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 (Carpine’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.
Critical Edition
Editorial Principles
- Base text: Manuscript G as primary witness
- Retain medieval orthography (Thartarorum, at for ac)
- Correct only unambiguous errors (e.g., dating mistakes)
Primary Edition:
Anastasius Van den Wyngaert (ed.), Sinica Franciscana, Vol. I (Florence: Collegium S. Bonaventurae, 1929), pp. 135–143
Manuscript Sources:
• G – Base text, preserves medieval orthography
• P – Later copy, retains the text with minor variations
• B – Later redaction reflecting textual updates
Manuscript Characteristics
- G: closest to the original dictation; preserves archaic features (at for ac, Thartarorum)
- P: later copy; textual variations recorded in Wyngaert
- B: later redaction; reflects subsequent revisions
Other witnesses discussed by scholars (e.g., Vatican MS) are excluded if derivative.
Project Sections
- Critical Latin Text
Diplomatic edition preserving G’s readings with P/B variants noted on the basis of Wyngaert - Historical-Literal Translation
Literal English version with textual and historical commentary - Analysis of selected content
Contextual analysis of the mission’s route, encounters, and diplomatic information (forthcoming) - Resources
Information and maps showing Wrocław → Kyiv → Sarai route (forthcoming) - Bibliography
Bibliography of the available research about Benedictus Polonus
FarEastLatin 