Zaginiona „Historia sw. Genowefy” Andrzeja Zbylitowskiego. Uwagi i przypuszczenia

Andrzej Zbylitowski’s History of St. Genevieve was printed in 1599 but we do not know this edition. Scholars tried to guess the text, which is nevertheless dedeuced from Hieronim Juszynski’s notes, who noted the beginning of the piece. It can thus be concluded that the text in question was dedicated to the poet’s wife, and devoted to the patron of the French. It is common knowledge that the text refers to the poet’s first wife Anna Trzcienska, and Genevieve was the defeater of the Huns. We do not know, however, which wife of the poet is to be considered (in the same year the History was printed the poet got married for the second time), and St. Genevieve of Paris was commonly confused with Genevieve of Brabant, generally regarded as a saint. The article offers the possible solutions, establishes whether Zbylitowski knew the popular story of the oppressed innocence (i.e. Genevieve of Brabant), and presents the poet’s the reasons for taking up the hagiographic subject.