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The interactive correspondence of art, science, and preservation supports the composition of a four-volume anonymous herbarium originally belonging first to the Venetian library of Ambassador Hurtado de Mendoza, and later endowed to the Royal Library of the Monastery-Palace of El Escorial. This planted knowledge consist¬ed of artistic and scientific practices (composition, writing, calligraphy, naming, dry¬ing, pressing, cataloguing, relating to health properties, and so on) to preserve not only the plants dried and glued to recycled paper, but the association of those plants, with names, stories, and contexts in ways that attest to the development of natural history and philosophy in sixteenth-century Italy and Spain. This article describes and analyzes the composition of the Hurtado herbarium, its provenance, and its place in the context of early modern European naturalism and botany. Finally, it considers problems of reading this collection, and possible solutions to better understand the herbarium in El Escorial as another piece of this network of dissemination of ethnobotanical knowledge in early modern Europe.
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This paper aims to discuss the motives behind the dismissal and resettlement of Wolfgang Buzlai as archdeacon of Hunedoara, starting from a document issued in 1519 by the bishop of Transylvania, Franciscus Várdai. The initial dismissal of Buzlai was immediately followed by the appointment of the famous humanist Stephanus Taurinus. Thus, the question arises, whether the appointment of Stephanus Taurinus should be seen as part of a conscious effort to establish a humanist circle in Alba Iulia.
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In this paper we present and analyse, from the linguistic point of view, the treatise Giuochi mathematici written by Piero di Niccolò d’Antonio da Filicaia. It is a very appealing witness of the history of the recreational mathematics from the beginning of the 16th century. After a brief introduction of Piero’s cultural background, we describe the structure of the treatise and its sources. We deal especially with the fourth part of Giuochi mathematici in which the author imitates the contents of Alberti’s Ludi matematici. Our analysis shows that textual reworking is quite deep although there is continuity as far as terminology and contents are concerned.
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The first part of the paper is to introduce the main motif of Bernardino Ochino’s Trajedyja o Mszej (Tragedy on Mass) published in Polish translation in 1560. The work tells the story of a trial of the personified Mass indicted by figures that can be identified with the Reformation and the individuals engaged in it. The Author discusses the structure of this literary dialogue and describes briefly the characters involved in the plot with their polemical background (these include in particular personifications of the Mass, the Lord’s Supper, and the Roman Church, as well as figures of the Pope, Satan, Holy Spirit, and a metonymic protagonist named the Lover of God’s Glory). The second part presents the context of literary tradition, where Mass was personified for controversial purposes, mainly by authors connected with the Reformation. The motif of a personified Mass was probably introduced in Swiss pamphlets of the 1520s (Krankheit und Testament der Messe by Niklaus Manuel, Querela Missae by Johannes Atrocianus). The concept of accusing Mass of dishonesty and performing her trial was recognised as an innovation of English Protestant writings of the late 1540s (esp. William Punt’s and William Turner’s dialogues). The aforementioned texts are juxtaposed with Ochino’s dialogue to show the probable origins of the concept used in his text, as well as to specify additional motifs combined by him (and consequently the Polish translator). The similarities between Ochino’s work and the texts chosen, as well as Ochino’s connections with the places of publication of these texts, allow us to see them as part of a small yet consistent subtype of Protestant polemical writings, which Ochino chose to use and modify for controversial purposes.
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The paper contains a translation of a Latin mourning speech, namely a panegyric sermon arranged in Rome by Cardinal Stanisław Hozjusz in honour of King Sigismund II Augustus, the last Polish king of the Jagiellonian dynasty, who died on 7 July 1572. It is one of a few speeches preserved to this day from the abundant oratorio-predicatory output of this Catholic theologian and polemicist, then wellknown in Europe. It was delivered by Stanisław Reszka, the secretary and close collaborator of Hozjusz, on 10 November 1572 at the church of San Lorenzo il Damaso during a solemn funeral service administered by Pope Gregory XIII. The ceremony took place in a magnificent scenery created by an elaborate castrum doloris erected especially for this ceremony by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, the protector of Polish affairs, with the participation of Hozjusz and his close collaborators. The translation is accompanied by explanations that concern events and historical figures, geographical names, quotations, and phrases taken from the Bible and ancient authors. It is preceded by a short introduction in which, apart from the origins and circumstances of the delivery of the speech, its composition and style are discussed. The sermon has a clear structure. It consists of three parts, typical of this type of public utterance. In accordance with the customs of the epoch and the preaching textbooks of that time, the initial part (lamentatio) and the final part (consolatio) are rich in biblical phrases (especially from the prophetic books) that perfectly emphasize the dramatic character of the situation, as well as the significance and further consequences for Poland of the death of the last Jagiellon. The leitmotif that integrates the whole speech is a thought from Prophet Jeremiah (Jer 13:18): “your beautiful crown has come down from your head.” The middle part (laudatio) is filled with the praise of Sigismund II Augustus and the Jagiellonian dynasty. Hozjusz draws here an image of the ideal ruler, enriched with Renaissance elements, such as striving for peace and good relations with neighbours, supporting humanists, excellent and refined customs, as well as a perfect mastery of the art of elocution. Following the postulates formulated by the author himself, the style of this sermon is characterized by simplicity, naturalness, and elegance.
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The aim of this paper is to present how the Polish renaissance authors creatively transformed and adapted to the native context one of Erasmus’ dialogues, Senatulus sive Gynaikosynedrion. Erasmus exploited a popular motif of a meeting of women who debate on different issues. The work is based on one of Aristophanes’ comedies, as well as an episode from a biography of the Roman emperor, Elagabalus. Senatulus was very popular and was translated into a number of vernacular languages all over Europe. Erasmus, with his characteristic sense of humour and criticism, pointed to some of the vices of women, but did not stop there. He used the seemingly paradoxical formula of a women’s council to draw attention to the social and political problems of the time. Early modern Polish texts that used the theme in question can be understood in the context of Polish parliamentarism. But their literary inspiration has to be taken into consideration as well. The first part of this paper focuses on problematic aspects of Senatulus, and its somewhat provocative and ambiguous character, which probably attracted authors to this particular text. Then two Polish dialogues that are linked to Erasmus’s work are examined. These are the anonymous Senatulus to jest sjem niewieści (Senatulus, or the council of women) from 1543 and Sjem niewieści (The council of women) written by Marcin Bielski in 1566/1567. Even a preliminary comparison of these two works with Erasmus’ colloquium indicates that the vernacular texts are a kind of sequel to the original and further develop its basic idea. References to the Latin version are present here on different levels. Similarity lays not only in the title and topics discussed by the characters, but also in the linguistic structure. In both cases, the concept of the female parliament was used by the writers as a pretext to draw attention to the political, social and economic problems Poland faced at that time and to suggest their own solutions.
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This paper presents (in the form of transcription and translation of the text) a letter written by a humanist and classical scholar, Iustus Lipsius (1547–1606), and entitled by its editor in Cracow Epistola erudita (1602). The rhetorical analysis of this text is based on Lipsius’ treatise Epistolica institutio (The Principles of Letter-Writing). The main problem concerns the role of traditional rhetoric in epistolography, especially if the letter is not reduced to a formal document built of template formulas. Early modern epistolography (Petrarca, Erasmus, Lipsius, Vives) recovers the ancient tradition of writing letters, according to which a letter is a kind of written conversation. It gives the sender and the addressee a unique opportunity to meet each other in the symbolic universe of the text.
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The article examines the presence of astrology in the heraldic work Orbis Polonus by Szymon Okolski dating from the mid-1600s. While due to a growing fascination with Neoplatonism and hermetic writings, astrology had enjoyed popularity since the Renaissance, in Okolski’s case its influence came mostly through early modern books of emblems and compendia of symbols. It is, therefore, important not only to track down astrological motifs in the works of Alciatus, Cesare Ripa, Giulio Cesare Capaccio, Julius Wilhelm Zincgref, and Diego de Saavedra to compare them with those found in Orbis Polonus but also to recognise the fact that emblematics had a great impact on how Okolski perceived the import of his heraldic work as such. The novelty of Okolski’s project consisted in treating armorial bearings as universal symbols and interpreting them not only in accordance with the rules of heraldry but also through a wide range of cultural sources, trends and traditions. In order to make the symbolic significance hidden in coats of arms more apparent, the author tried to organise the heraldic entries in a new way. Apart from the usual parts describing the coat of arms (delineatio), its origins (origo) and the family that used it (linea familiae), he introduced subchapters dealing with its symbolic meaning. He called them “considerations,” “precautions,” or “omens” depending on which aspect of the symbolic explanation he wanted to emphasise. Especially the third of these dovetails with astrology because the symbolism of the coat of arms, including motifs derived from, or related to, astrology, is presented as the best path that should be taken by a family bearing a particular coat of arms. All the while, however, these auguries are made based on symbols as such and not on careful observation of stars, planets or comets, and Okolski is not concerned with the destiny of individual people but with more general tendencies that affect the virtue of noble families, and virtue is for Okolski the foundation of nobility.
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Jan Januszowski, best known as Jan Kochanowski’ friend, was the most distinguished printer of the Polish Renaissance. Januszowski, a lawyer educated in Cracow and Padua, was an extremely versatile man: an outstanding printer, but also a prolific writer and translator. For all his achievements he was ennobled by Sigismund III Vasa, and - happily - the ennoblement act of Jan Januszowski, penned on parchment and splendidly illuminated, survived to the present day. The illumination of the document is rich and sumptuous. It shows the coats-of-arms representing the provinces of the Polish Kingdom and Grand Duchy of Lithuania and small portraits: three of them depict Polish kings, the fourth is of Januszowski himself - it is one of very few known portraits of Polish Renaissance intellectuals and the oldest portrait of a Polish printer. The document’s decoration is not only beautiful, but also meaningful, as its content and composition reflects the nature of the state - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - and suggests Januszowski’s important place in its structure and strong links between the printer and most important dignitaries of the country.
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This article presents the pedigree of the Łoknicki noble family of the Nieczuja coat of arms in the 16th–17th centuries. Attention was paid to marriages in the circles of middle nobility living in the border areas of Podlasie neighbouring with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
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The article presents a description and edition of a foundation charter issued by Jerzy Iwanowicz Ilinicz for a church in Biała Podlaska. The information contained makes it possible to determine, among other things, a new date of the establishment of the parish or lists of patron saints. The charter also includes the oldest mention of Biała Podlaska as a town.
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In the article the author discusses anti-Lutheran polemics published in the Kingdom of Poland during the rule of Sigismund I and asks about the shape of Reformation movement, which developed in spite of numerous bans imposed by the king. The author proves that although these polemics were explicitly against “Lutherans,” they were often created as a result of clashes with other theologies of the emerging Protestantism. Works created by the lower-status Church employees were not novel, and their range of influence must have been limited.
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The subject of analysis is situation of the Church in Gdańsk in 1517–1522, on the eve of first manifestations of Reformation in this town, urban centre important for Royal Prussia and Poland. Basing on the literature on the subject, but mostly with the use of original self-existent documents preserved until our times: writings, letters and records on activities of the Bishop of Włocławek, the local ordinary, the author reconstructs in the article the course of events preceding actions of the first reformer of Gdańsk, Jacob Hegge. Th e essential goal of research is an answer to the question whether Reformation ferment initiated by Martin Luther had any influence on the situation of the Church in Gdańsk. Th e case of this town is compared with the situation in several others, in Poland and the Reich, such as Cracow, Lübeck, Hamburg
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The goal of the article is an attempt to follow the reaction of mendicant communities to the events connected with Luther’s theses. This problem is presented based on the example of monasteries in Royal and Teutonic Prussia. As the final date of the study the author chose the year 1526. Besides the perspective of the institutional history of particular orders the problem is also presented from the point of view of ordinary monks and their individual decisions and motivations.
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The article presents a so far unknown personal dedication of Martin Luther for Prussian Prince Albrecht von Brandenburg-Ansbach (Hohenzollern), on the title page of a copy of an anti-papal print titled Wider das Bapstum zu Rom vom Teuff el gestiff t (Wittenberg, 1545), kept in the old-print collection of the University Library in Toruń (no. Ob.6.II.2382). This is probably a reminder of their last meeting at Wittenberg Castle in December 1545. The author discusses the content of the publication and the circumstances of Albrecht’s visit in that town.
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The article discusses the case of Latin-language philosophical poem entitled Zodiacus vitae, which was first published in Venice in 1536. Although the work was condemned and forgotten in Italy and its author, Palingenius, posthumously burned at the stake, Zodiacus quickly won significant popularity in European Protestant circles that lasted several centuries − surprisingly so, given that Palingenius was not a Protestant and his poem did not advocate any Protestant causes. The article analyses passages from the poem that are in stark contrast to Reformation and those anticlerical passages, that – however they seem to tie in with it – were inspired by the anticlerical literature of Italian humanism.
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The article presents works on the edition of the Crown Metrica in the form of abstracts in Polish, in accordance with the editorial rules and requirements established in 1999. The books of this source series contain entries of documents issued on behalf of the king regarding all matters in which the decision belonged to the king. Thirty five documents issued by the predecessors of King Sigismund III Vasa have been entered here, inserted, summarized or only mentioned. Book no. 139 is the fourth of six books of the lesser chancellery of Jan Tarnowski, covering 430 entries, almost exclusively in Latin. Their largest number falls to March, which is the period of the Sejm session. The edition has been supplemented with footnotes and an index.
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Reformation at school. Curriculum from 1539 by Andreas Aurifaber In 1539 Andreas Aurifaber, who was to become the rector of the local St. Mary's School, published its curriculum. Its content was innovative for the Gdańsk community and introduced a reformed approach to education. In this text, the authors verify and discuss some of the theses functioning in previous studies on this topic.
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