The Fourth Speech of Erasm Ciołek (1474–1522), Delivered in Rome Before Pope Leo X: An Edition, Translation into the Polish Language and Commentary

The paper presents the first critical edition of the fourth political speech delivered by the bishop of Płock, Erazm Ciołek (1474–1522), in 1518 in Rome before Pope Leo X and the college of cardinals.

In the 16th-century Europe, speeches delivered by politicians on the international arena had an important function: not only did they serve representative purposes, but they also played a key part the diplomatic missions. Rhetorical success was often accompanied by a political one. In order to increase the impact and prestige of the politician and his tasks, and to spread the ideas of his mission, political speeches were often published. Erazm Ciołek, an ambassador of the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania, during his third legation to the Holy See had an important tasks to accomplish, which included watching the preparations for a general expedition against the Ottoman Empire, regulation of the dragging matter of paying homage by the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, and securing the diplomatic assistance of the Holy See in stabilizing the situation on the eastern borders of the Great Duchy of Lithuania in the ongoing armed conflict with Moscow. In addition, travelling to Rome immediately after the Diet in Augsburg, Ciołek had also been entrusted with tasks by the emperor Maximilian. An audience granted to the legation by the Pope and the college of cardinals, where the ambassador delivered a speech and presented credential letters, was the official beginning of the diplomatic mission. In his oration, Erazm Ciołek included all the most important threads, skillfully guiding the minds of the recipients towards the only logical solution that would be identical with the results desired by the legation. The fourth speech of Erazm Ciołek was first published in 1519 in Rome, a few months after it was delivered, and has not been reprinted since then. The oration by one of the most important politicians during the Renaissance in Poland and Lithuania was preserved only in a few copies and remains almost unknown to contemporary researchers. In this edition, the Latin text was translated into Polish and provided with an introduction and an appropriate philological and historical commentary based on a wide bibliography including manuscripts and early printed books.

* W artykule wykorzystano część materiałów zebranych dzięki środkom otrzymanym z Narodowego Centrum Nauki przyznanym na podstawie decyzji numer DEC-2011/01/N/HS2/03885, a także dzięki stypendium Fundacji Lanckorońskich na potrzeby monografii: A. Brzozowska, Biskup płocki Erazm Ciołek (1474–1522), Kraków 2017.

The paper presents the first critical edition of the fourth political speech delivered by the bishop of Płock, Erazm Ciołek (1474–1522), in 1518 in Rome before Pope Leo X and the college of cardinals.

In the 16th-century Europe, speeches delivered by politicians on the international arena had an important function: not only did they serve representative purposes, but they also played a key part the diplomatic missions. Rhetorical success was often accompanied by a political one. In order to increase the impact and prestige of the politician and his tasks, and to spread the ideas of his mission, political speeches were often published. Erazm Ciołek, an ambassador of the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania, during his third legation to the Holy See had an important tasks to accomplish, which included watching the preparations for a general expedition against the Ottoman Empire, regulation of the dragging matter of paying homage by the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, and securing the diplomatic assistance of the Holy See in stabilizing the situation on the eastern borders of the Great Duchy of Lithuania in the ongoing armed conflict with Moscow. In addition, travelling to Rome immediately after the Diet in Augsburg, Ciołek had also been entrusted with tasks by the emperor Maximilian. An audience granted to the legation by the Pope and the college of cardinals, where the ambassador delivered a speech and presented credential letters, was the official beginning of the diplomatic mission. In his oration, Erazm Ciołek included all the most important threads, skillfully guiding the minds of the recipients towards the only logical solution that would be identical with the results desired by the legation. The fourth speech of Erazm Ciołek was first published in 1519 in Rome, a few months after it was delivered, and has not been reprinted since then. The oration by one of the most important politicians during the Renaissance in Poland and Lithuania was preserved only in a few copies and remains almost unknown to contemporary researchers. In this edition, the Latin text was translated into Polish and provided with an introduction and an appropriate philological and historical commentary based on a wide bibliography including manuscripts and early printed books.

* * W artykule wykorzystano część materiałów zebranych dzięki środkom otrzymanym z Narodowego Centrum Nauki przyznanym na podstawie decyzji numer DEC-2011/01/N/HS2/03885, a także dzięki stypendium Fundacji Lanckorońskich na potrzeby monografii: A. Brzozowska, Biskup płocki Erazm Ciołek (1474–1522), Kraków 2017.