The article presents the results of a laboratory analysis of the glass of a leech-shaped fibula bow discovered in a Hallstatt C grave in Gorszewice, Greater Poland. The fibula comes from Italy and is dated sometime to the end of the 8th or the 7th century BC. Both of the inner sides with a yellowish colour and the external side that appeared dark blue, nearly black, were examined. Like low magnesium and medium potassium glass of glassy faience present in the Hallstatt C period, the glass of the Gorszewice fibula bow is characterized by medium contents of K2O, high Al2O3 and Fe2O3, and a relatively high level of B2O3, TiO2 and BaO. The inner and outer glass of the Gorszewice fibula bow have an identical, or nearly the same chemical composition. Higher levels of several oxides occurred in the dark glass, indicating that they must have been introduced with the colourant. The yellowish glass was not coloured intentionally; its colour is the result of the presence of iron compounds in the sand.

Obraz oświaty na wsi, powstały na bazie obszernego zbioru źródeł z kilkudziesięciu archiwów, nie kończy się laudacją. Widzimy szkołę jako ognisko życia i dumę lokalnych społeczności, ale są tam także dzieci zmuszone chodzić do szkoły przez bagnistą łąkę, bo projekt mostu ponad trzęsawiskami był trudny do zrealizowania. Natomiast oświata pozaszkolna miała ambicję oddzielenia się od szkoły. Z mozołem szukała własnego lokalowego oparcia, stąd domy ludowe, świetlice, specjalne budynki uniwersytetów ludowych i niedzielnych.. Oczywiście, że nazwa „uniwersytet” była zbyt pretensjonalna i nie należy jej uzasadniać poziomem kształcenia. W tle obrazu widać aspiracje kulturowe przeważającej części gromad chłopskich oraz opór przedstawicieli konserwatywnych elit społecznych, obawiających się nadmiernego usamodzielnienia wsi.

The article presents the theoretical aspects of teaching Polish history at schools from 1945 to 1994. The author emphasizes that the Poles undeniably are a nation whose identity and national character have been shaped to a great extent by tradition and history education. It has been proven that the national character is formed in the course of history and the factors contributing to it may be easily recognized. When the national character manages to specify itself it tends to stability and rejection or assimilation destructive influence. It turned out that of great importance is that the national character is never exclusively unique or uncommon; it is rather a combination of widespread features typical for many nations.  These two trends of historical influence existed side by side despite their contrary character which was especially clear within fifty years. The formation of the historical consciousness of the contemporary Poles has been proudly influenced by the image of the interwar period of 1918-1939. The author concludes that the expansion of history propaganda function did not result in a change in social awareness of history. People rejected the official history (even reliably presented facts) since they still had in mind the practice of the Stalin period and the faults of the recent history; instead, they resorted to 'private' history which was frequently based on books of the 19th-century authors.

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