The Origins of Polish Language Policy: De linguarum in genere tum Polonicae seorsim praestantia et utilitate oratio and Other Writing by Jan Rybiński (Ioannis Rybinii)

The article addresses the contribution of Jan Rybiński (Ioannis Rybinii, 1560–1621), a humanist of Czech origin, affiliated with the cities of Toruń (Thorn) and Gdańsk (Danzig), to the development of Polish language policy during the Renaissance. It examines Rybiński’s ideas regarding the promotion of Polish found in his writings and in particular in the address De linguarum in genere..., pronounced in 1589 in Gdańsk. Rybiński’s views are analysed here in the light of the educational tradition of Protestantism, founded upon the doctrines of Wycliffe, Hus, Chelčicky, Luther and Calvin. The author posits Rybiński’s apology of Polish as an important milestone in the emancipation of the vernacular and shows it to be consistent with other European language apologies produced at the time by Dante Alighieri, Jean Du Bellay, Henri Estienne, Martin Opitz or Sperone Speroni. In conclusion, the author asserts the dependence of the prestige of a language and of its position on the international scene on the cultural attractiveness and economic strength of the country where it is spoken.