Archbishop Jan Łaski of Gniezno’s letter of 20 October 1514: one of the earliest hagiographical sources on the life of St Casimir and the beginning of his canonization process

Aptariamas ir skelbiamas dokumentas yra žinomas istorikams, tyrinėjusiems šv. Kazimiero kulto istoriją ar su ja susijusių asmenų veiklą. Tačiau niekada nebuvo publikuotas (mokslinėje spaudoje yra pateikta tik trumpa jo citata). Iki šiol tyrėjai arba tiesiogiai naudojosi dabar žinomu XVII a. nuorašu, saugomu Šv. Klaros seserų vienuolyne Krokuvoje, arba kokiais nors asmeniniais išrašais bei esamais jo apibūdinimais. Tad nenuostabu, kad rašant apie jį pasitaiko netikslumų, kurie kartojasi vėlesniuose darbuose. Straipsnio tikslas yra atkreipti dėmesį į tokius taisytinus teiginius ir vertinimus, detaliai pristatyti ir išanalizuoti laiško turinį, atskleisti ryšį su turima informacija apie kitus veikusius asmenis (Vilniaus vyskupą Albertą Radvilą, valdovo pasiuntinį Vilniaus prepozitą Lauryną Miendzyleskį) ir istorinį kontekstą, visų pirma karo su Maskva įvykius ir Oršos pergalės propagandą. Norima ir kuo tiksliau rekonstruoti pirmuosius veiksmus siekiant, kad būtų pradėta kanonizacijos byla Romoje, apsvarstomos galimos sąsajos su kitais neišlikusiais ir išlikusiais Kazimiero kulto šaltiniais. Ypač dėmesingai žvelgiama į teksto vietas, kuriose tiesiogiai kalbama apie būsimo šventojo Kazimiero asmenį. Analize siekiama papildyti žinias apie ankstyviausio kulto pobūdį ir pabandyti įžvelgti tam tikras paraleles su vėlesnio, 1520 m. Zacharijo Ferrerio parašyto „Gyvenimo“, tekstu.This article presents and analyzes the letter of Archbishop Jan Łaski of Gniezno written in Rome on 20 October 1514, which reveals the beginnings of Saint Casimir’s cult and the first efforts to initiate his canonization cause. The letter is addressed to Polish and Lithuanian ecclesiastical and lay officials, and communities representing various social strata. It supplies primary information about the audience with Pope Leo X during which the very first request of Polish King and Lithuanian Grand Duke Sigismund the Old to start the canonization process was presented on 30 September 1514. The letter also served as a recommendation for Wawrzyniec Międzyleski, the Dean of the Cathedral Chapter of Vilnius, who was about to arrive from Romeas a person authorized by the Pope to collect the necessary material about Casimir; it also proposes the idea and exhortation to collect material about four other persons considered to be saintly in Poland at the time. The document provides additional details related to these matters. This letter is very important because there are few extant sources from this particular period and the acts of the first inquiries conducted in Vilnius in the early stage of St Casimir’s canonization process (in 1518 and 1520) have not survived (except for Zacharias Ferreri’s book published in Kraków in 1521, which contains the Life of St Casimir and some related liturgical texts). Although Archbishop Łaski’s letter is known to historians, thus far it has been presented and interpreted with some inaccuracies. The aim of this article is to draw attention to these inaccuracies, to present and analyze its content in detail, and to reveal the connections between its contents and otherwise available information concerning other persons active at that time (Bishop Albertas Radvila of Vilnius, Wawrzyniec Międzyleski, royal envoy to Rome) and pertaining to the the wider historical context laying special emphasis on events of the war with Moscow. It also aims to consider possible links to other surviving and lost sources illustrating the cult of Prince Casimir. Particular attention is paid to the portions of the text which present the personality of Casimir, the future saint. This allows us to draw conclusions about the character of the earliest cult of the saint and to highlight some parallels with the later Life written by Ferreri in 1520. Since the whole text of the source has not been published as yet, the article is followed by an edition of the Latin text of Łaski’s letter with a translation into Lithuanian