Najstarsze wydrukowane w Polsce katolickie księgi liturgiczne

Abstract

According to the definition given by Tadeusz Pietras, a liturgical book is a publication which contains some instructions published by religious authorities as regards public religious service. The classification of sixteenth-century prints as belonging to this genre of theological literature was based on this definition. At the same time, some other texts have been added here, those that deal with public forms of religious cult. The paper takes into consideration the prints which had been printed in Poland from the beginning of printing until more or less mid-sixteenth century. Some books did not have any date of publication and we have to use chronological probability. The most important liturgical books in the Catholic Church are missals. The first missal was printed in Kraków on 14th May 1505. It was designed for the Wroclaw diocese. Most often they were printed by Jan Haller, a typographer from Kraków. Similarly, the same imprinter printed breviaries, i.e. the books that contain daily and nightly prayers said by the clergy. Apart from the Liturgy of the Hours Diurnals were printed, that is, excerpts from the breviary, containing prayers designed for daily praying, Psalters with psalms and church hymns ordered according to a concrete key. They were printed only by Jan Haller. There was a small number of Singular Offici and Breviary Instructions. An important role in the production of liturgical books was played by agendas. The most ancient agenda was Agenda sive exequiale divinorum sacramentorum imprinted on 10th June 1499 by the Gdańsk imprinter Konrad Baumgart. A novelty in the production of Polish typographical workshops was an agenda for the Protestant clergy, an agenda printed in Wrocław by Andrzej Winkler. The book is not dated and it is designed for the pastors of Wrocław and Silesia. It contains some patterns of occasional notes, prayers, and excerpts from the Scriptures. It included also notes as regards the feasts from a given week and a syllabus of sermons. The Rubrycele were published very often and in various printing houses. Now, the Church Hymns and Song Books and Church Songs were much rarer publications. To sum it up, liturgical books constituted a considerable percentage among the most ancient prints of Polish literature. They were second only to devotional literature.According to the definition given by Tadeusz Pietras, a liturgical book is a publication which contains some instructions published by religious authorities as regards public religious service. The classification of sixteenth-century prints as belonging to this genre of theological literature was based on this definition. At the same time, some other texts have been added here, those that deal with public forms of religious cult. The paper takes into consideration the prints which had been printed in Poland from the beginning of printing until more or less mid-sixteenth century. Some books did not have any date of publication and we have to use chronological probability. The most important liturgical books in the Catholic Church are missals. The first missal was printed in Kraków on 14th May 1505. It was designed for the Wroclaw diocese. Most often they were printed by Jan Haller, a typographer from Kraków. Similarly, the same imprinter printed breviaries, i.e. the books that contain daily and nightly prayers said by the clergy. Apart from the Liturgy of the Hours Diurnals were printed, that is, excerpts from the breviary, containing prayers designed for daily praying, Psalters with psalms and church hymns ordered according to a concrete key. They were printed only by Jan Haller. There was a small number of Singular Offici and Breviary Instructions. An important role in the production of liturgical books was played by agendas. The most ancient agenda was Agenda sive exequiale divinorum sacramentorum imprinted on 10th June 1499 by the Gdańsk imprinter Konrad Baumgart. A novelty in the production of Polish typographical workshops was an agenda for the Protestant clergy, an agenda printed in Wrocław by Andrzej Winkler. The book is not dated and it is designed for the pastors of Wrocław and Silesia. It contains some patterns of occasional notes, prayers, and excerpts from the Scriptures. It included also notes as regards the feasts from a given week and a syllabus of sermons. The Rubrycele were published very often and in various printing houses. Now, the Church Hymns and Song Books and Church Songs were much rarer publications. To sum it up, liturgical books constituted a considerable percentage among the most ancient prints of Polish literature. They were second only to devotional literature.