Staropolskie mowy weselne

Abstract

In the old Polish period, orations were an indispensable element of all family celebrations. Gentry, and other social classes following it, took delight in long speeches. Wedding speeches can be classified in a broader group of panegyric occasional compositions, in which the key role was played by the praise of the families of the newlyweds, and of the personal merits of the young couple. Wedding speeches constitute an important historical source for research into the customs of the 17th and the 18th centuries. On the one hand, they show the great emphasis which people in those times placed on ostentation and theatrical effect of the celebrations, and on the other, they supply valuable information about the patterns of an old Polish family, e.g. what a good wife should be, or what qualities a husband should have. Wedding speeches are also abundant in praises of the institution of marriage. Wedding orations promoted a specific model of living in which family and family connections played a very important role.