| dc.description.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. | en_EN |
