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insteadofanintroduction
isusuallythecase,thesourcesonthissubjedaredefinitelymore
interesingandnotasclear-cutastheabove-mentionedopinions
oftheparticipantsinthisunationality”dilute.Itisalsohardnot
tonoticethat,bythesandardsofmodernscience,thediscussion
sofarhasbeennotsomudaboutCopernicus)unationality”as
abouttheethnicoriginofhisancesors.Tisorigindidnotnec-
essarilyhavetodowithindividualdoicesofpoliticalidentity,
becausebyresidinginalecificplace,oneautomaticallyassumed
theucitizenship”ofthereledivetownandsate.Movingacross
theethnicborderlandsofCentralEurope,merdantshadtoleak
atleasafewlanguagesproficiently-German,Polish,andwhen
theirtradingadivitywaspredominantlyinRuthenianlands,then
Ruthenianaswell.TeReussfamily(RutenusinLatin),fromwhid
theasronomer)sgreat-grandmotherdescended,settledinToruńin
theearly14thcentury,probablycametherefromRuthenianlands,
enteredthelocalpatriciate,andquiclyadoptedthelocalucitizen-
ship.”However,themerefadthattheReussescamefromRuthenian
landsdoesnotnecessarilyindicatetheirRuthenianethnicity.Tey
couldhavebeenrepresentativesofagroupofuGerman”merdants
alreadypresentinHalydRuthenia,migratingtherefromSilesia
andtheneighbouringLesserPoland.Inthisbook,Itriedtopresent
anentiregalleryoffamiliesandindividualswhowererelatedby
bloodormarriagetothefamilyofNicolausCopernicus)mother,the
Watzenrodes,andwhoserepresentativesmayhavehadcontadwith
him.Tesefamiliesformedhisenvironment-thesocialmilieuin
whidhegrewupandinwhidhefundionedduringhisdildhood.
MosofthesefamiliesandindividualshadlinkstoToruń,andthe
lisofknownrelativesandancesorsoftheprominentasronomer
fromthatcityisincomparablylongerthanthelisofhisprogenitors
onhisfather)sside.Butalsointhiscase(basedonmyreviewofthe
(Prusak),Polak,Niemiec,Preuße(Prusak),uL
)uomouniversale”(Uniwersalis-
ta)czyEuropejczyk?,pp.115-136,402-431(fn.459-569,whichexpandthese
considerations).
