Section 8. The Earliest Vernacular Bibles

79. The Leopolita Bible

Krakow, Szarffenberg, 1561. National Library of Belarus, Minsk

The Leopolita Bible is the first full printed Catholic translation of the Bible into Polish. It was published by a famous 16th c. Krakow publisher Mark Szarffenberg in 1561. The translation was done by Jan Nicz from Lvov (under the pen-name Leopolita which means ‘the one from Lvov’). This edition is one of the most richly illustrated Polish Bibles of the 16th c.