FIRST COLLECTIONS OF THE IMPERIAL PUBLIC LIBRARY: THE ZALUSKI MANUSCRIPTS

Literary works

21. Hager, Georg (1552-1634)

Kriegs Ordnung. Aus fürtrefflichen Kriegs Buechern zusammen getragen, unnd auffs Eugest in gute Bundreimen verfasset. Gedichte.
Hager, Georg.
Military regulations. Compiled from the select military books and passed on poetry. Poems.
1600, Germany (Nuremberg), in the German language.
39 copper engravings (including 37-tinted).
Binding of the turn of the centuries: boards, embossed leather with the white date "1571" in the stamp, fasteners, corner irons.
Nem. Q.XIV.22

The military regulations, presented in poetic form, was written by George Hager in Nuremberg in 1600, as stated on the title sheet. At the end of the manuscript, there are placed several poems of George Hager and is specified his main profession - a shoemaker from Nuremberg. It is known that, in addition to the craft, he was a Mastersinger and composed music and poetry. The military regulations are based on treatises on the art of war, published in the 16th century. In rhymed verses, the book represents the army structure from soldiers – gunners, infantrymen, quartermasters, and so on to the commanders. The descriptions of the German army ranks are illustrated by engravings from the late 16th century edition, painted by hand. The printed text of the military regulations by George Hager has not been detected.

It is possible that the binding of the manuscript is re-used from an earlier period or it carries an early stamp: the «white» date – 1571.

22. Crétin, Guillaume du Bois (1460-1525)

Chronique française (livre IV). La vie et le règne de Charlemagne.
Chretien du Bois.
French Chronicle. History of Charlemagne.
16th century, France, in the French language.
Binding of the 16th century: cardboard, white embossed leather.
Fr. F.XIV.17

The manuscript contains a poetic version of the story of Emperor Charlemagne. The work was written by the French historian and poet Guillaume Crétin in the early 16th century by order of King Francis I. It has remained unpublished to the present day, and has survived only in manuscript form.

23. Raccolta di poesie (sonetti, canzoni, novelle)

Collection of poetry (sonnets, ballads, short stories).
15th century (2nd half), Italy (Bologna), in the Italian language.
Colourful ornamented initial, border, coat of arms, golden initial letters.
Binding of the 17th century: cardboard, white leather.
It. Q.XIV.

It is a collection of poems by the 15th century Italian poets, including Serdini, Sangvinachchi, Kavalkabo and others, as well as sonnets and canzones (ballads) by unknown authors, wrote "on the occasion". The book opens with a short prose story about a tragic love of the legendary Babylonian pair of Pyramus and Thisbe. The story about the tragic death of the lovers has been known since antiquity: it was used in Ovid's "Metamorphosis", in poem by the Greek epic poet Nonnus of Panopolis. The famous Shakespearean tragedy of Romeo and Juliet as well as a number of literary and musical works also borrow from this story dating back to antiquity.

24. Miscellanea poetica

Ines, Wojciech (Albert) (1619-1658).
Franciscus Xaverius, Indiarum Apostolus... elogia.
Lorencowicz, Aleksander (1609-1675).
Centuria emeritae virtutis militum e minimo Societatis Jesu.
Paprocki, BartÅ‚omiej  (ca 1543-1614).
Pharus Sarmatica.
Collection of poetry by Polish Jesuits: Wojciech Ines, Alexander Lorencowicz, Bartholomew Paprocki and others.
17th century (2nd half), Poland, in Latin and Polish.
Copies of Polish editions of 1633-1652.
Binding of the early 19th century: cardboard, paper, leather.
Razn. O.XIV.17

The collection contains poems of Polish writers and scholars who belonged to the Jesuits. The elegy by the poet Wojciech Ines (1619-1658) is dedicated to the famous Spanish Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier (1506-1552), called the apostle of India and canonized by the Catholic Church. The author of the «Centuries» Alexander Lorencowicz (1609–1675) – a Polish Jesuit, Rector of Jesuit colleges in Lviv and in Jaroslaw (Galicia). The poem «Sarmatian Lighthouse», published in Cracow in 1633, was written by the historian and heraldist Bartholomew Paprocki (ca 1543–1614). Judging by the modest decoration of the manuscript, the poetic works were copied into the collection from publications of 1633–1652 for the personal use of the owner.

25. Acclamatio in Lyceo Academico Bialensi

The voice of Bialska Academy (epigrams, elegies, dedications).
1641, Poland, in Latin.
Lat. Q.XIV.328

The poetry collection contains short poems, epigrams and dedications, composed in the Bialska Academy and addressed to its teachers. The Academy was founded in 1628 in the small Polish town of Biala Podlaska. The town was greatly developed in the late 16th century, when the Radziwill family settled and built a castle there. The Academy was the third largest institution of higher education in Poland and was considered a branch of the Krakow Academy. The children of the Polish gentry were taught in it. The Academy had a theological and philosophical faculties where students studied for 3 years; two year rhetoric courses; courses of poetry and grammar. Lectures were conducted in Polish and Latin. The Academy lasted less than a century, gradually declining and losing its prestige. The Academy building has survived to the present day, and now it is a secondary school.