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all, it includes (1) two versions of »Historia de proeliis« in the latest, interpolated text (usually described as version J3) of the Latin Gestes of Alexander the Great. The earlier of the two, madę by one Leonard de Bończa in 1510, an extremely clumsy and indolent literał rendering of the Latin original, may appeal rather to the philologian on account of its strange language, dotted with many russianisms. The second, on the other hand, which was published in 1550, is correct and reads easily. It is slightly abbreviated, but it contains an interesting interpolation added to its texture by the anonymous translator. This is the famous story of Gog and Magog who, accompanied by twenty four kings, were shut away by Alexander in inaccessible mount-ains. The episode was taken from the well-known »Revelatio« which was ascribed to St. Methodius and circulated all over med-ieval Europę as a warning against the increasing power of the Turks. The translation of 1550 became the basie text of the Pol-ish »Gestes« of Alexander the Great; up to the very end of the 18-th century it ran through many editions, ten of which, at least, have survived in the Polish libraries. (2) »The Story of the Destruction of Troy« (1563) is an anonymous compilation of two famous medieyal accounts of the Trojan war, viz. »De excidio Troiae« by Dares Phrygius and »Ephemeris belli Troiani« by Dietys of Crete. Curiously enough, this clever narration, rich in proyerbs and edifying remarks, failed to win popularity among Polish readers. It was twice reprinted in the 16-th century (1597), and then fell into oblivion. But it did not pass without łeaying an extremely interesting imprint on the literaturę of the period. The greatest poet of the Polish Benaissance, Jan Kochanowski, borrowed from it many an idea and many a phrase for his trag-edy, the »Dismissal of the Greek Envoys«. Of lesser importance was (3) »The Lives of Philosophers« (1535) by Martin Bielski, the outstanding chronicler of the Iagellon century. He chose these fictitious biographies from the Czech book of Mikulas Ko-na$ s Hodistkoya who, in his turn, had taken them from the »Vitae Philosophorum«, a semi-learned compilation of the Oxford 13-th century scholar Walter Burlaeus (Burlay, Burleigh). Through the medium of Bielski’s work some of the fayourite medieyal leg-ends and tales, such as those of Virgil the Sorcerer, Secundus the Philosopher and some details from the life of Alexander of

Bulletin I—II. 1981 2.

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