BABIN REPUBLIC AS AN ALTERNATIVE SOCIOCULTURAL FORMATION OF THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD: PARODY AND SARMATISM (EUROPEAN AND UKRAINIAN CONTEXTS)

Abstract

The article explores the phenomenon of the so-called Babin Republic (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Babińska, 1568‒1677) as a unique alternative socio-cultural phenomenon of the early modern era through the focus of parody and the evolution of attitudes towards Sarmatism. The aim of the article is to explore the features of socio-cultural alternativeness in the activities of the Babin Republic against the background of the formation of noble culture in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, namely Sarmatism as its ideology and dominant style. The scientific novelty of the work lies in assessing the attitude and belonging of this formation to the socio-cultural alternative, in particular religious movements, or the degree of criticism of state institutions and the dominant church. The transformation of the republic from a socially critical society that sympathized with the Reformation to an organic part of the noble “Sarmatian” culture is analyzed. What is new in the study of the topic is the attempt to bring the Babin Republic closer to the Ukrainian context, to give it a Ukrainian dimension. The European context of this formation is also considered, and its analogues (French salons, English Lord of Misrule) are proposed. The article pays special attention to the forms and functions of parody, the mechanisms of social criticism through humor, as well as Babin’s unique tolerance for alternative religious movements. Conclusions. The Babin Republic was a unique socio-cultural formation of the early modern era, which functioned for about 110 years. Parody was the main principle of its activity. The “republic” parodied: state structures, social practices and rituals, socio-cultural stereotypes. One of the main criteria for assessing the Babin Republic is the evolution of its attitude towards Sarmatism: from criticism of proto-Sarmatianism (1560s ‒ 1590s) to full integration into Sarmatism (1634‒1677). It is proven that the Babin Republic represented a paradoxical combination of criticism and later even conformism – “safe criticism”, which allowed the nobility to ridicule their own shortcomings without changing the essence of the estate system. The Ukrainian dimension of the Babin Republic lies in geographical proximity, personal connections, but also in the lack of direct analogues. Unlike other European analogues, the Babin Republic was distinguished primarily by its duration, as well as by the institutionalization and intellectual level of its participants.