Macierzyństwo w świetle korespondencji Karoliny Teresy z Radziwiłłów Jabłonowskiej do matki Anny z Sanguszków Radziwiłłowej
Motherhood in View of the Correspondence between Karolina Teresa nee Radziwiłł Jabłonowska to her Mother Anna nee Sanguszko Radziwiłłowa

Summary/Abstract: RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The aim of the article is to discuss the process of noblemen’s upbringing and to indicate the most important stages of their development and sources of knowledge, which were used to examine the development of the youngest. The correspondence of Karolina Teresa nee Radziwiłł 1. voto Sapieżyna 2. voto Jabłonowska (died 1765) was used as an exemplification. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: Preserved correspondence is a unique and – what is important – rare source, allowing to analyze both ways of preparing for the birth and care of children, the process of their education, health care, as well as dealing with pain and impotence after losing the youngest members of the family. The article is based on the analysis of indicated correspondence and juxtaposition with previous research regarding the process of upbringing in the Early Modern period THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The preserved correspondence has been included in the research as a main source: from the indication of the greatest concerns related to motherhood, through the most important activities undertaken to protect and raise children, to examine the issue of death of minors in a noble home. RESEARCH RESULTS: Preserved source material is a unique example of such a meticulous, comprehensive and multifaceted relationship regarding eighteenth-century motherhood. It gives the opportunity to trace the elements related to the foundation and maintenance of the family – from the reports on subsequent periods of pregnancy to the birth of children to first years of their development. It also reveals the anxieties, that a young mother had to cope with and points to the critical development of children. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The presented source material allows for a broad presentation of the analyzed phenomenon. This studies deepen the knowledge about the specificity of the eighteenth-century family and, above all, explain the issue of maturing and raising children seen from a maternal perspective. Presented research offers broad possibilities for further comparative analyzes.

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