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Copernicus to John Dantiscus, Frombork, 9 August 1537
Original: Czartoryski Library, Kraków, manuscript 2713, pp. 7-8. 18th century copy: Czartoryski Library, Kraków, Teki Naruszewicza, vol. 55, pp. 197-198.
Nicholas Copernicus (Nicolaus Copernicus) informs John Dantiscus, Bishop of Chełmno and Administrator of the Diocese of Pomezania, that, on the occasion of the arrival of his messenger, he sends him some information that he has got in these days from Wrocław (Vratislauia) in a letter from June 27. These news come from the Court of Ferdinand, King of Bohemia and Hungary and concern the withdrawal of the Turks from Italy, negotiation of peace between Francis I, the King of France and Charles V, the Emperor, and the transference of the Duchy of Milan to the son of the first of them, Henry. The army of King Ferdinand is victorious at Kosice and is to receive reinforcements from the Chechs and Moravians and the Silesians, continuing on to Hungary, and who certainly will regain Kosice; it is heard that the Wallachian Hospodar Raduł VII Paisie is inclined toward conciliations under certain conditions.
Further reading
- Biskup Marian, Regesta Copernicana, Warszawa 1973.
- Kopernik Mikołaj, Pisma pomniejsze, Warszawa 2007.
Frombork, 9 August 1537
To his lordship, Most Reverend Father in Christ, Johannes [Dantiscus], by the grace of God bishop of Chełmno, and administrator of the Church in Pomesania, my most gracious lord
Your lordship, Most Reverend Father in Christ, your most gracious lordship:
A delivery to me by your Most Reverend Lordship's courier was the favorable moment that reminded me to give him something by way of a letter from me too for your Most Reverend Lordship.
These [past few] days I received news from Wrocław, which I send on to your Most Reverend Lordship, although I am afraid that it is already stale as far as your Lordship is concerned because the letter was dated 27 June.
Nevertheless, the private written message to me is that communication arrived from the court of His Royal Majesty Ferdinand, containing the following information:
The Persian shah, prompted by the emperor, pope, and king of Portugal, is attacking Turkey with great strength in order to compel it to leave Italy and withdraw its expeditionary force. A truce between the king of France and the emperor is said to have been signed, with the widow of the duke of Milan being given, together with the duchy, to a son of the king of France. Our [troops], that is, King Ferdinand's, are doing well at Kosice. The man who had taken Kosice by treachery bas been captured, many of the enemy have been slain, and the fortress where the whole Kosice calamity began has also been taken. The Bohemians and Moravians are already on the march. In like manner the Silesians are crossing into Hungary on all sides. Perhaps, by the grace of God, they will recover Kosice and other [places]. It is also said that in our affairs the Weyda is suing for peace by proposing certain conditions. Whether they will be accepted, we still do not know.
This information in the letter, I pass on, just as I received it, to your Most Reverend Lordship, to whom I pledge my services and myself.
Frombork, 9 August 1537
Your Most Reverend Lordship's
most devoted
Nicholas Copernicus
Translation by Edward Rosen
Frombork, 9 August 1537
Reuerendissimo in Christo Patri et Domino, Domino Joanni Dei gratia Episcopo Culmensi ac Pomesanensis ecclesiae Administratori, Domino suo Clementissimo
Reuerendissime in Christo Pater et Domine, Domine Clementissime. Opportunitas nuncij Reuerendissimae Dominationis Vestrae mihi oblata admonuit me, vt etiam mearum aliquid litterarum ad Reuerendissimam Dominationem Vestram darem. Accepi his diebus ex Vratislauia nouitates, quas mitto Reuerendissimae Dominationis Vestrae, etsi verea iam antiquas esse apud eandem Dominationem Vestram eo quod litterae datae fuerint XXVII Junij. Priuatim vero scribitur mihi litteras ex curia Regiae Maiestatis Ferdinandi haec continentes, quod rex Persarum instinctu caesaris, papae, et regis Lusitaniae magnis auxiliis Turkam infestat, vt relicta Italia cum expeditione retrocedere cogatur; inter regem Galiae et caesarem pacem firmatam aiunt data relicta ducis Mediolani cum ipso ducatu filio regis Gallorum; nostri id est regis Ferdinandi apud Cassouiam rem bene gerunt eo capto, qui per proditione Cassouiam ceperat, multis ex hostibus trucidatis capta etiam arce munitissima, unde omnis Cassouiae calamitas orta est; Boemi et Moraui iam sunt in itinere; similiter Slesitae passim vadunt in Vngariam, qui forsan, dante Deo, Cassouiam et alia recuperabunt. Dicunt etiam apud nos, quod Weyda petit concordiam certis conditionibus propositis, quae an acceptabuntur, ignoramus adhuc. Et haec in litteris, quae sicut accepi, trado Reuerendissimae Dominationi Vestrae, cui seruitia mea ac me ipsum deuoueo. Ex Frauemburg, IX Augusti 1537.
Eidem Reverendissimae Dominationi Vestrae deuotissimus
Nicolaus Copernicus
