Witold Garbaczewski, National Museum in Poznań
ORCID: 0000-0002-2590-8395
Medal “To the Ruthenian Brethren Murdered by the Muscovite Tsar for Their Fidelity to the Church and Poland” (the So-Called Chełm Commemorative Medal) from 1875 Engraved by Ernest Paulin Tasset
Abstract: The “To the Ruthenian Brethren” medal belongs to those examples of fine relief art which represent the commemorative-patriotic trend in our medal-making. It commemorates the massacre of Uniates in Podlachia by the Russian army in 1874. Matters related to the issue were coordinated by the Medal Committee, established in Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine) in October 1874 and chaired by Kornel Ujejski. The idea itself, as indicated by the notes in the press, came from an anonymous witness to the bloody events in Podlachia who probably also made the first proposals for the design of the dies. The final design was the collective work of the Lwów Committee, with Kornel Ujejski having the decisive influence on the content of the message and Karol Młodnicki probably supervising the artistic side. Cyprian Norwid’s authorship, commonly claimed in numismatic literature, has no confirmation in the sources. The medal was originally intended to be minted in Paris, but as a result of Russia’s diplomatic intervention, the order was executed in Brussels, while the mintage can be estimated at a minimum of 750 pieces, but most probably 1,000, half of which were intended for distribution in Poland, and the other half among Poles in exile and foreigners.
Key words: Polish medal-making of the 19th century, the Uniate Church, Kornel Ujejski, Cyprian Norwid, Ernest Paulin Tasset
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52800/ajst.1.18.a13
Garbaczewski, W. 2023. “Medal “To the Ruthenian Brethren Murdered by the Muscovite Tsar for Their Fidelity to the Church and Poland” (the So-Called Chełm Commemorative Medal) from 1875 Engraved by Ernest Paulin Tasset”, Notae Numismaticae – Zapiski Numizmatyczne 18: 285–314. DOI: https://doi.org/10.52800/ajst.1.18.a13
