The Presumption of Being Henry IV’s Equal: Stanisław August and the Legend of the First French King of the House of Bourbon
Piotr Skowroński
Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Science (Poland)
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8228-2790
Abstract
The article discusses the use of Henry IV’s legend in the shaping of the image of King Stanisław August. In the first part of the article, the author explores the way the memory of “Good King Henry” functioned and manifested itself in the French plays of the 18th century. The Enlightenment legend in France portrayed him as an effective and tolerant ruler who bought peace to the country afflicted with religious wars and founded his rule on trust and working towards the wealth of the nation. The motif of Henry IV constantly attracted the interest of French writers, especially since the publication La Henriade, an epic poem by Voltaire, in the 1720s. The second part of the article explores the attempts to style Stanisław August as the “Polish King Henry IV,” the name first accorded to him by Marie Thérèse Geoffrin upon his election. The author has taken into account any elements or features of Stanisław August’s public image that could carry references to Henry IV, such as the robes that Stanisław August for public celebrations in Warsaw on the day of his coronation (represented in the official portrait of the king in the coronation robes painted by Marcello Bacciarelli), or the portrait by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun painted after his abdication and the third partitioning of Poland. Additionally, the article enumerates the works of art and books from the royal collection that portray the first French king of the House of Bourbon. Parallels drawn between Stanisław August and Henry IV that appear in the poetry, anecdotes, and parliamentary speeches of the period indicate that the comparison took root in the social consciousness in Poland, but due to the political circumstances and the collapsing Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, it could not be fully exploited, because it provoked derision.
Keywords:
Stanislaus August Poniatowski, Stanisław II Augustus, Henry IV, royal iconography, royal portraitureReferences
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Authors
Piotr SkowrońskiInstitute of History of the Polish Academy of Science Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8228-2790
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