Średniowieczna pomoc dydaktyczna. Studium jednej karty z rękopisu Jakuba z Piotrkowa

Abstract

The purpose of this scientific paper is to characterize the page 190v of the manuscript of Jagiellonian Library, cat. number 1297. Th e page in question contains the prayers and commentaries. Hitherto researchers have neglected this page so far, so it has not been fully described and some elements of the layout have not been identified (or misidentified) (see the papers of A. Bruckner, W. R. Rzepka and W. Wydra, C.K. Świecki et al.). The foregoing research has considered the page as a separate item, disregarding the surrounding pages. In this paper the author discusses the page as a whole. Th is allowed her to ask new questions concerning: the writer’s intention, the function of the page, and the possible status of an Old Polish text. In the main part of the paper the author makes an attempt to reconstruct the sequence of writing the elements of the layout (page composition), taking into consideration in particular the relations between the elements. According to the author it is possible to reconstruct the probable sequence of the writer’s actions, and therefore to retrace creative process of the scribe (known as Jakub of Piotrkow, the canon of Plock). Th e author assumes the three hypothetical stages of writer’s work. In the first stage he wrote Polish and Latin texts of Pater noster and Credo on the page. Then the page could have been used to lecture the prayers or to teach how to memorize them. Comparing the page on this stage with other known collections of basic prayers, we can eliminate the function of this record as a compendium or collection of common prayers. On later stages the writer added next elements: commentary on the translation of the prayers into Polish, a few words explanations (e.g. „The Holy Trinity: Th e Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit”, the division of water into snow, rain and ice) , an abridged version of Credo, a Polish version of Ave Maria and a paraphrase of Our Father by Ludolf the Carthusian. In the analysis the author points out the motivation behind the writing of consequent elements and their function (preaching and mnemonic). The last hypothetical stage of the creation of the page is writing down the text of Benedictiones mensae, not related to the elements mentioned before. The applied research procedure (reconstruction of the sequence of writing the texts on the page) allows to reconstruct alleged creative process. The analysis proves that the writer’s intention could have changed as subsequent elements were being written on the page. On the first stage the page could have served as a theological lecture or mnemonic teaching aid of the texts (both Latin and Polish). The receivers could have been the congregation (taught the basic prayers in Polish) or clerical students and the priests preparing to ministration (as the texts of prayers in Polish and Latin indicate). On the second stage the function of the page becomes clear: it serves as the teaching aid during lecturing of the articles of faith and explaining theological and linguistic matters (metatextual and metalinguistic commentary on the translations of prayers into Polish). That’s why we should consider the presumptive receivers not only simple folks (as some of the elements on the page are not applicable in this case) but clergymen or clerical students as well. The elements of the page were selected to use, depending on who was on the receiving end of the lecture and what was the purpose of it. According to the latest research on the distinguishing features and character of Old Polish texts we can assert that linguistic relics like this one, closely bound up with orality of medieval language, are not (were not) the complete texts but texts in statu nascendi. The discussed text is an example of genuine teaching aid, serving the writer, Jakub of Plock in ministering, and aft er that – probably the next clergymen.