Kromer, Marcin (EN)

Kromer Marcin, *1512 Biecz, †23 March 1589 Lidzbark Warmiński, bishop of Warmia, Polish diplomat, historian, writer and humanist, author of Musicae elementa (music treatise). He came from a wealthy patrician family of German origin, residing in Biecz in the Subcarpathian region since the 15th century; ennobled by Sigismund Augustus in 1552. He received his initial education in his hometown. On 31 July 1528, he began his studies at the Kraków Academy; in September 1530, he obtained the degree of bachelor of liberal arts. He continued his studies privately under the supervision of the Italian humanist C. Strozzi, who dedicated his edition of Cicero’s Topica to him (Kraków 1533, H. Wietor). In 1533, he was accepted into the Royal Chancellery and moved to Vilnius. At that time, he was to receive the Pułtusk canonry and gain patrons in the persons of the Bishop of Kraków, Piotr Tomicki, and Prince Albrecht of Prussia. In 1536, he returned to Kraków. In 1537–40, he lived in Italy: he studied Latin and Greek philology and the philosophy of Aristotle in Padua; in Bologna, he completed law studies, crowned with a doctorate in both laws in 1539 or 1540. In 1540, he left for Rome. In mid-1540, he returned to Poland and found support from Piotr Gamrat, Jan Dantyszek, Łukasz Górka and Stanisław Hozjusz. In 1542, he received the rectory of Biecz; in 1544, he entered the Kraków chapter and then received the custody of Wiślica and Sandomierz as well as the canonry in Kielce. From the early 1550s, he became involved with the Counter-Reformation and took part in the first trials against supporters of the Reformation. In 1545–58, he served as secretary of the royal chancellery. After taking over the Warmia canonry in 1548, he joined the implementation of the programme of Sigismund I the Old, striving to unite Prussia with Poland. He also conducted lively political activity, travelling on diplomatic missions to Rome (1543, 1544, 1548) and Vienna (1547, 1553, 1554, 1556). In 1558–64, he was the Polish king’s envoy to the court of Emperor Ferdinand I in Vienna. In 1569–70, he travelled to Rostock and to the congress in Szczecin. In 1570, he was nominated coadjutor of the Bishopric of Warmia and moved to Lidzbark Warmiński. In 1579, he became the ordinary of the Warmia diocese. He died in the castle in Lidzbark. He was buried in Frombork.

In Kromer’s rich literary output, the most important are his historical works: De origine et rebus gestis Polonorum libri XXX (Basel 1555 Jan Oporyn) and Polonia sive de situ, populis, moribus, magistratibus et republica regni Polonici (Frankfurt an der Oder 1575). He also worked on translations (he translated, among others, the homiletic eclogues of St. John Chrysostom). His Counter-Reformation activities are associated with his anonymous publication of Rozmowy dworzanina z mnichem in Polish.

Kromer devoted one small treatise to music, Musicae elementa, dedicated to Mikołaj Lutomirski, then the Greater Military Commander of Sieradz. From the first edition (Krakow 1532 H. Wietor), there is a single, incomplete copy preserved, covering only the beginning of part 1: De plana musica liber prior. Part 2: De musica figurata liber posterior, was published together with Opusculum musices noviter congestum by Sebastian z Felsztyna, also by Wietor in 1534 and 1539. Musicae elementa is a work of rudimentary nature, intended for beginner musicians. The treatise begins with an extensive verse praise of music and a short preface presenting the classification of music. Part one is a concise lecture on the basics of the hexachord system (voces and claves) and the science of intervals and church tones (the text ends at the characteristic of the third tone). In the second part of the treatise, the author explains the elements of mensural notation in eight chapters: note values, ligatures, rests, modus, tempus and prolatio, three types of points (adiectivum, perfectivum and divisivum), tactus, proportions and additional symbols concerning performance. The text is illustrated with examples of polyphonic music (one 4-voice, four 3-voice and two 2-voice). Kromer’s treatise reflects the scheme commonly accepted in the first half of the 16^th century. Noteworthy is the care for the variety of language, typical of humanists (which, in Kromer’s case, is not always combined with terminological precision) and the love of ancient culture, which he expressed in the introductory part of the treatise.

Literature (selection): A. Eichhorn Der emländische Bischop Martin Kromer als Schriftsteller, Staatsmann und Kirchenfürst, “Zeitschrift für die Geschichte und Altertumskunde Ermlands” 4, 1869; A. Chybiński Teoria menzuralna w polskiej literaturze muzycznej pierwszej połowy XVI wieku, Kraków 1911; S. Bodniak Marcin Kromer ok. 1512–1569 [sic!], manuscript in the Kórnik Library PAN (sign. 11595/1-5, [1926]); J. Reiss Książki o muzyce od XV do XVII wieku w Bibliotece Jagiellońskiej, book 2, Kraków 1934; H. Barycz Z epoki renesansu, reformacji i baroku, Warsaw 1971; H. Barycz Dwie syntezy dziejów narodowych przed sądem historii, in: Szlakami dziejopisarstwa staropolskiego. Studia nad historiografią w. XVI–XVIII, Wrocław 1981; E. Witkowska-Zaremba Ars musica w krakowskich traktatach muzycznych XVI wieku, Kraków 1986; A. Kopiczko Duchowieństwo katolickie Diecezji Warmińskiej w latach 1525–1821, cz. 2: Słownik, Olsztyn 2000; E. Giglewicz Pochodzenie społeczne Marcina Kromera a jego herb, in: Biskup Marcin Kromer (1512–1589). W służbie kościoła, ojczyzny i Ziemi Bieckiej, ed. Rev.S. Zych, Biecz 2013; A. Malecki „Historyków nie zaniechaj czytać …”. Studia nad twórczością historyczną Marcina Kromera i jej renesansowa recepcja, Poznań 2013; R.I. DeFord Tactus, Mensuration and Rhythm in Renaissance Music, Cambridge 2015.