A Guide to the Heavens : : The Literary Reception of Herman Hugo's Pia Desideria in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth / / Radoslaw Grześkowiak.

• VerfasserIn: Grześkowiak, Radosław,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden, The Netherlands : : Brill,, [2024]; ©2024
• Year of Publication: 2024
• Edition: First edition.
• Language: English
• Series: Brill Research Perspectives in Humanities and Social Sciences Series
• Physical Description: 1 online resource

This is the first monographic study of the reception of Herman Hugo's emblematic book "Pia desideria" (1624) in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It discusses ten different translations and adaptations, showing how the engravings, elegies and exegetical extracts of the original volume were used by Polish-speaking authors (a little space is also devoted to the painting reception of the engravings). The author examines too the reasons for the phenomenon of the volume's popularity, proving that it was determined by the interest of women who did not know Latin, who constituted the most important target group for these numerous and varied Polish adaptations.

Table of Contents

Intro -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Figures and Tables -- Abstract -- Keywords -- 1 Introduction -- 1.1 A Bestseller out of the Blue -- 1.2 Current State of Research on Pia desideria -- 1.3 Polish Research on the Reception of Hugo's Collection -- 1.4 Study Concept and Layout -- 2 Pia desideria: The Anatomy of Success -- 2.1 A Formula for a Bestselling Emblem Book with a Religious Theme -- 2.2 The Popularity of Pia desideria in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth -- 3 Adaptations of Pia desideria Based on Its Engravings -- 3.1 The Role of Devotional Engravings in Propagating Personal Piety -- 3.2 Two Adaptations Dedicated to Princess Katarzyna Radziwiłł née Sobieska -- 3.3 Subscriptions in Engravings of Prints -- 3.4 Subscriptions in Loose Engravings -- 3.5 The Artistic Reception of Engravings: A Reconnaissance -- 3.6 Conclusions -- 4 Translations of the Pia desideria Elegies -- 4.1 Publicity for the Genre at Jesuit Schools -- 4.2 Three Translations into Polish -- 5 Translations and Adaptations of Exegetical Excerpts from Pia desideria -- 5.1 The Demand for Translations of Treatises by the Doctors of the Church -- 5.2 Carmelite Provenance of Polish Adaptations -- 5.3 Translations of Excerpts -- 5.4 Teofila Zadzikowa's Adaptation: Pragnienia Dusze pobożnej (Desires of a Pious Soul) -- 6 Conclusions -- 6.1 Literary Circulations: Oppositions and Interpenetrations -- 6.2 Heterogeneity of Pia desideria in the Context of Its Different Reception Paths -- 6.3 Projected Models of Reception -- Primary Sources -- Secondary Sources -- Bibliography -- Index.