Paradisus Judaeorum
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"''Regnum Polonorum est Paradisus Judaeorum''" is the opening line of an anonymous 1606
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
pasquil A pasquinade or pasquil is a form of satire, usually an anonymous brief parody, lampoon in verse or prose, and can also be seen as a form of literary caricature. The genre became popular in early modern period, early modern Europe, in the 16th ce ...
, or pasquinade (satire), which can be rendered in English as "The Kingdom of Poland is a Paradise for Jews", and which is composed of a series of two-word predicates designed to describe the Polish kingdom in an unflattering light. In 1937,
Stanisław Kot Stanisław Kot (22 October 188526 December 1975) was a Polish historian and politician. A native of the Austrian partition of Poland, early in life he was attracted to the cause of Polish independence. As a professor of the Jagiellonian Unive ...
surmised that the pasquil's author may have been a Polish
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
townsman, perhaps a cleric, criticizing what he regarded as defects of the realm. In time the Latin pasquil evolved into a Polish-language quadripartite saying, or byword – "Poland was heaven for the nobility, purgatory for townfolk, hell for peasants, paradise for Jews" – that pointed key social disparities within the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
(1569–1795): privileged
nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
, struggling townspeople, enserfed peasantry, and a relatively prosperous and self-governing Jewish community (Cf. ''
kehila Kehila is a village in Saaremaa Parish, Saare County, on the western part of Saaremaa Island, Estonia. Before the administrative reform in 2017, the village was in Kihelkonna Parish Kihelkonna Parish was a municipality in Saare County, Eston ...
''). Interpretations of the 1606 pasquil's opening phrase "''paradisus Judaeorum''" generally concur that the anonymous author viewed the Jews as enjoying undue privileges in Poland. Other authors recast the phrase as a reference to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as a safe haven for Jewish communities, particularly those who lived on the
latifundia A ''latifundium'' (Latin: ''latus'', "spacious", and ''fundus'', "farm", "estate") was originally the term used by ancient Romans for great landed estates specialising in agriculture destined for sale: grain, olive oil, or wine. They were charac ...
of
magnates The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...
as lease-holders, lessees, and administrators.


History and versions

Polish literary historian
Stanisław Kot Stanisław Kot (22 October 188526 December 1975) was a Polish historian and politician. A native of the Austrian partition of Poland, early in life he was attracted to the cause of Polish independence. As a professor of the Jagiellonian Unive ...
provides the earliest printed attestation (pictured), which begins "Regnum Polonorum est Paradisus Judaeorum", in an anonymous 1606
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
text, one of two that are jointly known by the Polish title, ''Paskwiliusze na królewskim weselu podrzucone'' ("Pasquils Planted at Royal Wedding"), referring to the wedding of
Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa (, ; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden from 1592 to 1599. He was the first Polish sovereign from the House of Vasa. Re ...
and
Constance of Austria Constance of Austria (; ; ; 24 December 1588 – 10 July 1631) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of King-Grand Duke Sigismund III Vasa and the mother of King John II Casimir. Biography Constance was a daughte ...
that had taken place on 11 December 1605.: "W rękopisie Czartoryskich ... dano im wspólny tytuł: 'Pasquilliusze na królewskim weselu podrzucone'. Jest to wiadomość, której nie było by powodu poddawać w wątpliwość. Wszak ślub Zygmunta III z Konstancją Austriaczką odbył się 11 grudnia 1605, zatem rzecz zupełnie naturalna, że utwór plątający się wśród wierszy rokoszowych z 1606 rozrzucany był właśnie podczas źle widzianego w społeczeństwie wesela." ("In the
Czartoryski The House of Czartoryski (feminine form: Czartoryska, plural: Czartoryscy; ) is a Princely Houses of Poland, Polish princely family of Lithuanian-Ruthenians, Ruthenian origin, also known as the Familia (political party), Familia. The family, whic ...
s' manuscript, they were given a joint title: ''Pasquilliusze na królewskim weselu podrzucone'' Pasquinades Planted at Royal Wedding Celebration" There is no reason to doubt the information. The wedding of Zygmunt III and
Constance of Austria Constance of Austria (; ; ; 24 December 1588 – 10 July 1631) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of King-Grand Duke Sigismund III Vasa and the mother of King John II Casimir. Biography Constance was a daughte ...
took place on 11 December 1605, and so it is quite natural that a piece of writing, mixed in with
rokosz A rokosz () originally was a Meeting, gathering of all the Polish ''szlachta'' (nobility), not merely of deputies, for a ''sejm''. The term was introduced to the Polish language from Hungary, where analogous gatherings took place at a field calle ...
verses of 1606 hen the Zebrzydowski rebellion against the King began">Zebrzydowski_rebellion.html" ;"title="hen the Zebrzydowski rebellion">hen the Zebrzydowski rebellion against the King beganwas scattered about during a wedding celebration that was ill-viewed in society.")
Of the two texts attributed to the same anonymous author, the part that became the enduring saying appeared in "''Regnum Polonorum est"'' ("The Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...
Is"). Parts of the text were quoted in Bishop Stanisław Zremba's 1623 "''Okulary na rozchody w Koronie..."'' and were included in a 1636 work by
Stanisław Zaremba (bishop of Kiev)">Stanisław Zremba's 1623 "''Okulary na rozchody w Koronie..."'' and were included in a 1636 work by Szymon Starowolski. The phrase, "heaven for the szlachta">nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
", which became a regular part of the pasquil, only appeared in print towards the end of the century in the German Jesuit priest Michael Radau's 1672 ''Orator extemporeneus'', though Polish-literature scholar Julian Krzyżanowski suggests that Radau had coined the phrase as early as 1641. Kot writes that other versions, published in Poland in the 17th and 18th centuries, criticized the clergy,
Gypsies {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , ...
, Italians, Germans,
Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...
, and even Scots: groups were added or removed from the list, depending on the authors' views and allegiances. In various versions of the pasquil, phrases appear in varying order and sometimes do not appear at all; there are also some minor changes in wording.
Juraj Križanić Juraj Križanić ( – 12 September 1683), also known as Jurij Križanič, Yuriy Krizhanich, Iurii Krizhanich, and Yury Krizanitch (; , , ), was a Croatian Catholic missionary and polymath who is often regarded as the earliest recorded pan-Slav ...
, for example, writes "paradisus Hebraeorum" ("paradise for
Hebrews The Hebrews (; ) were an ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic-speaking people. Historians mostly consider the Hebrews as synonymous with the Israelites, with the term "Hebrew" denoting an Israelite from the nomadic era, which pre ...
") rather than "paradise for Jews". A five-part variant appears in ''Palatinum Reginae Liberatis'' (c. 1670) by the Polish Jesuit , who omits mention of the townspeople, instead adding "purgatory for royalty" and "
limbo The unofficial term Limbo (, or , referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition in medieval Catholic theology, of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. However, it has become the gene ...
for clergy". Another five-part 1861 German variant ("''Polen ist der Bauern Hölle, der Juden Paradies, der Burger Fegefeuer, der Edelleute Himmel, und der Fremden Goldgrube''" – "Poland is hell for peasants, paradise for Jews, purgatory for townspeople, heaven for the nobility, and goldmine for foreigners") includes the 1606 pasquil's "goldmine for foreigners", which did not make it into the modern saying that only lists the nobility, townspeople, peasants, and Jews. Samuel Adalberg's 1887
paremiology Paremiology () is the collection and study of paroemias (proverbs). It is a subfield of philology, folkloristics, and linguistics. History Paremiology can be dated back as far as Aristotle. Paremiography, on the other hand, is the collection of ...
records a four-part version ("''Polska niebem dla szlachty, czyśćcem dla mieszczan, piekłem dla chłopów, a rajem dla Żydów''" – "Poland is heaven for the nobility, purgatory for townspeople, hell for peasants, and paradise for Jews") that is closest to the 1606 original, differing from its opening lines only in the order of the phrases and in including "heaven for the nobility". Three variants of the 1606 pasquil appeared in shorter Latin versions, by the
Croat The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...
Juraj Križanić (1664), the
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
Giovan Battista Pacichelli (1685), and the Slovak (1708-9). The first translation of the 1606 Polish pasquil from Latin into Polish appeared in the 1630s. Kot himself translated it in 1937 and Krzyżanowski did in 1958.


Pasquil

The identity of the author is unknown. Kot wrote that he may have been a
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
townsman, perhaps a priest jealous of the influence of Jews and others, such as Protestants and nobility, who competed with Catholic townspeople.Mirror
/ref> Konrad Matyjaszek describes it as "expressing anti-gentry and anti-Jewish sentiments" According to
Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett (born September 30, 1942, in Toronto, Ontario) is a scholar of Performance and Jewish Studies and a museum professional. Professor Emerita of Performance Studies at New York University, she is best known for her int ...
, it was political
satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...
, "a
pasquinade A pasquinade or pasquil is a form of satire, usually an anonymous brief lampoon in verse or prose, and can also be seen as a form of literary caricature. The genre became popular in early modern Europe, in the 16th century, though the term had b ...
critical of everything in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth—foreigners,
immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...
, '
heretics Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Christianity, Judai ...
,'
peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...
s, burghers, and
servants A domestic worker is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly d ...
, and also Jews." Kot thinks the anonymous author of the 1606 pasquil may have been inspired by pasquils from other European countries.. A similar sixteenth-century saying had depicted England as "the paradise of women, the hell of horses, and the purgatory of servants". Variants of it had described France and Italy. The pasquil became popular abroad, where it was generally seen as critical of the Commonwealth in its entirety. Some 17th- and 18th-century Polish authors, themselves either nobles or clients of the nobility, saw it as an attack on the nobility's
Golden Freedoms Golden Liberty (; , ), sometimes referred to as Golden Freedoms, Nobles' Democracy or Nobles' Commonwealth ( or ''Złota wolność szlachecka'') was a political system in the Kingdom of Poland and, after the Union of Lublin (1569), in the Polish ...
and ascribed it to a foreign author, refusing to accept that a scathing criticism of Polish society could come from a Polish author. Kot writes that the pasquils were some of the most pointed examples of self-criticism originating in Polish society and that the nobility's refusal to accept that such criticism could come from within that society reflects sadly on the deterioration of Polish discourse in the 18th and 19th centuries.


Saying

Over time, the 1606 pasquil lapsed into obscurity, reduced to a popular
saying A saying is any concise expression that is especially memorable because of its meaning or style. A saying often shows a wisdom or cultural standard, having different meanings than just the words themselves. Sayings are categorized as follows: * ...
(often described as a proverb) that described the historical
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
(1569–1795) as "heaven for the nobility, purgatory for townspeople, hell for peasants, paradise for Jews." The saying contrasts the disparate situations of four Social class, social classes in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Therein, the privileged nobility (''szlachta'') figures at the top ("heaven for the nobility") along with the Jews ("paradise for the Jews"), the Bourgeoisie, townspeople (or burghers) are in the middle, and the impoverished, usually Serfdom in Poland, enserfed peasantry are at the bottom ("hell for peasants"). By the 16th century, the position of townspeople in the Commonwealth had been in decline (hence, "purgatory for townspeople"). The situation of the Commonwealth's Jews, while similar to that of the townspeople, was fairly secure and prosperous, particularly compared to the History of the Jews in Europe, situation of Jews in most other European countries. The comparison of the Jewish and noble classes has generally been described as exaggerated, as the Jewish situation in early modern Poland, while privileged compared to that of many other classes in the Commonwealth, and to the Jewish position in many other contemporary countries, was hardly idyllic. Due to its criticism of the nobility, the saying was most popular among townspeople; much less so among the nobility, whose writers, if they referred to it, used it mainly in the context of Polish Jewry. The saying has been described as still (as of 2004) very popular in Poland, and as often influencing people's views about the situation of the social classes, particularly the Jews, in the Commonwealth.


Jewish paradise

Several scholars and public figures have commented on the Latin phrase "''paradisus Judaeorum''" ("Jewish paradise", or "paradise for Jews") which forms part of the above saying. Some authors have read the phrase as a comment on the favorable situation of Jews in the Kingdom of Poland (and subsequently in the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
), a polity that was notable for having granted Jews special privileges in the 1264 Statute of Kalisz while Jews faced persecution and murder in western Europe. For that reason, the phrase has subsequently been used to refer to what has been called a golden age of Jewish life in Poland. John Klier, in his book about Eastern Europe, Eastern European Jewish history, titles a chapter about the history of the Jews in Poland, "Poland–Lithuania: 'Paradise for Jews; and Gershon Hundert likewise uses the phrase in the title of his 1997 article "Poland: Paradisus Judaeorum", published in the ''Journal of Jewish Studies'', in which he writes:
"The Polish Jewish community was vibrant, creative, proud and self-confident [...]. Their neighbours knew this as well, referring to Poland as Paradisus Judaeorum [...]. This is hyperbole of course[.] [...] Jews were the objects of continuous animosity on the part of significant elements of the population."
There is little doubt that the original phrase was Antisemitism, antisemitic, related to the Jewish arendator privilege in the Polish Kingdom and Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Piotr Konieczny maintains that the expression has mostly lost its originally "xenophobic and antisemitic" connotations, and identifies this change as an example of linguistic reclamation. In the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, which opened in Warsaw in 2013, POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews#Paradisus Iudaeorum (1569-1648), a gallery covering the "Golden Age of Polish Jewry" is named "''Paradisus Iudaeorum''". The phrase appears as epigram in that gallery, which ends in a "Corridor of Fire symbolis[ing] the Khmelnytsky Uprising" (1648-1657)". Joanna Tokarska-Bakir has criticized the gallery name, maintaining that "a 17th-century polemic[al] concept condemning the rampant prevalence of infidels" as the name for the gallery is disrespectful.
Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett (born September 30, 1942, in Toronto, Ontario) is a scholar of Performance and Jewish Studies and a museum professional. Professor Emerita of Performance Studies at New York University, she is best known for her int ...
, Program Director of the Core Exhibition of the POLIN Museum, responded that the intention is to engage the viewer in a complex debate going beyond a binary black-and-white oversimplification. Kamil Kijek wrote (in 2017) that, out of context, the phrase can be confusing, but within a broader context it represents a much more complex, nuanced relationship between Jews and non-Jewish Poles.


Latin texts


Notes


Further reading

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References

{{reflist, 26em Jewish Polish history Social history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Latin proverbs 17th-century Polish literature 1606 works Satirical essays Antisemitism in Poland Polish satire