Gawęda szlachecka: History and Key Facts

Gawęda szlachecka (variously translated as szlachta storytelling, noble storytelling, noble tale, etc.) is a Polish literary form in which works are presented as a story told by a Polish nobleman stylized as a Polish oral tradition of storytelling known as gawęda, i.e., a tale of no particular plot, a series of loosely connected episodes narrated in colloquial language with many embellishments. It is associated with the tradition of Sarmatism. The Dictionary of Polish Language by PWN defines gawęda szlachecka as "a story in verse or prose demonstrating an image of Sarmatian traditions". Developed in the first half of the 19th century, Henryk Rzewuski being the most influential figure in this respect, with his

Pamiątki Soplicy (The Memoirs of Soplica). Due to the association with Sarmatism the style was also known as "pogadanka kontuszowa" ("kontusz tale"), with kontusz being a distinctive Sarmatian-style garment of Polish nobility.

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