HOW THEY SEE US FROM AFAR. ABOUT: MEDIEVAL ART, ARCHITECTURE AND ARCHAEOLOGY IN CRACOW AND LESSER POLAND

IZABELA KORCZYŃSKA

In the first days of July 2011, members of the British Archaeological Association and invited guests met at an international conference in the lecture hall of the Jagiellonian Library to explore the mediaeval art, architecture and archaeology of the city of Cracow and Lesser Poland.
The British Archaeological Association is a prestigious institution whose beginnings date back to 1843, the early Victorian era. The word “archaeological” contained in its name should therefore be understood in its traditional, broad sense, whose Polish equivalent used to be the word “starożytnicze”. The Association’s focus is not archaeological study alone, but rather interdisciplinary research ranging from the history of architecture and art to heritage preservation. Its founders, Charles Roach Smith, Thomas Wright and Thomas Joseph Pettigrew – “gentlemen and scientists”, as they were referred to by their contemporaries – were former members of the Society of Antiquaries of London, but decided at some point this “older body was too aristocratic, too London-focused and lacked the campaigning vigour required”. The very name of the new association they went on to establish was to suggest upcoming revolutionary changes and a new organisational model, aimed at documenting, preserving and publishing new archaeological findings in Britain. One of the principal commitments of the new organisation was to hold annual meetings to enable renowned experts and local scholars to share their opinions and insights.