The book presents the evolution of the Cossack studies of the Commonwealth - from the first writer's attempts to comprehend the phenomenon to the best mature achievements of the Rechpospolite intellectuals from the beginning of the Cossack revolution of the mid-17th century. From an epigram poet to a dissertation, the then scholarship went a long way in developing its own "discourse about Cossacks." The historical writing of the Commonwealth addressed the topic of the Ukrainian Cossacks of the key century of its existence (mid-16th - mid-17th centuries) regularly and showed due curiosity. "Domestic" authors in time recorded changes in the life of this bright and modern phenomenon. And often they themselves programmed its further development. Some of their ideas have still not lost popularity both in scientific circles and in popular discourse.