Editing Polish literature (section)

==Middle Ages==
Almost nothing remains of Polish literature prior to the [[Baptism of Poland|country's Christianization]] in 966.{{Explain|date=November 2018|reason="Almost" indicates some pre-966 literature does exist; if that is the case, specify what it is. If it doesn't exist, remove the word "almost"}} Poland's [[pagan]] inhabitants certainly possessed an [[oral literature]] extending to Slavic songs, legends and beliefs, but early Christian writers did not deem it worthy of mention in the obligatory Latin, and so it has perished.<ref name="Miłosz-1" />

Within the Polish literary tradition, it is customary to include works that have dealt with [[Poland]], even if not written by ethnic Poles. This is the case with [[Gallus Anonymus]], the first historian to have described Poland in his work entitled ''[[Cronicae et gesta ducum sive principum Polonorum]]'' (Deeds of the Princes of the Poles), composed in sophisticated Latin. Gallus was a foreign [[monk]] who accompanied King [[Bolesław III Wrymouth]] in his return from Hungary to Poland. The important tradition of Polish historiography was continued by [[Wincenty Kadłubek]], a thirteenth-century Bishop of [[Kraków]], as well as [[Jan Długosz]], a Polish priest and secretary to Bishop [[Zbigniew Oleśnicki (cardinal)|Zbigniew Oleśnicki]].<ref name="Miłosz-1" />

The first recorded sentence in the [[Polish language]] reads: "''Day ut ia pobrusa, a ti poziwai''" ("Let me grind, and you take a rest") – a [[paraphrase]] of the Latin "''Sine, ut ego etiam molam.''" The work in which this phrase appeared reflects the culture of early Poland. The sentence was written within the Latin language chronicle ''[[Book of Henryków|Liber fundationis]]'' from between 1269 and 1273, a history of the [[Cistercian]] monastery in [[Henryków, Lower Silesian Voivodeship|Henryków]], [[Silesia]]. It was recorded by an abbot known simply as Piotr (Peter), referring to an event almost a hundred years earlier. The sentence was supposedly uttered by a Bohemian settler, Bogwal ("Bogwalus Boemus"), a subject of [[Bolesław the Tall]], expressing compassion for his own wife who "very often stood grinding by the [[quern-stone]]."<ref name="Mikos">{{cite web | url=http://staropolska.gimnazjum.com.pl/ang/middleages/Mikos_middle/Literary_m.html | title=MIDDLE AGES LITERARY BACKGROUND | last=Mikoś | first=Michael J. | year=1999 | publisher=Staropolska on-line | access-date=25 September 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722024627/http://staropolska.pl/ang/middleages/Mikos_middle/Literary_m.html | archive-date=22 July 2012 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Most notable early [[Middle Ages|medieval]] Polish works in Latin and the [[Old Polish language]] include the oldest extant manuscript of fine prose in the [[Polish language]] entitled the ''[[Holy Cross Sermons]]'', as well as the earliest Polish-language ''[[Bible of Queen Sophia|Bible of Queen Zofia]]'' and the {{Ill|Kronika Janka z Czarnkowa|lt=''Chronicle of Janko of Czarnków''|pl}} from the 14th century, not to mention the {{Ill|Psałterz puławski|lt=''Puławy Psalter''|pl}}.<ref name="Miłosz-1" />

Most early texts in Polish [[vernacular]] were influenced heavily by the Latin sacred literature. They include ''[[Bogurodzica]]'' (Mother of God), a hymn in praise of the [[Mary, the mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]] written down in the 15th century, although popular at least a century earlier. ''Bogurodzica'' served as a national anthem. It was one of the first texts reproduced in Polish on a printing press; and so was the ''[[Master Polikarp's Dialog with Death|Master Polikarp's Conversation with Death]]'' (Rozmowa mistrza Polikarpa ze śmiercią). At that time several Catholic Marian songs were written, with many of them being considered the most notable art pieces of the Medieval polish literature, including ''[[Lament of the Holy Cross]]'' that presents Mary in more humane and emotional way. Also, various hagiographic legends were created and [[Legenda o świętym aleksym|Legenda o świętym Aleksym]] (The Legend of the Saint Alexius) is considered the most prominent. The legend treats about the figure of [[Alexius of Rome|the Saint Alexius]] that chose the path of lifelong [[asceticism]] as a sacrifice of worldly goods in the name of God.<ref name="Miłosz-1" />

In the early 1470s, one of the first printing houses in Poland was set up by [[Kasper Straube]] in [[Kraków]] (see: [[Global spread of the printing press#Poland|spread of the printing press]]). In 1475 Kasper Elyan of Głogów (Glogau) set up a printing shop in Wrocław (Breslau), [[Silesia]]. Twenty years later, the first [[Cyrillic]] printing house was founded at Kraków by [[Schweipolt Fiol]] for [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] hierarchs. The most notable texts produced in that period include ''Saint Florian's Breviary,'' printed partially in Polish in the late 14th century; ''Statua synodalia Wratislaviensia'' (1475): a printed collection of Polish and Latin prayers; as well as [[Jan Długosz]]'s ''Chronicle'' from the 15th century and his ''[[Catalogue of the Archbishops of Gniezno|Catalogus archiepiscoporum Gnesnensium]]''.<ref name="Miłosz-1" />