Królewicz wśród królów. Portrety władców zachodnioeuropejskich w staropolskich relacjach z podróży Władysława Wazy (1624–1625)

The aim of the article is to analyse literary images of selected silhouettes from the travels of Prince Władysław Vasa to the countries of Western Europe in the years 1624-1625. The young Vasa’s train included future authors of peregrination reports: Stefan Pac – a writer, later treasurer and Grand Chancellor of Lithuania, Albrecht Stanisław Radziwiłł – Grand Chancellor of Lithuania, and Jan Hagenaw of Warmia. The silhouettes of Western European monarchs, presented in the context of specific events, were treated in a fragmentary way and included elements interesting to the author. On the other hand, the ways of presenting the Polish prince, according to the “promotional” strategy adopted by diarists, are aimed at showing the hero as an individual worthy of being “among kings”, capable – thanks to his skills – of finding his place in court structures.