Tadeusz Manteuffel or Tadeusz Manteuffel-Szoege (1902–1970) was a Polish

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

, specializing in the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

history of Europe. Manteuffel was born in Rēzekne,

Vitebsk Governorate Vitebsk Governorate (russian: Витебская губерния, ) was an administrative unit ( guberniya) of the Russian Empire, with the seat of governorship in Vitebsk. It was established in 1802 by splitting the Byelorussia Governorate an ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

(now

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

). His brothers were

Leon Manteuffel-Szoege Leon Manteuffel-Szoege (born 5 May 1904 in Rzeżyca, d. 1973 in Warsaw) was a Polish surgeon. His brothers were Tadeusz Manteuffel and Edward Manteuffel-Szoege. He graduated from the Warsaw University under the supervision of Zygmunt Radlińs ...

and

Edward Manteuffel-Szoege Edward Manteuffel-Szoege (born Edward Antoni Manteuffel, 5 July 1908 – 1940) was a Polish artist. He competed in the art competitions at the 1936 Summer Olympics. After the outbreak of the Second World War, Manteuffel-Szoege was arrested by th ...

. He lost his right hand in the Polish-Soviet War in 1920 when he took part in the defence of Warsaw. Manteuffel studied medieval history in Poland,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and later taught at Warsaw University, becoming a known medievalist before 1939. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Manteuffel was an activist in the education and information section (''Biuro Informacji i Propagandy Armii Krajowej'') of the Polish Secret State in German-occupied Poland, where he contributed to and edited underground newspapers and leaflets ('' Wiadomości Polskie'') and from 1940 to 1944 he organized underground history seminars in the then-outlawed Warsaw University. After the war, Manteuffel was active in rebuilding Warsaw University, where he organized the History Institute and its library. In 1950-53 he directed the Polish Historical Society, and he co-founded the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences ( pl, Polska Akademia Nauk, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society o ...

, creating and directing its Institute of History, later named for him.

Works

A student and friend of Marceli Handelsman, Manteuffel dedicated his life to history as a student, teacher, scholar and activist. He advocated the creation and clarification of historian code of ethics, warned about the dangers of misinterpreting and falsifications of history. He specialized in the

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

history of Europe,

political history Political history is the narrative and survey of political events, ideas, movements, organs of government, voters, parties and leaders. It is closely related to other fields of history, including diplomatic history, constitutional history, social ...

, history of

social movements A social movement is a loosely organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a social or political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to resist or undo one. It is a type of group action and ma ...

and cultural structures. Manteuffel authored many articles and books, including ''Narodziny herezji'' (The Birth of Heresy) and ''Historia Powszechna. Średniowiecze'' (Universal History: The Medieval Period), ''Polska w okresie prawa książęcego 963-1194'' (The Formation of the Polish State: The Period of Ducal Rule, 963-1194). Among his students were

Edward Potkowski Edward Potkowski (10 May 1934 in Rybnik - 31 July 2017) was a Polish historian. His specialization includes history of the medieval period and paleography. Edward Potkowski was born on 10 May 1934 in Rybnik.Jan TyszkiewiczEdward Potkowski (10 ...

, and Jerzy Kolendo.

References

Biography at the Polish Ministry of Science and Education

Works

See also

References

Further reading