit of self-interest and opportunism of nobles the soldier’s morale has undergone gradual devaluation. Meanwhile, as it is proven by the sources of the period, the viewpoint does not find its confirmation in the old-Polish standards. Not only in the relatively peaceful 16th century, but also in the scarred by the constant wars 17th century, it is difficult to find even a hint of acknowledgement towards the negligence of the current norms. The deviations did occur in the heat of battle, which caused massive losses and bankruptcies. They did not lead, however, to the depreciation of the then principles, which for a long time have set a course of the noble axiology.