''Chronica Polonorum'' ( la, Chronicle of the Poles, pl, Kronika polska) is a treatise about Polish history and geography written in
Latin by a
Polish renaissance scholar
Maciej Miechowita, a professor of
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
, historian, geographer,
astrologer
Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...
, and royal physician of king
Sigismund I the Old
Sigismund I the Old ( pl, Zygmunt I Stary, lt, Žygimantas II Senasis; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the ...
. ''Chronica Polonorum'' was first published in 1519.
Content
The Chronicle describes the history of Poland. It is based on the earlier work of
Jan Długosz (Latin: Johannes Longinus), supplementing its content with the events leading to the accession of
Sigismund the Old
Sigismund I the Old ( pl, Zygmunt I Stary, lt, Žygimantas II Senasis; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the ...
to the throne. Although the first edition of the Chronicle was published in 1519, it was confiscated by the authorities.
As a result of the intervention of the Senate some passages have been removed, others deeply revised, because a number of nobles felt offended by the hostile description of their ancestors. The book was republished in 1521 without the offending passages about
Jagiellons and the Primate
Jan Łaski. The Chronicle by Miechowita became a seminal source of data used in the creation of further chronicles by
Bernard Wapowski and
Marcin Kromer, the author of ''De origine et rebus GESTIS Polonorum''. Miechowita had his ''Chronica Polonorum'' republished by printer Hieronim Wietor of
Kraków. A supplementary treaty in three volumes written by Ludwik Decjusz (Louis Decius) was added to it as ''De vetustatibus Polonorum'' liber I, ''De Iagellonum familia'' liber II, and ''De Sigismundi regis temporibus'' liber III.
''Chronica Polonorum
Wielkopolska Biblioteka Cyfrowa
See also
* Chronica Polonorum by Wincenty Kadłubek
Wincenty Kadłubek ( 1150 – 8 March 1223) was a Polish Catholic prelate and professed Cistercian who served as the Bishop of Kraków from 1208 until his resignation in 1218. His episcopal mission was to reform the diocesan priests to ensure ...
* Wielkopolska Chronicle
The ''Wielkopolska Chronicle'' (or ''Chronicle of Greater Poland'', pl, Kronika wielkopolska) is an anonymous medieval chronicle describing supposed history of Poland from legendary times up to the year 1273. It was written in Latin at the end o ...
(Chronica Poloniae maioris), anonymous
Notes
{{Authority control
Polish chronicles
1519 books
16th-century Latin books