Polskie sekwencje w graduałach tynieckich z XV wieku

Abstract

The history of the handwritten graduais from Tyniec is not well known. The Tyniec collection is actually represented by two graduais: the first one was written at the beginning of the XVth century (G I) and the second one dates back to the last quarter of the XVth century (G II). Both graduals are kept in the National Library. The subject of the present article are pieces of prose, whose texts or melodies are considered to be genuinely Polish. In the gradual G I we find two Polish sequences: "Congaudet angelorum chori" and "Radix lesse floruit". The first sequence is meant for St. Anne's Day and the second for the Feast of the Blessed Virgin. In the G II gradual we find six Polish sequences: "Consurge iubilans" - about St. Hedwig, "Iesu Christe, rex superne" - about St. Stanislaus, "Laude Deo altissimo" - about Our Lady "white as snow", "Radix lesse floruit" - about the Virgin Mary, "Salve, sancta Parens Christi" - also about the Virgin Mary, "Stella sole clarlor" - about the Presentation of the Virgin Mary. Altogether we have seven different sequences. The prose-piece "Congaudet" was inserted at the beginning of the XVIth century. Seperate sequences were written for patron saints of Poland, Stanislaus and Hedwig, however, the sequence dedicated to St. Wojciech is missing. This can be explained by the close association of the codexes with Kraków Cathedral, where the worship of their own martyr was more popular. The remaining sequences are dedicated to celebrations connected with the Blessed Virgin. The second gradual (G II) has preserved an unknown piece of prose "Salve, sancta Parens Christi" with the tune "O beata beatorum". "Radix lesse floruit" as well as "Stella sole clarlor" can also be considered as deriving from Tyniec. We can most probably also consider two other interesting melodies for the texts of "Laude Deo altissimo" and "Stella sole clarlor" as productions of the Tyniec monks. The first text was not known to have any melody at all until now. So thanks to the graduals from Tyniec Abbey which have been discovered, our knowledge of sequences in Poland has become richer.