Praise and Panegirics to the Princes of Ostrogski as a Form of Cultural Representation of Power in Early Modern Society

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to investigate panegyric works dedicated to the Princes of Ostrogski as a form of cultural representation of the elite and a tool for forming the symbolic space of early modern society, and also to propose their source typology. The research methodology consists in an attempt to combine historical-source and philological-source approaches when using for typology both literary and generally cultural approaches to the narrative part of the structure of the source base of the study of the place and role of the Princes of Ostrogski in the history of Eastern Europe based on the application of historical, historiographical and philological methods – as a largely culturological paradigm for studying the issues of the Ukrainian past. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the fact that an attempt is made to structure the set (source database) of panegyric monuments dedicated to Prince Ostrogski, and also introduces an unused anonymous panegyric work into the relevant problem block; as well as in the interpretation of panegyric monuments dedicated to Princes Ostrogski, not only as historical or literary sources, but as a component of the cultural discourse of the era. Conclusions. The article shows the differences in the use of works of a panegyric nature by individual humanities, primarily historical and philological. The publication proves the influence of not only Western, but also Belarusian (although indirectly through Polish) samples on the development of Ukrainian panegyric works. It is shown that it is hardly correct to attribute to literatures, and in general cultures, Belarusian and Ukrainian figures, representatives who are carriers of culture simultaneously ‘Rus’ and separately Ukrainian and Belarusian. For example, A. Rymsha, upon his admission to the Ostroh Academy and creation of panegyric works of Prince Ostrogski, remains primarily a figure of Belarusian culture. In turn, M. Smotrytskyi, regardless of his activities in Belarusian lands and influence on the development of Belarusian culture, will remain, first and foremost, a figure of Ukrainian culture. As works of art, poetic texts require focused research attention and their archeographic development. A typology of sources of a panegyric nature that relate to representatives of the family of Prince Ostrogski is presented. Thus, the panegyric tradition appears as an important mechanism of cultural communication and construction of the image of power in early modern society. It is shown that the cultural identity of figures of this period is transitive in nature and does not fit into rigid national boundaries, and panegyric texts are considered as a significant element of cultural memory and symbolic space, which requires further interpretative processing.