Waldemar Chorążyczewski

Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń

Individuality Recorded in Past and Present Calendars

Calendars, originally in manuscript, became the primary form of pragmatic writing from the invention of printing, starting in the late 15th century. With each passing century, they were published in larger editions. Initially mainly in the hands of university professors, they found their way over time to the manors of the nobility, the homes of the bourgeoisie, and the cottages of peasants. They became a modern symbol of man’s control over time. What is the egodocumentality of calendars? They can be regarded as a valuable source for political history, but also various other studies of the past, such as recent weather phenomena, and climate change. At the same time, however, calendars are filled with the spontaneous notes of their users. They are a record of the free stream of human thought. The transience and intimacy of these records results in the lack of self-creation of people in calendars. Calendars filled with notes of the same person over the years give an unintentional picture of their intellectual form, the degree of mental activity, variability of interests, and view of the world. A set of calendars of one man becomes a unique record of his/her personality and its transformations.