Tadeusz Manteuffel

Tadeusz Manteuffel or Tadeusz Manteuffel-Szoege (1902-1970) was a Polish historian, specializing in the Medieval history of Europe.

Biography

Manteuffel was born in Rēzekne, Livonia, then part of the Russian Empire. He lost his right hand in the Polish-Soviet War in 1920, when he took part in the defence of Warsaw. He studied medieval history in Poland, France, and Italy and later taught at Warsaw University, becoming a known medievalist before 1939.

During the Second World War, Manteuffel was an activist in the education and information section ("Biura Informacji i Propagandy Armii Krajowej") of the Polish Secret State in German-occupied Poland, where he was a contributor to and an editor of underground newspapers and brochures ("Wiadomości Polskie"), [http://www.polishresistance-ak.org/13%20Article.htm] and from 1940 to 1944 he organized underground history seminars of the then outlawed Warsaw University.

After the war, Manteuffel was active in rebuilding Warsaw University, where he organized the History Institute with its own library. For several years (1950-1953) he was the director of the Polish Historical Society and he also participated in creating the Polish Academy of Sciences, where he was the creator and director of the Institute of History of Polish Academy of Sciences, later named after 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 history of Europe, political history, history of social movements and cultural structures.

Manteuffel was the author of many articles and books, among them "Narodziny herezji" (Birth of Heresy) and "Historia Powszechna. Średniowiecze" (Common history. The Medieval Period), "Polska w okresie prawa ksiazecego 963-1194" (The Formation of the Polish State, The Period of Ducal Rule 963-1194).

References

* [http://www.mnii.gov.pl/mein/index.jsp?place=Lead08&news_cat_id=687&news_id=1267&layout=2&page=psci Biography at the Polish Ministry of Science and Education] pl icon
* [http://www.ihpan.edu.pl/indexa.htm Homepage of The Tadeusz Manteuffel Institute of History]

Further reading

*Paul W. Knoll, "Forward: Tadeusz Manteuffel, The Man, The Historian, and Historiography," in Tadeusz Manteuffel, The Formation of the Polish State, The Period of Ducal Rule 963-1194, translated by Andrew Gorski (from Polska w okresie prawa ksiazecego 963-1194 in Historyk wobec historii [Warsaw, 1976--a selection of Manteuffel's writings] ) (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1982), pp. 7-20.