THE FEATURES OF THE CORONATION CEREMONIES IN THE RZECZPOSPOLITA AS PART OF THE CULTURE OF THE BAROQUE ERA

Abstract

The interest in the spiritual needs of people living in the area of our ethnic land of past centuries has grownrecently. One of the important aspects of the society development of the period of the Rzeczpospolita were ceremonies –some regulations established for ceremonies and rituals. The term ‘ceremony’ (from Latin caerimonialis – ceremonial,ritual, from Latin caerimonia – holiness, respect, reverence, worship) [6] appeared in the accepted sense of thesequence of actions during the solemn celebration of a special occasion. The ceremonial also applies to the procedure ofreligious and secular ceremonies.

At present the most common reasons of carrying out secular ceremonies are birthday celebrations,engagement, wedding, graduating of education, getting of majority, dedication (in clericals, etc.), inauguration, swearing(relating to appointment to a position of boss what is popular among the military men, doctors, state employees, etc.).

Ceremonies also include the ceremonial signing of beginning and end of important international projects, awarding withthe state and other prizes, commemorations on the occasion of the completion of career or reaching certain success inculture, science and art. Religious ceremonies are defined separately (circumcision, baptism, sacrament, sacrifice,wedding, funeral, burial, etc.).

Because of a number of gaps in the field of the secular culture of Ukraine in the period of Renaissance-Mannerism-Baroque one should pay more attention to historical documents that shed light on the true state of affairs.

For, nowadays when the formation of a new elite of the society is starting, the elite who determines the perception of theUkrainians at the international level, the question of traditions, their specific regulations for individual procedures whichare integrated into a united European socio-cultural space, is particularly important.

For covering the range of issues, the documented source of the chronicler A. Hvanyini "The Chronicles ofEuropean Sarmatia" is taken into account, which reflects the actual course of events at the end of ХVІ – early ХVІІthcentury. The military topographer and engineer, the owner of manufacture of glass, merchant and diplomat, he came toPoland from Italy and served the special assignments according to intercourse with the Venetians and the Pope's court.

A. Hvanyini himself was present at the proclamation of the Union of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the Polish Crownin 1569, i.e. the formation of the Rzeczpospolita, and then the mentioned events to which we turn in the second edition in2009.

Based on the characteristics of stages of coronations ceremonies of the Rzeczpospolita at the end of the ХVІthcentury, it is worth noting some aspects of their specificity.

1. At that time a certain hierarchical sequence of values of certain lands to the Crown was composed, andaccording to its reference, the members of certain ethnic and cultural regions were lined. Judging from the fact that theArchbishop of Lviv preceded the Krakow Archbishop, the cultural wealth and spiritual reputation of their leaders andreligious pastors of some lands was taken into account.

2. The first coronation passed more grandiosely, solemnly, theatrical, and less organized, that is, everythingwas thought about the action of the dedication – the act which gained the national importance. The second coronationwas held for already "written" i.e. the formalized procedure ceremony where the prayers and even their content andsequence were determined.

3. At some popular actions of secular culture of the late Renaissance – Mannerism – early Baroque theimportant role was played by statesmen – master of ceremonies, including kraychyy (a person who is responsible for thequality of meals on the king’s table), stolnyk (a person who serves the dishes), pidstoliy (a stolnyk’s assistant),podchashie (a person who is responsible for drinks and whose duty is to taste drinks before giving to a king (a knight)with the people of escorts dressed in Italian, Hungarian, Hussar clothes.

4. The clothing in the coronation initiations demonstrated not only ethnicity, but also some ideological beliefs,mental axis, religious and spiritual priorities, serving to certain ideals, and was not just a tribute to fashion or taste. So,"the Kyiv governor, the Prince of Ostrog, himself" according to the historian A. Hvanyini, with two sons, among which onewas dressed in Italian, and the second – in Cossack joined to the crown knights on the road. Taking into account that theofficial language of the Old Ukrainian culture of the ХVІth and ХVІth centuries was Latin, which was the language ofcommunication with the European community, not Polish or any other, in this case the costumes of the first son showedapproximation to one branch of European culture associated with antiquity and religion Catholic rite. The second officiallanguage of Rus’-Ukraine areas (even in other crowns) was "home", religious everyday language, – the Old Slavic or theChurch Slavic, which were reflected in the so-called "Cossack" clothes, namely Rus-Sarmatian.

5. The triumphal march was consisted of nobles, knights and confessor, whose clothing was introduced to all"palette" of tastes, fashion, protocol. The Italian, Hungarian, Persian, Hussar (the Hungarian, Polish, Russian sample)Cossack, like P'yatyhortsivs and Hungarian Croatians, German, German Cavalryman were noted. At that time theclothing reflected the conscious willingness, the ability to travel and absorb the manner of international dressing,knowledge and introduction to European culture and heritage.