Dokonania Józefa Andrzeja Gierowskiego w zakresie badań czasów saskich. Perspektywy na przyszłość

Abstract

The main purpose of the article is to present the achievements of J.A. Gierowski in his research into the Saxon times, i.e., the period of the reigns of August II and August III Wettin in the Polish‑Lithuanian Commonwealth (1697‑1763). For a long time, this period was assessed negatively in historiography. There was a widespread view that both for the Polish‑Lithuanian state and for Saxony, those years meant decline and catastrophe. Gierowski, who began his scientific work after World War II, carefully analysing Polish and German archival sources, created his own paradigm of research on Saxon times. After rejecting extreme assessments, Gierowski focused on the following elements of this paradigm: 1. the problem of internal reforms 2. a general assessment of the importance of the Polish‑Saxon union and its conse-quences 3. the problem of the place in Europe, i.e., diplomatic activity, and 4. the economic and social situation combined by the “one‑person rulers” of states. This model of research proce-dure has been accepted by historians.