Antisemitism in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th - 18th centuries and its reflection in old Polish literature

The article focuses on the manifestation of Antisemitic sentiments in Polish literature in the 16th - 18th centuries, as well as the economic, political, and religious roots of this phenomenon. Drawing on the works by S. Klonowic, J. Kmita, P. Skarga, and P. Mojecki, the author analyses the degree of negative public opinion regarding Jews among the gentry, burghers, and clergy to conclude about the economically and morally oppressed state of Polish Jewish communities and the economic dependence of the gentry on Jewish usury. In many ways, the Antisemitism of that time took place only on paper; in fact, the slogans to evict Jews from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth or to baptize them into the Catholic faith were never implemented. By the end of the 18th centurythe Antisemitic slogans in Polish journalism were disappearing, yielding to the ideas of reforming Jewish communities in the spirit of Enlightenment.