Sebastian Fabian Klonowic’s translation of Civilitas morum by Erasmus of Rotterdam : its place in the poet’s legacy and its publishing history in Poland-Lithuania

The article focuses on the Polish rendition of De civilitate morum puerilium - that is, a translation from Reinhard Lorich’s (Hadamarius’) catechismal version of Erasmus’ of Rotterdam treatise. The main goals of the text are: first, to understand the presence of the text (the Polish title: Dworstwo obyczajów) among works of such a talented author as Sebastian Fabian Klonowic; second, to reconstruct the publishing history of the Polish De civilitate; third to argue that forgotten bestsellers, such as Dworstwo, can help to better understand both early modern literature and book market in the first centuries of printing. The article summarises current knowledge about Sebastian Fabian Klonowic (ca. 1545-1602), a prolific poet, but also an author of textbooks and handbooks used to teach Latin and morals, as De civilitate was used as well. It analyses Klonowic’s translation practices and discusses his enthusiasm for Erasmus’ output. It also suggests that the Polish text was written with school usage in mind, probably for students of the newly opened academy established by Polish Brethrens in Raków. Next, the text moves on to describe the publishing history of De civilitate - Erasmus’ manual, its adaptations and translations. The author concentrates on the Polish translation, but the scarce evidence available for this title and its editions in the Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania is interpreted in the wider context of the Latin and vernacular editions of De civilitate printed in other European lands. The survey combines information offered by the unique copies preserved in the library collections and the evidence found in archival sources to reconstruct the reasons for the success of the handbook, and to explain why the majority of copies multiplying the text once enormously popular with printers and readers alike were bound to perish. Edition of Dworstwo obyczajów presents the Polish text of Klonowic. It is based on a printed unique copy of about 1603 (held at Ossolineum Library in Wrocław).