The ''Book of Henryków'' ( pl, Księga henrykowska, la, Liber fundationis claustri Sanctae Mariae Virginis in Heinrichow) is a
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
chronicle of the
Cistercian abbey in
Henryków in
Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia ( pl, Dolny Śląsk; cz, Dolní Slezsko; german: Niederschlesien; szl, Dolny Ślōnsk; hsb, Delnja Šleska; dsb, Dolna Šlazyńska; Silesian German: ''Niederschläsing''; la, Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. Originally created as a registry of belongings looted during the
first Mongol invasion of Poland
The Mongol Invasion of Poland from late 1240 to 1241 culminated in the Battle of Legnica, where the Mongols defeated an alliance which included forces from fragmented Poland and their allies, led by Henry II the Pious, the Duke of Silesia. ...
of 1241, with time it was extended to include the history of the monastery. It is notable as the earliest document to include a sentence written entirely in what can be interpreted as an
Old Polish language
The Old Polish language ( pl, język staropolski, staropolszczyzna) was a period in the history of the Polish language between the 10th and the 16th centuries. It was followed by the Middle Polish language.
The sources for the study of the Ol ...
.
[Barbara i Adam Podgórscy: Słownik gwar śląskich. Katowice: Wydawnictwo KOS, 2008, page 12. .] Currently the book is on exhibition in the Archdiocesan Museum in
Wrocław
Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...
. On October 9, 2015 the ''Book of Henryków'' was entered in the list of
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
's "
Memory of the World
Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...
."
The first part of the 100-page-long book is devoted to the early history of the abbey, from its foundation by
Henry the Bearded
Henry the Bearded ( pl, Henryk (Jędrzych) Brodaty, german: Heinrich der Bärtige; c. 1165/70 – 19 March 1238) was a Polish duke from the Piast dynasty.
He was Dukes of Silesia, Duke of Silesia at Wrocław from 1201, Seniorate Province, Duke ...
in 1227 until 1259. The second part includes the later history until 1310. In the record for 1270, a settler from the nearby village is reported to have said to his wife "Day, ut ia pobrusa, a ti poziwai." which could be roughly translated as "Let me, I shall grind, and you take a rest."
The circumstances under which this sentence was written closely reflected the cultural and literary conditions in Poland in the first centuries of its national existence. It appeared in a Latin chronicle, written by a German abbot. The man who reportedly uttered the sentence almost one hundred years earlier was Bogwal, a Czech (Bogwalus Boemus), a local settler, and subject of
Bolesław the Tall, as he felt compassion for his local wife, who "very often stood grinding by the
quern-stone
Quern-stones are stone tools for hand- grinding a wide variety of materials. They are used in pairs. The lower stationary stone of early examples is called a saddle quern, while the upper mobile stone is called a muller, rubber or handstone. The ...
." The local village,
Brukalice, came to be named after him.
The Old Polish sentence
The medieval recorder of this phrase, the Cistercian monk Peter of the Henryków monastery, noted "Hoc est in polonico" ("In Polish, this is") before quoting it.
"Bogwali uxor stabat, ad molam molendo. Cui vir suus idem Bogwalus, compassus dixit: Sine, ut ego etiam molam. Hoc est in polonico: Day, ut ia pobrusa, a ti poziwai." - ''Book of Henryków'' (Liber fundationis claustri Sanctae Mariae Virginis in Henrichow) 1270Digital version ''Book of Henryków''
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See also
* ''
Hortulus Animae''
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
Digitalised ''Book of Henryków''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Book Of Henrykow
History of Silesia
13th-century history books
Polish chronicles
Polish language
Earliest known manuscripts by language
13th century in Poland
13th-century Latin books
Polish non-fiction books