The Mother of God In Polish Catholic Hymns
“Bogurodzica”
On a wintry weekend in January 2023, thousands of men belonging to the Marian group Wojownicy Maryi (“Warriors of Mary”), gathered for a meeting led by Fr. Dominik Chmielewski at the Basilica of Saint Vincent de Paul in Bydgoszcz, holding up their rosaries and singing “Bogurodzica” (“She who gave birth to God”). This song is believed to be the first poem and oldest religious hymn composed in the Polish language.
Subsequently, a video1 depicting the aforementioned group of men went viral in Poland and beyond, inspiring Catholics around the globe to praise the zeal of the Polish Catholics in honoring the Holy Mother of God.
Written in either the twelfth or thirteenth century, the title “Bogurodzica” is a direct translation of the Greek “Theotokos” (Θεοτόκος) or “God-bearer” in English. A prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to Our Lord Jesus Christ,2 the first preserved text of “Bogurodzica” can be traced back to 1407, in the collection of homilies by Maciej of Grochów (a curate from Kcynia in the Pałuki region).
The Polish and English versions of “Bogurodzica” can be found below respectively:
Polish version
Bogurodzica dziewica,
Bogiem sławiena Maryja.
U twego syna, Gospodzina,
matko zwolena, Maryja!
Zyszczy nam, spuści nam.
Kyrie eleison.
Twego dziela Krzciciela, Bożycze,
Usłysz głosy, napełń myśli człowiecze.
Słysz modlitwę, jąż nosimy,
A dać raczy, jenoż prosimy:
A na świecie zbożny pobyt,
Po żywocie rajski przebyt.
Kyrie eleison.
English version
Virgin, Mother of God, God-famed Mary,
Ask Thy Son, our Lord, God-named Mary,
To have mercy upon us and hand it over to us.
Kyrie eleison!
Son of God, for Thy Baptist’s sake,
Hear the voices, fulfill the pleas we make.
Listen to the prayer we say,
For what we ask, give us today:
Life on earth free of vice;
After life: paradise.
Kyrie eleison!3
The first stanza of “Bogurodzica” implores the Blessed Virgin Mary for her intercession with her Divine Son, Jesus Christ. Next, petitioners beg Jesus Christ, for the sake of Saint John the Baptist, to “usłysz głosy” (“hear our voices”) and “napełń myśli człowiecze (“fulfill the intentions of men”). This tripartite approach (Mary-Jesus-John the Baptist) is a repetition of the “Deesis” motif frequently found in Eastern Christian iconography, in which Christ is enthroned in majesty flanked by the Blessed Virgin on the left and John the Baptist on the right.4
The Polish counterpart to the “Deesis” iconographic motif is a painting from 1161, preserved in the church in Tum near Łęczyca, and regarded as a possible inspiration for the author of “Bogurodzica.” Centuries later, artist Józef Brandt (1841–1915) painted Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth forces singing the “Bogurodzica” before battle.
The melody for this hymn was taken straight from a knightly love song known in the West and reportedly imported to Poland by the Benedictines. According to the 1937 monograph of Józef Binkermayer, the text of the “Bogurodzica” possibly took its inspiration from Benedictine hymns.5
Musicologists, philologists, and literary historians throughout the ages have been captivated by the fascinating rhythmical pattern of “Bogurodzica,” with over 300 publications dedicated to this hymn in Polish, German, Lithuanian, Belarusian, and Ukrainian sources.6
However, while Polish religious songs were typically translated from Latin, no Latin source has been discovered thus far for “Bogurodzica.” Due to the absence of a Latin equivalent, some scholars have promoted the notion that the hymn hails from a Cyrillo-Methodian (Byzantine-Slavic) church hymn via a Czech translation.
It was also commonly believed and reinforced by many writers that Saint Adalbert was the composer of “Bogurodzica.” For instance, in the Postylla katolicka (“Catholic collection of Gospels for every week and feast of the entire year”) dated 1573-1575, Jesuit Jakub Wujek wrote in a sermon for the feast of Saint Adalbert:
It was the custom of Polish commanders and knights, when they went to battle with pagans, Turks, Vlachs, Moscow, or Tatars, to first sing Bogurodzica, as a proclamation of faith that they defended risking their own lives. We too, with Bogurodzica as a proclamation of faith and the first and the only true Gospel, can today confront heretics, such as Tatars…
Historically, Poles regarded the “Bogurodzica” as a knight’s song to be sung before battles. This hymn is the oldest to be linked to Polish royalty and military, signifying the greatness of the Polish kingdom, since, according to historical annals, Allied troops led by Władysław II Jagiełło defeated the troops of the Teutonic order while singing this hymn in the Battle of Grunwald, hence limiting the influence of the Teutonic knights.
Polish historian Fr. Jan Długosz,7 author of the “Annales seu cronicae incliti Regni Poloniae,”8 wrote about the recitation of the “Bogurodzica” at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, lauding this beautiful chant as the “carmen patrium” or the song of the homeland:9 “When the reveilles began to sound, the entire royal army, with a resounding voice, sang their native song: ‘Bogurodzica,’ and then, raising their lances, they rushed into battle.”
Fr. Długosz also reported the singing of Bogurodzica before a battle on two other occasions, namely, during the Battle of Nakło (1431) and the war with Świdrygiełło (1435), implying the undeniable link between “Bogurodzica” and Polish chivalric tradition.10
The Polish army also sang the “Bogurodzica” during a decisive battle that happened in 1435 during the war for the throne in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia, and Samogitia, the so-called Battle of Wilkomierz (Bitwa pod Wiłkomierzem).11
In 1446, this hymn, mentioned in Jan Łaski’s “Statutes of the Polish Kingdom,” was also featured in the Gniezno Cathedral in Piotrków Trybunalski, on the eve of the coronation of the Władysław II Jagiełło the younger son of Kazimierz IV Jagiellończyk.12
Lay authors used “Bogurodzica” as a means to champion knightly ideals, as can be seen by the 1618 publication of Pobudka do cnoty (“Arguments for Being Virtuous”), compiled probably by Hetman Stefan Żółtowski. Also, the leaflet published by Bartłomiej Nowodworski in 1621 states: “Bogurodzica is the song and testament of Saint Adalbert, Polish apostle and Gniezno Archbishop, left by him to educate Polish Catholics…”
The text of the “Bogurodzica” was accompanied by an encouragement to battle:13 “I give Bogurodzica for a pogrom of pagans, Bartłomiej Nowodworski, Knight of Malta.”
Until the demise of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the end of the 18th century, “Bogurodzica” enjoyed the status of Poland’s de facto national anthem. Various versions of it, along with musical notation, have been preserved, and the hymn became Poland’s national anthem for a few centuries.14 Henryk Górecki, a devout Polish Catholic composer, posited that many of his compositions allude to “Bogurodzica,” with Górecki himself writing the first seven notes of Bogurodzica on a compositional sketch.15
In her essay “Sacred versus Secular: The Convoluted History of Polish Anthems,”16 author Maja Trochimczyk contends that “in more recent times, ‘Bogurodzica’ has usually been printed in patriotic religious hymnals and popular church song books as the first, most ancient and most revered song.”
The popularity of “Bogurodzica,” along with people’s admiration for it, proves the huge significance of the cult of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Polish Catholicism.17 As Poland’s national anthem for centuries, this hymn, a key element of Polish Marianism, (“Polska maryjność”) proves that the country has long revered the Most Holy Virgin Mary as “Queen of Poland” (“Najświętsza Maryja Panna Królowa Polski”).
“Z dawna Polski Tyś Królową”
Arguably, no pilgrimage to Poland is complete without a visit to the image of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa (“Matka Boska Częstochowska”), located in the Basilica of Jasna Góra. Pilgrims often hear “Z dawna Polski Tyś Królową,” another popular Marian hymn testifying to Poland’s devotion to the Mother of God, echoing through the walls of the chapel of the Basilica containing the miraculous icon of the Black Madonna.
In essence, this melancholic and alluring Marian hymn is a supplicatory prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary for the protection of the Polish nation. The Polish and English versions of the hymn are as follows:
Polish version
Z dawna Polski Tyś Królową, Maryjo! Ty za nami przemów słowo, Maryjo! Ociemniałym podaj rękę, Niewytrwałym skracaj mękę, Twe Królestwo weź w porękę, Maryjo! Gdyś pod krzyżem Syna stała, Maryjo! Tyleś, Matko, wycierpiała, Maryjo! Przez Twego Syna konanie Uproś sercom zmartwychwstanie, W ojców wierze daj wytrwanie, Maryjo! Z dawna Polski Tyś Królową, Maryjo! Ty za nami przemów słowo, Maryjo! Miej w opiece naród cały, Który żyje dla Twej chwały, Niech rozwija się wspaniały, Maryjo!
English Version
From the days of old, you’ve been Poland’s Queen, Mary! Speak about us a word, Mary! Give your hand to the blinded, Shorten the suffering of the unrelenting Grant your Kingdom thy protection, Mary! When under the cross of thy son you stood, Mary! So much, Mother, you’ve suffered, Mary! Through the passing of your Son, Ask for the resurrection of the hearts, In our fathers’ faith, give perseverance, Mary! From the days of old, you’ve been Poland’s Queen, Mary! Speak for us a word, Mary! Have the nation under your care, Who lives for thy Glory, May it prosper gloriously, Mary!
As part of Poland’s collection of patriotic hymns (“pieśni patriotyczne”), “Z dawna Polski Tyś Królową” was very popular among soldiers fighting in the Polish Legions during the First World War. Noteworthily, musicians Violetta Villas (1938-2011) and Krzysztof Krawczyk (born 1946), among others, have also sung this hymn in more contemporary performances.
Godzinki: The Little Office of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary
For hundreds of years, “The Little Office of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary,” or “Godzinki o Niepokalanym Poczęciu Najświętszej Maryi Panny,” or “Godzinki” for short, has been a cherished devotion of Polish Catholic devotees of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
As a sung prayer particularly for lay people, the “Godzinki” is derived directly from the abbreviated form of the minor office, or literally translated from the Latin, “canonical hours.” Also, the “Godzinki” is similar to the breviary office of the Catholic Church, with its versification premised on eminent poetry examples from the Polish Renaissance. Texts of the “Godzinki” were likely composed by Blessed Peter Rodriguez S.J., although some scholars have contested this claim.
As early as the seventeenth century, the entire service of the “Godzinki” was regarded as a homogeneous cycle. Thus, devotees did not separate the hours into fragments, as in the breviary, but recited them in one sequence in the morning, before the first Mass of the day, and especially on Sundays and holy days.
When singing the Hours, devotees create links of a lyrical cycle divided into seven parts, namely Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline. These parts cover either all the hours of the day and night, or even all the days of the week—then one canonical hour covers 1/7 of the week, with the reckoning generally beginning the morning of Sunday, while Completa is the dusk of the week, scheduled for Saturday. The musical and prosodic aspects of the Godzinki produce physiological effects, including a deepening of the chanter’s breath and its regularizing. Hence, the singer opens a spiritual space and paves the way for God’s grace to act on his or her soul. By singing the Godzinki fervently, devotees can extol the Blessed Mother with their whole being, physically and spiritually, with more experienced singers able to produce artistic effects in their singing.
More importantly, the Godzinki praises the Holy Virgin Mary with numerous titles based on rich biblical traditions and Church declarations about Our Lady’s role in the history of salvation. Due to its centuries-old numerical tradition, devotees can meditate on the life of Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary in order of seven themes:
1. The womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, only for Jesus Christ alone open and closed after childbirth,
2. The Nativity scene, (the manger) in which only Jesus lay, and where there was only hay or other animal food,
3. The twelve-year-old Jesus in the temple,
4. Our Lord’s hidden life in Nazareth,
5. The donkey on which no one had yet sat, and which its owner placed at Christ’s disposal for the latter to ride into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday,
6. The Upper Room, where Christ celebrated the first Mass in the history of the Church,
7. The tomb of Jesus Christ near Golgotha freshly carved into the rock as a burial cave.
Since the introduction of the “Godzinki” in Poland in the seventeenth century, and through its dissemination to all parts of Polish society, as well as to Polish immigrant communities, the Godzinki has influenced the faith of many Polish Catholics, including Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe.18
Sacred Music as an Impetus to Piety
In his Confessions, Saint Augustine says of sacred music and pious chant:
I feel that our souls are moved to the ardor of piety by the sacred words more piously and powerfully when these words are sung than when they are not sung, and that all the affections of our soul in their variety have modes of their own in song and chant by which they are stirred up by an indescribable and secret sympathy.19
For centuries, the Polish people have always acknowledged the crucial role of Our Lady in their lives as a motherly defender safeguarding their faith during the midst of their country’s most severe trials. Little wonder, then, that numerous Marian hymns and sung devotions, such as the aforesaid three, have been piously composed over the years and sung in the Blessed Virgin Mary’s honor.
To a certain degree, the icon of the Black Madonna in the shrine of Częstochowa and Her sorrows mirror Poland’s turbulent history (including Russian partitions, the Second World War, and post-war communism). As composer Henryk Gorecki (1933–2010) once declared:
Her (Mary’s) image (Our Lady of Częstochowa) juxtaposes several ideals of womanhood: a powerful, heavenly queen, a suffering mother, a perfect nurturer…(the) scars a sign of suffering she shares with her worshippers. Through Poland’s very turbulent history, Our Lady of Częstochowa has always stood as the epitome of perfect motherhood, loving and forgiving.
Indeed, the Blessed Virgin Mary has been the epitome of perfect motherhood to the Polish nation, acting as a loving mother and protector of Her children who commiserate with Her grief in losing Jesus to a horrible death on the Cross.
And true to their call as ardent devotees of the Blessed Virgin Mary, many Poles have responded to Mary’s Divine and Universal Maternity, unceasingly invoking the Mother of God, Queen of Poland, in jubilation and tribulation and singing: “Maryjo, Maryjo!”
Endnotes
1 Jest W polsce Taka Siła, KTÓRĄ Prowadzi Maryja: Bogurodzica: Bogurodzica Dziewica, Bogiem Sławiena Maryja. U Twego Syna, Gospodzina, Matko Zwolena, Maryja! Zyszczy Nam, Spuści Nam. Kyrie eleison….: By Wojownicy Maryi Bydgoszcz. Facebook (n.d.). https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=510615484509228&t=0.
2 Mother of God. Polish Independence Songbook (n.d.). https://www.spiewnikniepodleglosci.pl/en/bogurodzica-mother-of-god/.
3 Translated by Jarek Zawadski.
4 Mother of God. Polish Independence Songbook (n.d.-a). https://www.spiewnikniepodleglosci.pl/en/bogurodzica-mother-of-god/.
5 Ibid.
6 Birkenmajer Józef (1937). Bogarodzica dziewica: analiza tekstu, treści i formy [Bogarodzica dziewica: Analysis of Text, Content and Forms], Lwów.
7 Thousands of men hold rosaries, sing ancient Marian Hymn at Basilica in Poland - Watch the video! ChurchPOP. https://www.churchpop.com/thousands-of-men-hold-rosaries-sing-ancient-marian-hymn-at-basilica-in-poland-watch-the-video/.
8 “Annals or chronicles of the famous kingdom of Poland.”
9 National Anthems. Polish Music Center (n.d.). https://polishmusic.usc.edu/research/national-anthems/.
10 “Bogurodzica” as chivalric song (n.d.). https://www.wilanow-palac.pl/bogurodzica_as_chivalric_song.html.
11 Kuzminskyi, Ivan. History of the Origin of the Bogurodzica Song. A Musical Monument of 1407, 149. Ukraine P. Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music.
12 Ibid.
13 “Bogurodzica” as Chivalric Song. https://www.wilanow-palac.pl/bogurodzica_as_chivalric_song.html.
14 Bogurodzica. Culture.pl (n.d.). https://culture.pl/en/work/bogurodzica.
15 Helmcke, W. M. (2018). At the “Crux” of Henryk Gorecki’s Totus Tuus, Op. 60: Signification of Polish Catholic Marian Devotion. Interdisciplinary Studies in Musicology, (14), 136–150. Pobrano z https://pressto.amu.edu.pl/index.php/ism/article/view/15343.
16 Trochimczyk Maja (2000). “Sacred versus Secular: The Convoluted History of Polish Anthems,” in After Chopin: Essays in Polish Music, ed. Maja Trochimczyk, vol. 6 of Polish Music History Series. Los Angeles: Friends of Polish Music at USC.
17 Mother of God. Polish Independence Songbook (n.d.-a). https://www.spiewnikniepodleglosci.pl/en/lyrics/lyrics-bogurodzica-mother-of-god/.
18 Sr. Pascale-Dominique Nau, Godzinki: The Little Hours of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Lulu, 2013).
19 St. Augustine, Confessions, Book X, ch. 33.
TITLE IMAGE: Icon of the Rokitno Madonna.
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