Summary
Towards the reform of medieval mendicant orders.
Exhortatio ad meditationem et
conformationem passionis Christi
by Maciej Hayn (†1477)
Exhortatio ad meditationem et conformationem passionis Christi
written by a Domi
nican Matthias Hayn
in 1470 describes how the friars should make an effort to improve their behaviour
towards others and
deepen their spiritual life during Lent.
The author, who received good education while attending Dominican Studia Gene
ralia in Cologne,
Vienna and Paris, was designated by the Master General of the Order of Preachers to effect an
obse
rvant reform in the Dominican Convent in Wrocław. Presu
mably Hayn wrote ‘Exhortatio’ as a
part of his reform activities. The first part of the text is introduction, where Hayn explained the aim of
his work. At the beginning he quoted the words from the fi
rst reading for Ash Wednesday: “return to
me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning” (Joel 2:12) and then he
recommended to the brothers that these three acts of penance are the best way of reconciliation with
God. According to
Hayn the best example to follow in this matter is Christ, therefo
re during Lent the
friars should ponder the Passion and seek to imitate Christ in their everyday situations, especially in
those concerning life in monastery. The second part of
Exhoratio
(t
he main one) is divided into forty
three short chapters called “Morselli” and each of them consists of “Passio” and “Conformatio”. The
first is a passage from the Passion parphrased by Hayn, the latter presents a commentary on the
preceding “Passio” includ
ing advice for the friars.
This article comprises a critical edition of
Exhortatio ad meditationem et conforma
tionem passionis
Christi
accompanied by a Polish translation. The edition is based on two exisiting copies of the text
which are contained in tw
o manuscripts from the Wrocław University Library collection.