Fryderyk Rozen (Independent Researcher)
In the 15th century, the ecclesiastical province of Gniezno was a highly developed part of the structure of the Roman Church, and at the same time, the periphery of printing. The numerous diocesan institutions required intense production of liturgical, juridical and other kinds of codices.
At the beginning of the eighties of the 15th century, an increasing potential of the printing press was used by the Church officials of the ecclesiastical province of Gniezno to improve the book culture in their dioceses. Some dioceses organized printing of several editions of various liturgical books, whereas others ordered just a single edition. Most often they ordered books from specialized printing houses in prominent printing centres like Strasbourg, Nuremberg and Mainz. The hierarchy’s involvement in the process of printing was part of its wider activity in the field of culture.
In my paper, I present the incunabula that were printed especially for the Polish dioceses. Among them particularly interesting are liturgical books prepared for two or three dioceses like Breviarium Tripartitum Cracoviense Gnesnense et Posnaniense. Next, I examine the cooperation of the Polish Church authorities and the European printing centres in the process of the books production and dissemination. Finally, I discuss this subject in the context of the regional cultural development of the dioceses of the ecclesiastical province of Gniezno.