Jakub Wujek (1541 – 27 April 1597, son of Maciej Wujek) was a Polish Jesuit, religious writer, Doctor of Theology, Vice-Chancellor of the

Vilnius Academy Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...

and

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...

into

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

. He is well-known for his translation of the Bible into Polish: the Wujek Bible.

Life

He studied at the Cistercian School in Wągrowiec and continued with humanities and classical science studies in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is spli ...

where he proved himself exceptionally talented, especially in languages. On his parents' advice he moved to Cracow from Silesia in 1558 and studied classics, where in 1559 he received a master's degree in Philosophy. He began to teach at the bishop of Cracow's,

Jakub Uchański Jakub Uchański (1502–81), of Radwan coat of arms, was an archbishop of Gniezno and primate of Poland from 1562 to 1581, interrex from 1572 to 1573 and from 1574 to 1575. Biography He began his service at the royal court as a secretary and adm ...

, school in Cracow. When Uchanski was made

Primate Primates are a diverse order (biology), order of mammals. They are divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include the Tarsiiformes, tarsiers and ...

he sent Wujek to the Jesuit's College in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. Here Wujek completed a master's degree in Philosophy and supplemented his philosophical studies with mathematical lectures and learning Greek. In 1565 he joined the Jesuit Order in Vienna and after novitiate he began theological studies at Collegium Romanum where he received a doctor's degree. After two years in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

he returned to Poland to

Pułtusk Pułtusk (pronounced ) is a town in northeast Poland, by the river Narew. Located north of Warsaw in the Masovian Voivodeship, it had a population of about 19,000 . Known for its historic architecture and Europe's longest paved marketplace ( in ...

, where he became a lecturer in Jesuits’ College. He was ordained a priest in 1568 in Pułtusk and from that moment he devoted himself the undertaking of preaching and writing. In 1571–1578 as Chancellor he organized the Jesuit College in Poznań. In 1578–1580 he was Chancellor of the

. In 1579–1584 he founded the Jesuits province of

Cluj ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Status , subdivision_name2 = County seat , settlement_type = City , le ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the ...

and was the first Chancellor of the Cluj Academy. Wujek published two books: ''Postylla katoliczna'' (Postylla catholica, 1573), ''Postylla mniejsza'' (Lesser Postilla), "Żywoty" (Lives), "Pasja" (Passion) and others. In 1584 the authorities of the Society of Jesus commissioned Wujek to translate the Bible from

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Bible translations into Latin, Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus&nbs ...

- St. Jerome's Latin translation of the Bible which was sanctioned by the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described ...

as the official Bible of the Roman Catholic Church in 1546. The first official version of the Vulgate, known as the Sistine Vulgate, was published on Pope Sixtus V's recommendation in 1590 and was preceded by Sixtus V's bull
Aetenus Ille
. A revised edition of this Vulgate, known as the Clementine Vulgate, was officially published along with the bull
Com Sacrorum
by pope Clement VIII in 1592. Wujek's translation of the New Testament first appeared in 1593, complete with "teachings and warnings" regarding the Brest Bible and the

Socinian Socinianism () is a nontrinitarian belief system deemed heretical by the Catholic Church and other Christian traditions. Named after the Italian theologians Lelio Sozzini (Latin: Laelius Socinus) and Fausto Sozzini (Latin: Faustus Socinus), un ...

versions of

Symon Budny Szymon Budny or Symon Budny ( be, Сымон Будны, pl, Szymon Budny, russian: Симеон Будный; c.1533, Budne – 13 January 1593, Vishnyeva) was a Polish-Belarusian humanist, educator, Hebraist, Bible translator, Protestant re ...

and

Marcin Czechowic Martin Czechowic (or ''Marcin Czechowic'') (c.1532–1613) was a Polish Socinian (Unitarian) minister, Protestant reformer, theologian and writer. Life Born in Zbąszyń on the German border, Czechowic received a humanistic education in Poznań ...

. Czechowic accused Wujek of plagiarism, and Marcin Łaszcz responded on Wujek's behalf.Marcin Łaszcz, ''"Recepta na plastr Czechowica"''. In terms of language, Wujek continued to write in his predecessors' style. His translation is precise and multilateral; its language is easy and clear whilst at the same time serious and dignified. Wujek's translation, known as the Wujek Bible, replaced the and served as the fundamental Polish Catholic translation for over three centuries. Jakub Wujek was buried in the grounds of Saint Barbara's Church in Cracow.

References

External links

* Encyklopedia Polski, Kraków, Wydawnictwo Ryszard Kluszczyński, 1996, p. 768. * Jan Sygański,
''Ks. Jakób Wujek z Wągrowca w świetle własnej korespondencji 1540-1597''
Kraków 1914

''Postilla Catholica. To iest Kazania na Ewangelie Niedzielne...'' Kraków, 1584 at Opolska Biblioteka Cyfrowa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wujek, Jakub 1541 births 1597 deaths Translators of the Bible into Polish 16th-century Polish Jesuits Rectors of Vilnius University People from Wągrowiec