Staropolskie piśmiennictwo sanktuaryjne jako źródło do badań nad kultem maryjnym na ziemiach Rzeczypospolitej

Abstract

The article features the wealth of forms and contents of prints conventionally called “sanctuary prints”. These include compendia which are the guides to sacred places of the Polish Republic, peregrination literature, occasional prints (e.g. published on the occasion of the coronation of a miraculous image), homiletic forms (texts of sermons preached during the Marian holidays, image translation or coronation), the stories of sacred places and legends related to them, collections of miracles and graces, prayer books and texts of songs intended for the pilgrims. Interpretation possibilities of this type of texts were indicated. The presence of the Virgin Mary in a notional sphere of elites and masses identified clearly and permanently her place in Polish religiosity and the Marian cult has found particular expression in growing from the half of the 16th century, the adoration of the Marian images. Important from this perspective studies tend to portray multiple cultural phenomena available through the external manifestations of worship presented in the source material.