Stanisław Grochowski’s Modlitwa Kazimierza ś[więtego], królewica polskiego, łacińskim rytmem przez tegoż świętego napisana i takimże na polskie przetłumaczona [Prayer of Casimir the Saint, the Polish prince, written in Latin rhythm by the same saint and also translated into Polish] – history and characteristics of the work; critical edition

Abstract

Father Stanisław Grochowski was an outstanding translator of religious poetry. He translated all the church hymns from Latin (Krakow, 1598). Then, in 1606, he published a translation of a fragment of the work Mariale by Bernard of Morlas (12th century); the hymn Omni die dic Mariae, in the 16th century in Poland considered to be the work of St. Kazimierz. It was a bilingual edition: a Latin text critically compiled by Grochowski on the basis of handwritten sources available to him, and a Polish poetic translation of the same author along with notes by the eminent composer Diomedes Caton. The edition was conceived as a popular songbook intended for use by the faithful of the Catholic Church, engaged in the struggle for souls with reformation denominations. It was a proof of the priest's commitment to the fight against the Counter-Reformation and an important step in the popularization of medieval prayer in the Renaissance religious culture.