Zainteresowanie dziełami Mikołaja Volckmara do pierwszej połowy XX wieku

Nicolaus Volckmar (16th/17th century) developed didactic books for learning Polish, including grammar, a dictionary and phrasebooks which serve as valuable sources for understanding the past (linguistic, social, etc.). The article outlines the initial phases of incorporating Volckmar into philological discourse. Various types of publications from before the mid-20th century were scrutinized in order to assess how contemporary authors utilized and evaluated Volckmar’s works. It was noted that Volckmar remained underrated for a long time, possibly due to criticisms from Grzegorz Knapski and Jan Wojna, echoed uncritically by later scholars, and due to a reluctance to acknowledge the German’s contribution to the development of the Polish language. This negative narrative persisted in textbooks on the history of the Polish language and lexicography. Władysław Pniewski’s publication was the first to cast Volckmar in a positive light, leading to increased interest in his legacy in detailed research.