Postać Maryi w Punktach kazań Konstantego Szyrwida
The Figure of Mary in Konstanty Szyrwid’s “Points of Sermons”

Summary/Abstract: The article is devoted to the analysis of the figure of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Konstanty Szyrwid’s postils entitled “Points of sermons,” published in the first half of the 17th century in Vilnius. It is the first original work written in Lithuanian in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and translated into Polish. The paper shows that Mary has a number of personal and symbolic features, and her figure is presented only in the context of reflections on the human and divine nature of Christ. In his sermons, Szyrwid does not use colorful and elaborate expressions concerning Mary, but instead employs various methods of argumentation when presenting her features, often resorts to comparisons and biblical symbolism, and provides an original interpretation of the biblical references cited.There are numerous studies devoted to the figure of Mary in the texts of Polish sermons. However, the sermons of Szyrwid, an author who wrote in Lithuanian and Polish, have not been used in these analyses. The image of Mary as presented in his work proves that Szyrwid, while faithful to the basic principles of religiosity promoted by the Jesuits, was searching for his own ways of describing the religious phenomena, and managed to paint quite a vivid picture of biblical characters. A preliminary comparative analysis of the image of Mary preserved by Szyrwid in his postil with the one presented in Jakub Wujek’s “Postille Minor” has shown many common features pertaining to the Marian devotion in the form fostered by the Jesuits. These introductory comparisons trigger a need of further studies on Szyrwid’s work, in order to situate it within the Polish Marian piety, and to determine its contribution to the development of the devotion to the Virgin Mary.

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