“For Those Who Followed Him He Made Processions with Singing”: On the Influence of the Tridentine Reform on Various Manifestations of Piety (on the Basis of Żywoty świętych by Piotr Skarga)

The aim of the article is to present how texts such as Żywoty świętych (first edition in Vilnius, 1579) could influence the shaping of modern post-Tridentine expression of piety. Claims were advanced over the past decades that the hagiographic literature did not bring anything new to religious culture, and that on the contrary, it contributed to the consolidation of petrified, medieval patterns and thus impeded the spiritual development of an individual. Such views were articulated by researchers such as Henryk Barycz or Janusz Tazbir, who failed to recognize the threads of the new post-Tridentine theology and the related patterns and forms of piety in Skarga’s text. The analysis presented here aims to refute these claims, arguing that Żywoty is a modern text, rooted in the spirit of the Tridentine reform. Similar arguments were put forth by Anna Kapuścińska in her monograph, and by Alina Nowicka-Jeżowa in her articles on the changes in Polish religious awareness against the background of other European countries at that time. Their findings are presented in the introductory part of the article. In the next part, the author focuses on describing specific expressions of piety (such as pilgrimages, processions, image worship, etc.) and how they are reflected in Żywoty. As it turns out, these are not relics of the Middle Ages, with Skarga’s narrative overtly encouraging his readers to be active, rather than passively perpetuate the usual patterns and dogmas. Żywoty is therefore a modern work, in line with the recommendations of the Council, which is also related to the fact that its author came from the environment of the Jesuits, who were extremely progressive at the time and advocated their own concepts of spiritual development, following the teaching of the founder of the congregation, Ignacy Loyola.

“Quintuple Live” and “Quintuple Death”: A Note on the Source of the Funeral Oration (Vilnius 1620/1621) by Meletij Smotryc’kyj

In his polemic treatise Antapologija abo Apologijej … zniesienie written in the early 1630s, Socinian Eustachy Kisiel (nicknamed Gelasius Diplic) made an accusation that former Orthodox, now a Uniate priest, religious writer and Ruthenian linguist Meletij Smotryc’kyj (ca. 1577–1633) used a Latin work by a certain Dominican to compose a funeral oration on the death of Smotryc’kyj’s predecessor at the Brotherhood the Holy Spirit Monastery, Leontij Karpovyč(1580–1620). Kisiel’s allegations were noted in 1908 by the philologist Sergej Maslov, but later this topic did not attract the attention of researchers of Smotryc’kyj’s legacy. This study is an attempt to examine the hypothesis put forward by Kisiel and to find out what specific writing (or writings?) Smotryc’kyj could have used when composing the funeral oration. The oration on the death of Karpovyčwas published twice in Vilnius: 1620 – in a Ruthenian language version, and 1621 – in Polish. As the main storyline Meletij uses the topos of five varieties of live and the corresponding five varieties of death, which were very common in religious literature in the Middle Ages and Early Modern times. This topos is used by Smotryc’kyj to describe Leontij Karpovyč’s life path and to glorify his achievements in the spiritual field. The article considers the main contexts of the use of topos triplex, quadruplex and quintuplex mors (triple, quadruple, quintuple death) and triplex, quadruplex and quintuplex vita (triple, quadruple, quintuple life) in different confessional traditions up to the 1620s. On the basis of textual analysis, it is concluded that the main source for Meletij war Orbis terror, seu concionum de finibus bonorum et malorum libri duo written by Walloon preacher, Franciscan writer Philippe Bosquier (1561/1562–1636) (editio princeps Douai 1603). Orbis terror enjoyed large popularity in Europe, and was one of the recommended books for the Jesuit colleges of that time. For the funeral sermon Smotryc’kyj borrows only a small fragment of the first section (concio) of Orbis terror, and uses different editing techniques: a literal or close to the original translation; expansion or contraction of borrowed fragments; giving prominence to different elements of the text. Bosquier’s work became the main source for the funeral sermon, but by no means the only one: some images and amplifications used by Meletij testify to his good acquaintance with the Renaissance and Early Modern literature.

Tłumaczyła Magdalena Wrana

The recusationes and the Kreuzung der Gattungen in Jan Kochanowski’s Elegiarum libri quattuor and Ovid’s Inspiration in Jan Kochanowski’s Metapoetic Reflections

This article is a study of the three recusationes from the first book of Jan Kochanowski’s Elegiarum libri quattuor. Contrary to what one might think at first sight, these poems do not merely voice homage paid to the elegiac convention, which demands of the poet to renounce epic poetry and military life, but should be seen as texts in which Kochanowski reflects on the potential and limits of the elegy as a genre. It is only in the opening epigram of the collection that the poet seems to accept the rules of the genre by stating that he will not write epic poetry, but in all the recusationes of the first book (I 1, I 5 e I 12), he clearly makes the reader aware that he does not intend to renounce epic poetry, but plans to write such poems on another occasion, or in fact, he is already inserting several epic fragments in his elegies. Having underlined this, the article concentrates on the fact that this kind of attitude towards the relations between the elegiac poet and epic poetry is typically Ovidian, as shown by Mario Labate in his outstanding works devoted to this topic. The article also draws the reader’s attention to the book’s structure, for the recusationes play an essential role in it by marking its metaliterary nature. The article demonstrates that the elegies provide a testing ground for the poet to refine his poetic technique. In the elegies Kochanowski searches for different poetic solutions as he deals with different poetic genres, thereby striving to become a “total poet”, in the renaissance sense of this expression, i.e. a poet who does not confine himself to any single genre, believing that he is capable of facing all kinds of challenges when it comes to creating poetry.

Transtextual Aspects of Jan Siemuszowski’s Latin Paraphrase of Batrachomyomachia

The article aims to analyse how Jan Siemuszowski, author of a 1568 Latin paraphrase of the Batrachomyomachia, used the Roman epic tradition in his work in the context of Renaissance translations of the poem and how he approached the problem of losing references to Greek literature in the process of transferring the piece into another language. The current state of knowledge of Latin translations of Batrachomyomachia is not advanced, and the issue concerning the dialogue of the poem’s Latin versions with classical literature was recently raised solely by Aaron Vanspauwen, who observed that these works mirror transtextual devices of the Greek original, claiming at the same time that this may be accidental. However, there is sound evidence that the devices were deployed intentionally, as transtextuality appears mainly in texts based on emulation. In this case, it is worthwhile to investigate one of the clearest examples of making use of Roman epic tradition in a translation from Greek, which is a paraphrase made by Jan Siemuszowski, containing over 150 direct references to Latin poetry, especially Virgil and Ovid. To achieve this, Batrachomyomachia and Siemuszowski’s paraphrase were compared in a systematic classification using George Genette’s theory of transtextuality. They were found to have two categories in common, metatexts and intertexts, the latter serving as amplifications and parodies (in Genette’s sense) of epic schemes and heroes. In Siemuszowski’s work, the metatexts are visible in quotations that emphasize the fictional dimension of the work or its supposed grandeur. The allusions used in the amplifications exaggerate the power of heroes and their opponents, and the greatness of the entire world depicted. Moreover, the application of some of them to dangerous characters and phenomena seems to outline the perception of mice and frogs. The comic effect of parody is mainly achieved by highlighting the negative characteristics of animals in contrast to ancient models, especially certain types of figures such as gods, heroes or philosophers. Parody also relates to the stories of epic heroes, making them trivial or lending particular, unearned gravity to the animals. It is observed that Siemuszowski mostly used similar methods as the author of Batrachomyomachia. However, he often supplemented the verses with new, significant references to Virgil and Ovid, preventing the loss of transtexts in the process of translation. The complexity of his piece allows us to perceive it as a text of the third degree – in the terminology used by Katarzyna Warcaba. As a result, Siemuszowski’s paraphrase was in line with the trend of emulation-based translations, whose authors avoided translating the text literally and tried to compete with the original or other authors’ versions of the poem in terms of the techniques used in it.

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.