THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN FRENCH-LANGUAGE APPROACHES TO THE HISTORY - GEOGRAPHY - CULTURE OF POLAND/THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND, DEVELOPED IN FRANCE IN 1835-1842 BY POLISH EMIGRANTS

The article presents three extensive works written and published in France after the November Uprising, and compiled in the milieu of Polish emigrants. These works presented the French reader with a systematic lecture on the history of Poland/the Republic of Poland. Apart from this main content, they contained articles about the geography of the Republic of Poland as well as about culture and issues related to religion. They had numerous illustrations. The most extensive of these works is La Pologne pittoresque, Picturesque Poland; was published in three volumes in the years 1835-1845. In the years 1839-1841 another work was published on the aforementioned topics, La Pologne illustree, Ornamental Poland. The chief editor of these works was Leonard Chodzko (1800-1871). And in 1840 Karol Forster (1800-1879) published Pologne. The works gained great popularity. The article deals with the problem of presenting the role of the Catholic Church in the history of Poland/the Republic of Poland, as well as presenting various elements of religious life. Several basic ideological threads were identified in this presentation. The noticeable presence of religious issues in the aforementioned works was emphasized, which positively distinguishes them from other works of a similar type at that time.