Biernat of Lublin- Aesop [Krakow 1910].

Biernat of Lublin/ Ezop/ Cracow 1910/ Published by the Academy of Learning/ series: Library of Polish Writers, no. 55/ linen bookbinding with gilt titling on spine/ pp. 541/ likeness of title page from 1578 edition and one page of text, 30 black and white woodcuts on separate pages/ very good condition-, slight rubbing at edges of binding, slightly faded spine, dusty top trim of pages, sewing grid visible in one place

Pre-war edition of the most comprehensive Polish verse work of the early Renaissance, first published in Cracow circa 1522. No pieces of this edition have survived. The oldest surviving edition dates from 1578.

Biernat of Lublin not only brings the reader closer to Aesop's biography, but also makes a number of shifts in it. The most important of these is the attempt to link the history of the mythical hero with the Polish reality of the 16th century.Thus, a modernization of the adventures and views of the hero is carried out . The legendary Aesop is shown as a reptilian slave. The way in which the character's appearance is presented is a polemic against the medieval category of beauty, which ascribed in advance to physically attractive people advantages of character. In the case of Aesop, there is a combination of ugliness with life wisdom, cleverness and mental brilliance (inner beauty), thanks to which from a slave he became an advisor to kings and a teacher of the people.