"Kingdome differing from other in Europe…" Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów w siedemnastowiecznych tekstach anglojęzycznych

Abstract

Kingdome Differing from Other in Europe… Polish‑Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Seventeenth‑Century English Language Publications The article discusses the image of Polish‑Lithuanian Commonwealth in seventeenth‑century English language publications, particularly geographic and historical ones. The author proposes a new evaluation and method of interpreting the existing sources, e.g. diplomatic materials and travel accounts, by taking into account the real readership of these texts depending on their type, specific editions as well as the readers’ market. In case of England and Scotland, sources decidedly indicate that due to their developed forms and large number of publications which included information on the Commonwealth, readers could acquire enough information to form a relatively precise opinion of their own on the Polish‑Lithuanian Commonwealth.