Analecta: Studies and Materials for the History of Science

In 2023, 13 medieval manuscripts were discovered as part of the manuscripta. pl project. The most interesting aspects of these manuscripts, at least for the author, are described in the text, while the end of the article contains an inventory of the volumes with the most important data. Most of the manuscripts were copied in the 15th century on paper, some of them belonged to the Cistercians of Pelplin, and the provenance of two could not be determined. The oldest of the books—a collection of medical treatises—was created in the last quarter of the 13th century and was decorated in the most elaborate manner (four inhabited initials in gouache and gold and hundreds of penwork initials). The information contained in the article constitutes a preliminary identifi cation of the lost manuscripts.

The article presents the content of three of the 13 medieval manuscripts found by Mateusz F. Marszałkowski in the Bishop Jan Bernard Szlaga Diocesan Library in Pelplin. The criteria for selecting the material were: the early transmission of a known text (no. 1), the unusual nature of the collection (no. 2), and the previously unknown context of a late medieval monument of the Polish language (no. 3), known in literature (from a single source only). The first of these monuments is the life of Gerard of Cremona, a translator of works from Arabic into Latin (d. 1177). The text is found in a codex dating from the last quarter of the 13th century and belongs to a small group of the oldest monuments (shelfmark 61 (88)). The second of the presented codices contains a text specified in the table of contents as „Excerpta de collectis diversarum materiarum magistri Mathei de Cracovia, doctoris sacre theologie” (Akc. 3). This is the only known copy of this work, although there are many indications that even in the Middle Ages its authorship was attributed to one of the greatest theological authorities in Central Europe: Matthew of Krakow. The author of this text was actually the Czech theologian Stefan of Roudnice. Nevertheless, the manuscript undoubtedly contains an interesting collection of texts used by clergy in the pastoral care. The third manuscript (Akc. 1) contains sermons for the liturgical year (sermones mixti). These sermons were written in the Kingdom of Poland in the 15th century and were intended to be delivered in Polish audience. This is evidenced by the glosses in Polish, the sermon on St. Stanislaus, and the emphasis on the importance of the Polish state, referred to as „Corona Polonia”. What is more, this manuscript contains the only known version of the work „Oto usta już zamkniona: (Behold, my mouth is now closed) and previously unknown fragments of the Polish Marian song „Mocne Boskie tajemności” (Mighty Divine Mysteries), woven into the sermon. The characteristics of individual manuscripts are accompanied by editions of selected texts.

The subject of this study is the well-known but poorly researched medical manuscript 43 (79) from the 13th century, originating from the former Cistercian library in Pelplin, currently in the collection of the Diocesan Library in Pelplin. It is a rare example of a practical book (it contains medical texts by the Arab physicians Rhazes Liber medicinalis ad Almansorem and Avicenna Canon medicinae), but with luxurious features. It was written on thin, highquality parchment, with rich calligraphic and gouache decoration (figurative and ornamental), enriched with gold leaf. The author focuses on the problem of the book’s provenance (deepening the analysis of its technical features, which point to France) and on the issue of its integrity (it is an example of a codicis compositi, both in terms of text and material structure). She rejects the possibility that it was supplemented by the monks of Pelplin, assuming that as a whole it is a Western import to Pomerania, used in Pelplin during the Middle Ages.

The article provides an overview of the historiography concerning the life and works of Ludolf of Żagań (1353–1422), who served as abbot of the local monastery of Canons Regular. It examines the editions of Ludolf’s writings, including the monastic chronicle („Catalogus abbatum Saganensium”) and treatises on the Great Western Schism („De longevo schismate”, „Soliloquium schismatis”, „De schismate Robertino”), outlining the current state of research on these works. The article underscores Ludolf’s importance as a chronicler, reformer, and conciliarist, while also highlighting gaps in research on his lesser-known works and the need for new editions of his writings. Furthermore, the study aims to draw attention to the significance of Ludolf’s works, which (particularly in the case of his sermons) remains largely underinvestigated.

The article discusses medieval preliminary texts as evidence of the function of the main work, and its reception with respect to Aurora, composed during the last years of the 12th century by Petrus Riga, and reworked by Aegidius of Paris in the beginning of the 13th century. The inquiry is based on a selected group of 15th-century manuscript copies associated with the milieu of the University of Cracow, and several smaller provincial centers in Poland. The appendix presents editions of three preliminary texts that can be found in the manuscript group in question, which the modern edition of Aurora has not encompassed.

In a letter dated June 23, 1449, to scholars at the University of Kraków, Andrzej Gałka of Dobczyn, a former professor at that university and a supporter of John Wycliffe’s views, rejects accusations of heresy made against him by his former colleagues. He directs the same accusation at them, encouraging them to read John Wycliffe’s writings, which may facilitate the resolution of selected philosophical and theological problems. Due to its significance, this letter has been published six times since 1841. However, all editions, including the latest one from 2023, contain various errors, and some also contain factual errors in the commentary. The Latin text of the letter attached to this work, together with its Polish translation, is intended to eliminate the errors that have been identified. This work is a contribution to the history and methodology of editing historical sources.

The article identifies and reconstructs a codex whose table of contents and donation note have been preserved in manuscript BJ 2420, p. 62r. It has been established that two fragments of this manuscript: f. 33–44 and f. 62–63, were originally part of the codex BJ 2315 and were separated after 1777. In the 15th century, the complete book belonged to Jakub of Piotrków, a canon of the Płock cathedral chapter.

I begin with a brief and preliminary distinction between three fields: the history of emotions, the history of the philosophy of emotions, and the philosophy of emotions itself. In the main section I examine eight cases of deformation in the presentation (i.e. the reading, not the interpretation) of philosophical theories of emotions across various periods, regions, and schools of thought. I conclude with a few remarks and two final observations: one, more obvious but less significant, concerning the erroneous way in which primary texts in the philosophy of emotions have been read; and another, more significant but less obvious, concerning the implications of such readings for both the history of the philosophy of emotions and the philosophy of emotions. I also suggest that the deformations identified in my paper may be symptomatic of a broader process: the ideologization of emotions.

Róża Czacka, Blessed Elżbieta, is mainly known as the founder of the Institute for the Blind in Laski near Warsaw. In connection with the beatification of Czacka in 2021, many publications have appeared on her work, spirituality, and significance in the Church, especially the religious revival of the intellectual circles in the interwar period. Laski was also an important center for artistic and opposition circles after World War II. Mother Czacka is not widely known for her scientific achievements outside the field of pedagogy, especially special education, or more precisely, typhlopedagogy. Yet her achievements are significant. She was the first to initiate systematic care for blind people in Poland. She introduced the Polish term tyflologia (typhlology) and the contemporary understanding of this issue. Together with Sister Teresa Landy, she developed Polish diacritical marks and Braille abbreviations, which led to the standardization of the Polish Braille system. She also initiated a series of studies, including statistical ones, on blind people, the results of which are appreciated and used by typhlologists and special educators. The key assumption of contemporary typhlopedagogical influences, visible in Mother Czacka’s views, is to give blind people the status of active participants in the rehabilitation process.

The article presents the process of shaping the economic views and ideological attitudes of Włodzimierz Brus in the years 1941–1953, covering his wartime experiences in the USSR and his first years of activity in post-war Poland. The analysis focuses on the influence of the Soviet model of central planning on Brus’s thinking and on the cognitive dissonance that resulted from these experiences, shaped by his ambivalent attitude towards the Soviet state. Based on an analysis of Brus’s personal documents, the author of the article points out that despite his initial revisionist reflections and critical approach to Soviet models, after returning to Poland, Brus became involved in the implementation of the policies of the Polish Workers’ Party (PPR/PZPR), recognizing the party as the basic instrument for building socialism. During the Stalinist period, his scientific and journalistic activity took on a radical character, which Tadeusz Kowalik described as “the sorcerer of progress.” At the same time, however, it shows that the seeds of Brus’s concept of socialist economic reform, combining elements of central planning and market mechanisms, began to take shape at that time—an idea that after 1956 became the basis of the economist’s mature theoretical reflection and one of the important trends in Polish economic thought in the postwar period.

This text is an attempt to present a scholarly portrait of Jakub Karpiński as a historian of postwar Poland. Through an analysis of previously unused archival materials, the memories of people who knew him, and above all Karpiński’s own works, I attempt to answer the following questions: What intellectual traditions shaped Karpiński as a researcher? Which elements of the sociologist’s and philosopher’s craft did he transfer to his research in the field of the history of the Polish People’s Republic and the communist system? How did his historical works influence the development of research on the recent history of Poland?