The main topic of this paper focuses on the interdependencies between the 16th century historian’s craft and the legendary origo gentis. Two specific examples would be analysed: Marcin Kromer’s Sarmatian origine of the Poles and Nicolaus Petreius’s Cimbrian origine of the Danes. The general presentation of non‑political and non‑ideological presumptions for accepting the mythical past known from the medieval texts delivers the background on which it can be grasped, how Early Modern historians treated that tradition. The analysis of the working methods would be also preceeded by showing the variety of approaches observed in terms of the topic: when dealing with the ethogenetic theories, the historians decided to use polemical oration/treatise as the main form. Another form: the legendary history was applied for presenting the past “before” and “after” the process of shaping the nation/state. The scholarly methods used by both historians included both tradition and novelty: ethymological deductions, endorsment of the classical authorities (and obviously, the Bible), forgery, but at the same time impressive erudition and attempts to addopt some historical criticism.

The article talks about three visits paid in 1609, 1611 and 1612 by prince Janusz Radziwiłł and Daniel Naborowski – one of the most eminent poets of the Polish Baroque – at the court of king James I in London. These visits were related to the wedding plans – Władysław IV Vasa, son of king Sigismund III Vasa, was supposed to marry English princess Elizabeth Stuart. In her honour Naborowski wrote a famous poem entitled "Na oczy królewny angielskiej" ("For English Princess’ Eyes"). During the second visit at the English court, 1st November 1611, Radziwiłł and Naborowski were probably watching the staging of Shakespeare’s "The Tempest" in the Banqueting House in the Palace of Whitehall. The author of the article points out a possible source of Shakespeare’s play which was a text written by a Polish humanist Marcin Kromer, widely known in Europe of those times thanks to its latin translation. Kromer’s text described a story of young prince Sigismund (the future king Sigismund III Vasa) who was born on an island in MalDrm Lake where Eric XIV of Sweden imprisoned his parents: Eric’s brother John III of Sweden and his wife Catherine Jagiellon. A Polish poet Daniel Naborowski might have seen and possibly met William Shakespeare.