The manuscript of 'Romanticism' in the Chopin Museum in Warsaw

One of the most precious exhibits from the collection of the KUL Universities Library, the manuscript of Adam Mickiewicz's ballad 'Romanticism', can be seen at the exhibition 'The Birth of Polish Romanticism' at the Fryderyk Chopin Museum in Warsaw. The exhibition, organised in the Year of Polish Romanticism, pays tribute to the two renowned artists of the era - Chopin and Mickiewicz and will be on display until 24 July 2022.

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the first publication of Adam Mickiewicz's Ballads and Romances. This event is considered to be the symbolic beginning of the Romantic era in Poland, which is why 2022 has been declared the Year of Polish Romanticism. The Chopin Museum is recalling this anniversary in unique way, presenting together with the manuscripts of two great works by Chopin and Mickiewicz - a fragment of the Ballad in G minor by the great composer and the ballad 'Romanticism' by one of the bards. The works were juxtaposed not by accident - they are linked by the ballad genre.

"Romanticism", published in 1822 in the volume "Ballads and Romances", is a manifesto of the Romantic perception of the world, it is an apotheosis of folklore, and spirituality, it presents supernatural phenomena as a force that can be perceived only with the heart. The ballad manuscript presented at the exhibition comes from the Philomaths' Archive, located in the collection of the University Library of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin. The collection includes 69 manuscript units comprising materials on the history of the Philomaths, correspondence of the Society's members and poetic works, including Romanticism. The archives connected with the Philomaths survived the time of the partitions and world wars, some of them were transported from Vilnius to Poland after World War II, where they can be found in the collection of the University Library of the Catholic University of Lublin and the Museum of Literature in Warsaw.