Abstract
The analysis of the content of Czech history textbooks regarding Poland-Lithuania focuses on the origins of the freedoms enjoyed by the aristocracy under the Commonwealth, then moves to identifying references to the Polish kings and other major figures from the mid-fifteenth century to the end of the eighteenth century, key events during this period and specifically to the sections of the textbooks describing the demise of the Commonwealth. The use and function of written, iconographic, and graphic sources in presenting these topics was also taken into account. The textbooks do not devote as much attention to the Commonwealth of Poland as they do to the early beginnings of Polish statehood (which were closely associated with the Czech nation). Nor does this period in Polish history attract as much attention as the country’s twentieth-century history. Nevertheless, the textbooks do contain some key information—and in some cases more information than might be expected—on Polish history.
