The oldest known sentence written in Polish comes from around 1270 and appears in the Book of Henryków, a Latin chronicle of the Cistercian monastery in Lower Silesia. In the midst of a Latin narrative, one phrase stands out:
„Day ut ia pobrusa, a ti poziwai.”
This roughly translates to: “Let me grind, and you take a rest.” It was reportedly spoken by a husband to his wife as he took over the manual labour of milling grain. Although short and colloquial, this sentence is a crucial linguistic artifact—it captures the phonetics, syntax, and vocabulary of Old Polish in a domestic, everyday context. It’s not a royal decree or religious formula, but a humble glimpse into medieval speech.
Because of its significance, the Book of Henryków was added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register in 2015. This single sentence is often considered the symbolic “birth certificate” of the Polish language.
Early Glosses and Marginal Notes
While the Henryków phrase is the most famous, it is not the only early trace of Polish. Throughout the 14th and 15th centuries, scribes began inserting Polish words and phrases into Latin manuscripts—often as glosses to explain difficult concepts or localise religious texts.
One important example is the Księga Elbląska (Elbląg Book), a collection of legal formulas from the 14th century. It includes Polish terms mixed with Latin, reflecting both the spoken language of the courts and early attempts to codify legal vocabulary.
Another key text is the Kazania świętokrzyskie (Holy Cross Sermons)—the oldest surviving example of a longer Polish text, dated to the late 14th century. Written on parchment and preserved in fragments, these sermons reveal both the evolving structure of Polish syntax and the strong influence of Church Latin.
The First Polish Grammar: Stages of Standardisation
The process of standardising Polish accelerated during the Renaissance. The 16th century, often called the Golden Age of Polish Literature, witnessed the emergence of writers and scholars who consciously sought to elevate the Polish language to the level of Latin and other prestigious European tongues.
One of the most important figures in this process was Stanisław Zaborowski, who published Orthographia seu modus recte scribendi et legendi Polonicum idioma in 1514. This was one of the first attempts to define the orthographic rules of Polish—a critical step toward creating a stable, written form of the language.
Later, in 1568, Piotr Statorius (a French-born scholar working in Kraków) published Polonicae grammatices institutio, the first grammar of the Polish language, written in Latin. It systematised Polish phonetics, morphology, and syntax, drawing comparisons to Latin structures. These works were not just academic—they laid the groundwork for education, printing, and cultural identity in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Mikołaj Rej and the Language of the People
One cannot speak of the „fathers” of the Polish language without mentioning Mikołaj Rej (1505–1569), often credited as the first author to write exclusively in Polish. His famous declaration:
„A niechaj narodowie wżdy postronni znają, iż Polacy nie gęsi, iż swój język mają.”
(Let it be known to foreign nations that Poles are no geese—they have their own language.)
This witty phrase symbolised a break with Latin domination and a commitment to the vernacular. Rej’s prose and poetry were rooted in everyday speech, full of colloquialisms, humour, and moral reflection. He helped establish Polish as a legitimate language for literature and public discourse.
Jan Kochanowski and Literary Polish
If Rej represented popular Polish, then Jan Kochanowski (1530–1584) gave the language its poetic soul. Educated in Kraków and Padua, fluent in Latin, Greek, and Italian, Kochanowski deliberately chose Polish as his main language of expression. His Treny (Laments), Fraszki (Epigrams), and Pieśni (Songs) not only expanded the emotional range of Polish literature but also refined its vocabulary and rhythm.
He introduced new poetic forms, enriched the language with neologisms, and proved that Polish could rival the classical languages in sophistication. Kochanowski’s work became a linguistic model for generations of writers and educators.
The Legacy of the Precursors
The Polish language we know today did not emerge fully formed. It grew gradually—from oral dialects, to Latin-influenced scribal texts, to fully-fledged literature. Figures like the anonymous scribe of Henryków, the authors of early glosses, Zaborowski, Statorius, Rej, and Kochanowski played a crucial role in shaping not only a linguistic system, but a national consciousness.
Their legacy is still present in modern education, where Polish students learn the same grammar rules and literary canons that these early thinkers helped define. Their efforts to raise the status of Polish ensured that it would survive partitions, censorship, and the pressures of globalisation.
Conclusion
The early precursors of the Polish language—scribes, scholars, and poets—are the often-overlooked architects of national identity. In a time when Latin was dominant and local languages were considered inferior, they made the bold choice to preserve, elevate, and celebrate Polish. From a miller’s phrase in Henryków to the lyrical verses of Kochanowski, these voices gave Polish its structure, beauty, and soul.
Today, as Polish continues to evolve in the face of global challenges, we owe a debt to these early pioneers. Their contributions remind us that language is more than communication—it is the shared memory of a people. And in Poland’s case, it is a memory built on faith, resistance, creativity, and pride.