LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Lietuva, XIX a.; Lietuvos istorija; Lietuvos lenkų kalba; Lingvistika; Motiejus Valančius; Regioninė lenkų kalba; 19 amžius; Žemaičių vyskupas Motiejus Valančius; Žemaičių vyskupija; „Namų užrašai“; Bishop of Samogitia Motiejus Valancius; Diocese of Samogitia; History of XIX c; Linguistic situation; 19th century; Lithuanian history; Lithuanian polish language; Motiejus Valančius; Regional polish language; „The Domestic Notes“.
ENThe article introduces the interesting, albeit controversial, figure of Maciej Wołonczewski (Motiejus Valančius), an important member of the nineteenth-century clergy, and his Polish-language legacy. The bishop of Samogitia’s "Domestic Notes" document persecutions of the Catholic Church in Lithuania after the November and January Uprisings at the hands of Russian Tzarist authorities, and reflect the state of Polish language and its social functions in this historical period. Valančius’ manuscripts, published in the volume edited by the historians Aldona Prašmantaitė and Jan Jurkiewicz [Motiejus Valančius, "Namų užrašai" (The Domestic Notes), Vilnius: Baltos Lankos, 2003], were subjected to the far-reaching standardization of spelling, thus they are not a reliable source for a linguistic research. A linguist, who would make the effort of describing the Polish language of the author, should therefore locate and take advantage the original sources, dispersed in various archives in Vilnius. [From the publication]