Catalogue of the Archbishops of Gniezno

Contents

Catalogue of the Archbishops of Gniezno (Latin: Catalogus archiepiscoporum Gnesnensium, Polish: Katalog arcybiskupów gnieźnieńskich) is an illuminated manuscript by Jan Długosz. It was illustrated by Stanisław Samostrzelnik.[1]

History

The Catalogue is a copy of a work written by Jan Długosz in 1460–1472.[2] It contains biographies of successive archbishops of Gniezno, the primates of Poland.[1] The manuscript was commissioned by Cracow Bishop Piotr Tomicki and produced between 1531 and 1535.[1] After the bishop's death, the manuscript became the property of his nephew, Primate Andrzej Krzycki.[2] A next owner, Jan Zamoyski, offered the manuscript to the library of the Zamoyski Academy.[2] It was transferred to the Library of the Zamoyski Estate at the beginning of the 19th century.[2] In 1944 it was taken from Warsaw to Goerbitsch by the Germans.[1] From there, the Russians transported it to Moscow.[1] It returned to the National Library of Poland in 1947.[1] Since May 2024, the manuscript has been exhibited at a permanent exhibition in the Palace of the Commonwealth in Warsaw.[3][1]

Description

The author presented the archbishops of Gniezno and the bishops of Krakow in chronological order.[2] There are also informations on their families, activity and the churches they founded.[2]

The Catalogue's illuminations was done by Stanisław Samostrzelnik, his colleagues and imitators.[2] The manuscripts contains 46 full-page or half-page miniatures and 26 unfinished miniatures.[2][4] Bishops are portrayed within various chambers, seated on thrones or stone benches, less often at the pulpit.[2] The miniatures feature the coats of arms of dignitaries, or sometimes the images of their patron saints.[2] The borders of some pages feature medallions images of Poland's old rulers.[2]

The manuscript page size is 31 cm × 24 cm (12.2 in × 9.4 in).[2] It has 145 leaves (290 pages).[4][2]

References

  1. 1.[1.2][1.3][1.4][1.5][1.6][1.7]Makowski & Sapała 2024, p. 95.
  2. 2.[2.2][2.3][2.4][2.5][2.6][2.7][2.8][2.9][2.10][2.11][2.12][2.13]More precious than gold 2003, section ″The Catalogue of Gniezno’s Archbishops″.
  3. 3."Palace of the Commonwealth open to visitors". National Library of Poland. 2024-05-28. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  4. 4.[4.2]"Catalogus archiepiscoporum Gnesnensium". Polona. National Library of Poland. Retrieved 2024-06-18.