Education as a Form of Liberty in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Ukrainian Hetmanate, 16th-18th Centuries

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

In a separate article, the Lithuanian Statute established the right of "every man of knighthood and any class" to travel abroad "for sciences." This freedom of movement was also upheld in the Hetmanate. People from Ukraine frequently pursued studies in the West, including at the prominent universities of Europe, collegiums, and Latin schools. Given that Europe was predominantly Catholic and Protestant, this demonstrated a remarkable degree of religious tolerance within Ukrainian society.
Not only the children of Ukrainian gentry and affluent individuals but also those of burghers and priests were sent on such educational journeys. This laid the groundwork for the emergence of a brilliant group of European-educated individuals and future educators of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. The European standard of education and enlightenment in Ukraine gave rise to an exceptional educational institution with no equivalents in Europe. Education provided career opportunities not only for the privileged but also for the less affluent, as exemplified by Pylyp Orlyk.
The Ukrainian lands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Ukrainian Hetmanate were important region for the exchange of ideas and knowledge from Western Europe in the fields of historiography, philosophy, rhetoric etc., giving rise to new forms and interpretations. Educational practices played an exceptionally significant role in this process. Consequently, a distinctive political and cultural entity emerged in this region, primarily rooted in the traditions of liberty and pluralism. This found expression in texts, religious practices, and the state system, shaping the characteristics of the construction of the proto/national identity.

Sub Unit

• Early Slavic Studies

Chair

• Maria Grazia Bartolini, U of Milan (Italy)

Papers

• Education in Europe as the Background of Mazepa’s Identity - Tatiana Tairova, Harvard U

• Military Chancellerists and the Transfer of Knowledge in 17th-18th-Century Hetmanate - Andrii Bovgyria, Institute of History, NASU (Ukraine)

Discussant

• Volodymyr Sklokin, Ukrainian Catholic U (Ukraine)