He was born in Mazovia, but he composed mainly abroad. In addition, his father was French, so formally - in accordance with Napoleon's code - he was also Fryderyk Chopin. For years, France and Poland have been "ripping" from themselves the most famous pianist of the Romantic era. And what do genealogists say?
"A native of Warsaw, a Pole at heart, and a citizen of the world with a talent," wrote Cyprian Kamil Norwid a day after the pianist's death in 1849. However, not everyone agreed with the poet. According to many, Chopin was by no means a Polish composer - he ultimately had a French surname, and his father was born in France.
Meanwhile, 20 years ago, our television announced a remarkable discovery. Well Fryderyk Chopin turned out to be much more Polish than French . It has been speculated that his father's progenitor may have been Mikołaj Szop - a courtier of King Stanisław Leszczyński, who ruled Lorraine after the deposition of the Polish crown.
Great-grandson of Mr. Szop
This hypothesis turned out to be as sensational as ... simply untrue. Moreover, as emphasized by the biographer of great Poles, Barbara Wachowicz in her latest, just published book, Sercem Polak. A story about Chopin ”:
This "newest" sensation was known from ... 1911, when our European harpsichordist Wanda Landowska, referring to documents unknown today, brought the family of Father Fryderyk from in the name of Mr. Szop, called by the French Chop who trades in wine.
Chopin's mother, Justyna née Krzyżanowska, was undoubtedly Polish, and what about father - Mikołaj?
This version was supported by Ferdynand Hoesick, the author of the composer's detailed biography. He reported about the grandson of that Szop, who "went to Poland". He also claimed that "the the youngest of Mikołaj Szop's grandchildren was Mikołaj Chopin ”.
As early as 1925, however, this theory was disproved. It was then that, under the Treaty of Riga, the previously stolen archives returned to Poland from Russia. "A portfolio of Mikołaj Chopin's documents was then discovered, containing the information that his birthplace was the village of Marainville near the city of Nancy in Lorraine," wrote Barbara Wachowicz in the book "Sercem Polak".
Interestingly, there was also another - equally fantastic - version about the origin of the most famous Polish pianist. Its creators seemed to try to discover the roots of the composer's talent, as they reported that Frederic's father "probably came from Nicolas Chopin, the prince of Lorraine trumpeter" . And these revelations had little to do with the truth.
Prince trumpeter or Lorraine wheelwright?
As it was established by the historian Gabriel Ladaique, who in 1987 published a detailed and well-documented genealogy of Chopin's ancestors after the sword, Mikołaj Chopin was an indigenous Frenchman from Lorraine, and among his ancestors were local farmers, wheelwright, growers and ... tobacco smugglers.
Ladaique characterized them:"They are country craftsmen, skillful in their fingers, loving work that is delicate and well done [...], they are weavers, carpenters, blacksmiths […]. Modest, not very wealthy, endowed with common sense. " And certainly - one might add - having nothing to do with Poland.
French blood was also flowing in the veins of Fryderyk's grandmother from his father's side. Marguerite Deflin came from a line of tailors who had lived for generations in Marainville, Lorraine. Even when Fryderyk was making his career in Paris, his relatives from this part of the family lived there.
The Polish identity of the composer, inherited from his mother, does not raise any doubts. Justyna Chopinowa came from the well-known Wielkopolska noble family of Krzyżanowski, Świnka coat of arms, whose roots go back to the Middle Ages .
Thus, genetically, Fryderyk was 50 percent Polish. But after all, his sense of national identity was much more important than his genes. The composer felt deeply connected with the country in which he was born - which he himself emphasized many times. Anyway, according to the pianist's last will, in January 1850 his sister Ludwika transported his heart to Poland. She smuggled them in a jar filled with alcohol, hidden under her clothes. But that's a completely different story…
Source:
Trivia is the essence of our website. Short materials devoted to interesting anecdotes, surprising details from the past, strange news from the old press. Reading that will take you no more than 3 minutes, based on single sources. This particular material is based on the book:
- Barbara Wachowicz, "With the heart of a Pole. A Tale of Chopin ”, Bellona 2019.
Check where to buy "With the heart of a Pole. A story about Chopin ”: