FarEastLatin

Benedictus Polonus

Benedykt Polak/ Benedict from Poland

Benedictus Polonus: The Polish Franciscan in Mongol Lands (1245–1247)

Biographical Sketch

Benedictus Polonus was a Polish friar who accompanied Giovanni da Pian del Carpine on his papal mission to the Mongols (1245–1247) under orders from Pope Innocent IV. His epithet Polonus indicates his Polish origin. Contemporary testimony (Carpini’s Historia Mongalorum) records him as an interpreter. His own Relatio, preserved in several manuscripts, provides an independent and shorter account of the same journey. Beyond his role in this mission, no further biographical details are securely known.

Latin Text and Translation

Editorial Principles

  • Base text: Wyngaert’s 1929 edition, which uses Vienna MS (B) as principal witness
  • G = variant readings from Pullé’s 1905 printed edition as cited by Wyngaert — not a manuscript
  • P = Paris MS (BN Colbert 2477), variants reported by Wyngaert
  • B = Vienna MS (ÖNB Cod. 512), Wyngaert’s base manuscript
  • Medieval orthography retained (e.g., Thartarorum, at for ac)
  • Only unambiguous errors corrected

Source Edition:
Anastasius Van den Wyngaert (ed.), Sinica Franciscana, Vol. I (Florence: Collegium S. Bonaventurae, 1929), pp. 135–143

Manuscript Witnesses (via Wyngaert):
• B – Vienna, ÖNB Cod. 512; principal witness, base of Wyngaert’s edition
• P – Paris, BN Colbert 2477; collated witness
• G – Pullé 1905 printed edition; cited for variant readings only (not a manuscript)

Textual Notes

  • B (Vienna MS): Wyngaert’s base; 13th-century witness; conservative orthography
  • P (Paris MS): Independent readings, occasionally preferred where B appears harmonized
  • G (Pullé 1905): Printed edition; readings adopted only where they plausibly preserve earlier forms

Derivative witnesses (e.g., Vatican MS) are not used for the text.

Project Sections

  1. Annotated Latin Text
    Latin text based on Wyngaert (1929) with textual commentary and selected variants from P and G
  2. Historical-Literal Translation
    English translation with textual and historical commentary
  3. Analysis of selected content
    Contextual studies of the mission’s route, encounters, and diplomatic information (forthcoming)
  4. Resources
    Maps and visual materials showing Wrocław → Kyiv → Sarai → Karakorum route (forthcoming)
  5. Bibliography
    Research bibliography on Benedictus Polonus and the Carpini mission