{"history":[],"article":{"id":"0a71f09a-0d2f-4e93-9386-07b561a8ed3e","title":"Holy Cross Sermons","slug":"holy-cross-sermons","content":":::summary\n![Holy Cross Sermons](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Kazania///swietokrzyskie.///%2816625281%29.jpg)\n**Name:** Holy Cross Sermons \n**Location:** [National Library of Poland](https://bliptext.com/articles/national-library-of-poland) \n**Date:** 14th century \n**Language (s ):** [Latin](https://bliptext.com/articles/latin), [Polish](https://bliptext.com/articles/polish-language) \n**Size:** 26x22 cm \n**Accession:** Rps BOZ 1 \n:::\n\n# \nThe **Holy Cross Sermons** are the oldest extant prose text in the [Polish language](https://bliptext.com/articles/polish-language), dating probably from the late 13th or early 14th century.\nThe documents are named after the [pl](https://bliptext.com/articles/pl-sanktuarium-na-wi-tym-krzy-u)ace where they were originally housed – the [Holy Cross Monastery](https://bliptext.com/articles/w-krzy-monastery) ([pl](https://bliptext.com/articles/pl-sanktuarium-na-wi-tym-krzy-u)) in Poland's [Holy Cross Mountains](https://bliptext.com/articles/wi-tokrzyskie-mountains) (Polish: Góry Świętokrzyskie).\nThey were discovered in 1890 by [Aleksander Brückner](https://bliptext.com/articles/aleksander-br-ckner), in the form of [parchment](https://bliptext.com/articles/parchment) pieces cut into reinforcing strips, inside the binding of a Latin language [codex](https://bliptext.com/articles/codex), which contained the [Acts of the Apostles](https://bliptext.com/articles/acts-of-the-apostles) and the [Apocalypse](https://bliptext.com/articles/apocalypse).\nThe sermons were first published in 1891, in a \"Philological Works\" (\"Prace Filologiczne\") magazine.\nIn 1934, [facsimiles](https://bliptext.com/articles/facsimile) of the text were published by the [Polish Academy of Learning](https://bliptext.com/articles/polish-academy-of-learning), and in 2009, new, full edition of the sermons was issued, prepared by professor Paweł Stępień.\n# [Alexander Brückner – discoverer of sermons | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Aleksander///Br%C3%BCckner///1939.jpg]\n# [View of the monastery on Łysa Góra, circa 1825–1850 | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Widok///Kosciola///i///klasztoru///So///Krzyza///na///Lysej///Gorze///1825-1850///%28113978405%29///%28cropped%29.jpg]\n\n# History\nEven though [Aleksander Brückner](https://bliptext.com/articles/aleksander-br-ckner) claimed that the text was originally housed at the Holy Cross Monastery, this hypothesis has been criticized by some scholars.\nAccording to historian Władysław Semkowicz, the codex, already strengthened with strips of parchment, was delivered to a Benedictine monastery at [Leżajsk](https://bliptext.com/articles/le-ajsk), around 1459.\nThe Leżajsk monastery, however, was not the location where the sermons were written.\nLanguage analysis carried out by Polish experts proved that the text was probably written in a monastery in [Miechów](https://bliptext.com/articles/miech-w), which was famous for its sermons and library, and which cooperated with the Leżajsk monastery.\nOn the other hand, if sermons were written in the 13th century, then their Miechów origins are dubious.\nAt that time, the monks of this monastery were of Czech and German origin, who either did not speak Polish, or spoke it poorly and were unable to write down the complicated text.\nSome time in the 15th century, the sermons were cut into strips, which were used to strengthen the binding of a Latin language [codex](https://bliptext.com/articles/codex).\nMost likely, other parts of the sermons were used in bindings of other books.\nThis practice was common at the time, as parchment was both durable and expensive, so publications regarded as unnecessary or unimportant were frequently used to strengthen other, more precious books.\n[Aleksander Brückner](https://bliptext.com/articles/aleksander-br-ckner) discovered the sermons on March 25, 1890, at the Imperial Public Library in [St. Petersburg](https://bliptext.com/articles/st-petersburg), [Russian Empire](https://bliptext.com/articles/russian-empire).\nHe was studying an ancient Latin codex, which had belonged to the [Warsaw University](https://bliptext.com/articles/warsaw-university) library, and was confiscated by the Russians after the [November Uprising](https://bliptext.com/articles/november-uprising) (1831).\nIn the binding of the book, Brückner to his surprise found eighteen long strips.\nAfter putting them together, it turned out that they contained one whole, and five incomplete sermons.\nThey were brought back to Poland in 1925.\nDuring World War II, the Holy Cross Sermons were taken to Canada for safekeeping.\nThey are now preserved at the [National Library](https://bliptext.com/articles/polish-national-library) in [Warsaw](https://bliptext.com/articles/warsaw) (#8001), and their photocopy may be seen at The Digital [National Library](https://bliptext.com/articles/polish-national-library) Polona ([See electronic version of the Holy Cross Sermons](https://bliptext.com/articles/undefined)).\nFrom May 2024, the manuscript is presented at a [permanent exhibition in the Palace of the Commonwealth](https://bliptext.com/articles/permanent-exhibition-in-the-palace-of-the-commonwealth).\n\n# Description\nThe [sermons](https://bliptext.com/articles/sermon), on the occasions of Church holy days, comprise fragments of five texts and one complete sermon (for [St. Catherine's Day](https://bliptext.com/articles/st-catherine-s-day)).\nWritten on parchment, they had been cut into thin strips and used to reinforce the binding of a 15th-century [Latin](https://bliptext.com/articles/latin) manuscript.\nThe fifteen strips, put together by Bruckner, make one sheet (117 × 173 mm), and the remaining three strips make the bottom of a second sheet.\nLinguistically, the Holy Cross Sermons reflect an older stage of the language than the 14th century, the manuscript being a copy of original sermons composed some time from the end of the 13th century.\nThey manifest a variety of linguistic archaisms, for instance:\n1) Hard-stem declension of the pronoun *tъnъ 'this one': Nom. sg. ten, Gen. sg. togo, Dat. sg. tomu;\n2) [Aorist](https://bliptext.com/articles/aorist) and [Imperfect](https://bliptext.com/articles/imperfect):\n- 1 sg.\naor.\nwidziech (cf. Lat. perf. vidi) < PSl.\n*viděti 'to see, to look', *viděxъ 'I saw, I looked (at); I have seen, I have looked (at)';\n- 3 sg.\naor.\npostawi (cf. Lat. perf. posuit) < PSl.\n*postaviti 'to place', *postavi 'he/she/it placed, has placed';\n- 3 pl. aor.\npośpieszychą się (cf. Lat. perf. venerunt) < PSl.\n*pospěšiti 'to go, to go somewhere', *pospěšixǫ 'they went, they went somewhere, they went out';\n- 3 sg.\nimpf.\nbiesze (cf. Lat. impf. erat) < PSl.\n*byti 'to be', *běaše 'he/she/it was';\n- 3 sg.\nimpf.\nsiedziesze (cf. Lat. impf. sedebat) < PSl.\n*sěděti 'to sit', *sěděaše 'he/she/it sat, was sitting'.\n\n# Contents\nThe strips contain a whole sermon for [St. Catherine's Day](https://bliptext.com/articles/st-catherine-s-day) (November 25), and parts of sermons for the following days:","current_revision":null,"created_by":"kACnuQmH5k9Nr5VNVEpVeg7XpvUmMctD","created_at":"2025-01-25T19:23:28.406Z","updated_at":"2025-01-25T19:23:28.406Z","search_vector":"'cross':2 'holi':1 'sermon':3","search_content":" \n \n**Name:** Holy Cross Sermons \n**Location:** [National Library of Poland](https://bliptext.com/articles/national-library-of-poland) \n**Date:** 14th century \n**Language (s ):** [Latin](https://bliptext.com/articles/latin), [Polish](https://bliptext.com/articles/polish-language) \n**Size:** 26x22 cm \n**Accession:** Rps BOZ 1 \n \n\n# \nThe **Holy Cross Sermons** are the oldest extant prose text in the [Polish language](https://bliptext.com/articles/polish-language), dating probably from the late 13th or early 14th century.\nThe documents are named after the [pl](https://bliptext.com/articles/pl-sanktuarium-na-wi-tym-krzy-u)ace where they were originally housed – the [Holy Cross Monastery](https://bliptext.com/articles/w-krzy-monastery) ([pl](https://bliptext.com/articles/pl-sanktuarium-na-wi-tym-krzy-u)) in Poland's [Holy Cross Mountains](https://bliptext.com/articles/wi-tokrzyskie-mountains) (Polish: Góry Świętokrzyskie).\nThey were discovered in 1890 by [Aleksander Brückner](https://bliptext.com/articles/aleksander-br-ckner), in the form of [parchment](https://bliptext.com/articles/parchment) pieces cut into reinforcing strips, inside the binding of a Latin language [codex](https://bliptext.com/articles/codex), which contained the [Acts of the Apostles](https://bliptext.com/articles/acts-of-the-apostles) and the [Apocalypse](https://bliptext.com/articles/apocalypse).\nThe sermons were first published in 1891, in a \"Philological Works\" (\"Prace Filologiczne\") magazine.\nIn 1934, [facsimiles](https://bliptext.com/articles/facsimile) of the text were published by the [Polish Academy of Learning](https://bliptext.com/articles/polish-academy-of-learning), and in 2009, new, full edition of the sermons was issued, prepared by professor Paweł Stępień.\n# [Alexander Brückner – discoverer of sermons | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Aleksander///Br%C3%BCckner///1939.jpg]\n# [View of the monastery on Łysa Góra, circa 1825–1850 | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Widok///Kosciola///i///klasztoru///So///Krzyza///na///Lysej///Gorze///1825-1850///%28113978405%29///%28cropped%29.jpg]\n\n# History\nEven though [Aleksander Brückner](https://bliptext.com/articles/aleksander-br-ckner) claimed that the text was originally housed at the Holy Cross Monastery, this hypothesis has been criticized by some scholars.\nAccording to historian Władysław Semkowicz, the codex, already strengthened with strips of parchment, was delivered to a Benedictine monastery at [Leżajsk](https://bliptext.com/articles/le-ajsk), around 1459.\nThe Leżajsk monastery, however, was not the location where the sermons were written.\nLanguage analysis carried out by Polish experts proved that the text was probably written in a monastery in [Miechów](https://bliptext.com/articles/miech-w), which was famous for its sermons and library, and which cooperated with the Leżajsk monastery.\nOn the other hand, if sermons were written in the 13th century, then their Miechów origins are dubious.\nAt that time, the monks of this monastery were of Czech and German origin, who either did not speak Polish, or spoke it poorly and were unable to write down the complicated text.\nSome time in the 15th century, the sermons were cut into strips, which were used to strengthen the binding of a Latin language [codex](https://bliptext.com/articles/codex).\nMost likely, other parts of the sermons were used in bindings of other books.\nThis practice was common at the time, as parchment was both durable and expensive, so publications regarded as unnecessary or unimportant were frequently used to strengthen other, more precious books.\n[Aleksander Brückner](https://bliptext.com/articles/aleksander-br-ckner) discovered the sermons on March 25, 1890, at the Imperial Public Library in [St. Petersburg](https://bliptext.com/articles/st-petersburg), [Russian Empire](https://bliptext.com/articles/russian-empire).\nHe was studying an ancient Latin codex, which had belonged to the [Warsaw University](https://bliptext.com/articles/warsaw-university) library, and was confiscated by the Russians after the [November Uprising](https://bliptext.com/articles/november-uprising) (1831).\nIn the binding of the book, Brückner to his surprise found eighteen long strips.\nAfter putting them together, it turned out that they contained one whole, and five incomplete sermons.\nThey were brought back to Poland in 1925.\nDuring World War II, the Holy Cross Sermons were taken to Canada for safekeeping.\nThey are now preserved at the [National Library](https://bliptext.com/articles/polish-national-library) in [Warsaw](https://bliptext.com/articles/warsaw) (#8001), and their photocopy may be seen at The Digital [National Library](https://bliptext.com/articles/polish-national-library) Polona ([See electronic version of the Holy Cross Sermons](https://bliptext.com/articles/undefined)).\nFrom May 2024, the manuscript is presented at a [permanent exhibition in the Palace of the Commonwealth](https://bliptext.com/articles/permanent-exhibition-in-the-palace-of-the-commonwealth).\n\n# Description\nThe [sermons](https://bliptext.com/articles/sermon), on the occasions of Church holy days, comprise fragments of five texts and one complete sermon (for [St. Catherine's Day](https://bliptext.com/articles/st-catherine-s-day)).\nWritten on parchment, they had been cut into thin strips and used to reinforce the binding of a 15th-century [Latin](https://bliptext.com/articles/latin) manuscript.\nThe fifteen strips, put together by Bruckner, make one sheet (117 × 173 mm), and the remaining three strips make the bottom of a second sheet.\nLinguistically, the Holy Cross Sermons reflect an older stage of the language than the 14th century, the manuscript being a copy of original sermons composed some time from the end of the 13th century.\nThey manifest a variety of linguistic archaisms, for instance:\n1) Hard-stem declension of the pronoun *tъnъ 'this one': Nom. sg. ten, Gen. sg. togo, Dat. sg. tomu;\n2) [Aorist](https://bliptext.com/articles/aorist) and [Imperfect](https://bliptext.com/articles/imperfect):\n- 1 sg.\naor.\nwidziech (cf. Lat. perf. vidi) < PSl.\n*viděti 'to see, to look', *viděxъ 'I saw, I looked (at); I have seen, I have looked (at)';\n- 3 sg.\naor.\npostawi (cf. Lat. perf. posuit) < PSl.\n*postaviti 'to place', *postavi 'he/she/it placed, has placed';\n- 3 pl. aor.\npośpieszychą się (cf. Lat. perf. venerunt) < PSl.\n*pospěšiti 'to go, to go somewhere', *pospěšixǫ 'they went, they went somewhere, they went out';\n- 3 sg.\nimpf.\nbiesze (cf. Lat. impf. erat) < PSl.\n*byti 'to be', *běaše 'he/she/it was';\n- 3 sg.\nimpf.\nsiedziesze (cf. Lat. impf. sedebat) < PSl.\n*sěděti 'to sit', *sěděaše 'he/she/it sat, was sitting'.\n\n# Contents\nThe strips contain a whole sermon for [St. Catherine's Day](https://bliptext.com/articles/st-catherine-s-day) (November 25), and parts of sermons for the following days:","revisionCount":0},"hasMore":false,"nextCursor":null}