Ignacy Hołowiński (writing under the pennames Ignacy Kefaliński and Żegota Kostrowiec; 24 September 1807 – 19 October 1855) was a Catholic archbishop of the Archdiocese of Mohilev, writer, translator, and literary critic. Hołowiński previously served as

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

of the Archdiocese of Mohilev and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Carystus Carystus (; , near modern Karystos) was a polis (city-state) on ancient Euboea. It was situated on the south coast of the island, at the foot of Mount Oche. It is mentioned by Homer in the Catalogue of Ships in the ''Iliad'', as controlled by ...

from 1848 to 1851. He has been cited as the first person to translate a number of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's works into the Polish language.

Biography

Early life and clerical career

Hołowiński was born on 24 September 1807 in

Ovruch Ovruch (, ) is a city in Korosten Raion, Zhytomyr Oblast, northern Ukraine, first mentioned as Vruchiy in 977. It was the capital city of the Drevlians in the 900s, later conquered by the Mongols in the 13th century, then later part of the Grand D ...

to Piotr and Dominika Hołowiński; he was baptized on 25 September. Between 1819 and 1825, he attended a gymnasium at Velyki Mezhyrichi, graduating with honors. On 29 September 1825, he began attending the diocesan seminary in

Lutsk Lutsk (, ; see #Names and etymology, below for other names) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Volyn Oblast and the administrative center of Lutsk Raion within the oblast. Lutsk has a populati ...

. He transferred to the

University of Vilnius Vilnius University (Lithuanian language, Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a Public university, public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher e ...

in January 1827, where he received a

magister degree A magister degree (also magistar, female form: magistra; from , "teacher") is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education. The magister degree arose in medieval universities in Europe and was originally equal to the doctorate; ...

in theology in September 1830. He was ordained a priest on 25 September 1830 in Lutsk by Michał Piwnicki. After his ordination, Hołowiński worked as a catechist at a school in Zytomierz. He was appointed a canon of the

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

of Zhytomyr in 1834 and was appointed its dean in 1835. On 25 February 1837, Hołowiński was appointed professor of theology at Saint Vladimir Imperial University of Kyiv. He later became rector of the Saint Petersburg Roman Catholic Theological Academy, as well as a professor of theology and

homiletics In religious studies, homiletics ( ''homilētikós'', from ''homilos'', "assembled crowd, throng") is the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific art of public preaching. One who practices or studies homiletics may be ...

, on 26 June 1842. He was awarded the

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...

, second class, in 1844, and the

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, on 14 February 1735, in hono ...

, second class, in 1846.

Shakespeare translations

Noted as "the very first Polish translator of Shakespeare", Hołowiński began working on translations of William Shakespeare's works into the Polish language during the first half of the 1830s while at Zytomierz; he would ultimately translate ten of Shakespeare's plays. At

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

, he published two volumes of Shakespeare in the Polish language; these translations were named as the first to be translated into Polish using original sources. The first volume – including translations of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'', ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'', and '' A Midsummer's Night Dream'' – was published in 1839 under the penname "Ignacy Kefaliński", while the second (which included translations of ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'', ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'', and ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'') was published in 1841. Inspired by

Friedrich Schlegel Karl Wilhelm Friedrich (after 1814: von) Schlegel ( ; ; 10 March 1772 – 12 January 1829) was a German literary critic, philosopher, and Indologist. With his older brother, August Wilhelm Schlegel, he was one of the main figures of Jena Roma ...

, Hołowiński attempted to create a Polish form of the

iambic pentameter Iambic pentameter ( ) is a type of metric line used in traditional English poetry and verse drama. The term describes the rhythm, or meter, established by the words in each line. Meter is measured in small groups of syllables called feet. "Iambi ...

of Shakespeare, though the

metre The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

of his translations varied. His translations were met with varied criticism; while they were praised by

Józef Ignacy Kraszewski Józef Ignacy Kraszewski (28 July 1812 – 19 March 1887) was a Polish novelist, journalist, historian, publisher, painter, and musician. Born in Warsaw into a noble family, he spent much of his youth with his maternal grandparents in Romanów ...

, writing for the , others criticized them for experimenting with metre and for "general roughness". Ultimately, Hołowiński abandoned his translation work, with Placyd Jankowski continuing his efforts.

Writer & literary critic

Hołowiński's first works as a writer were his publications of Shakespeare, written under the Ignacy Kefaliński penname and published between 1839 and 1841. These translations were followed in 1840 by a translation of

Petrarch Francis Petrarch (; 20 July 1304 – 19 July 1374; ; modern ), born Francesco di Petracco, was a scholar from Arezzo and poet of the early Italian Renaissance, as well as one of the earliest Renaissance humanism, humanists. Petrarch's redis ...

, as well as translations of ''The Tablet of Cebes'' and the ''

Enchiridion of Epictetus The ''Enchiridion'' or ''Handbook of Epictetus'' (, ''Enkheirídion Epiktḗtou'') is a short manual of Stoic ethical advice compiled by Arrian, a 2nd-century disciple of the Greek philosopher Epictetus. Although the content is mostly derived ...

'' in 1845. He also helped to form the , a literary group that opposed Polish liberation and supported the Russian authorities, in 1841. Hołowiński's most famous work as a writer was ''Pilgrimage to the Holy Land'', published between 1842 and 1845; it described his six-month journey in the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

after the Imperial University of Kyiv was closed in 1839. Hołowiński also wrote literary criticism in the ''Tygodnik Petersburski'' under the penname "Żegota Kostrowiec"; this literary criticism was said to help popularize preachers such as Johann Emanuel Veith. He also used said penname to compose prose and poetry that had religious and historical themes, which was compiled into ''Teka rozmaitości'', published in 1844.

Coadjutor bishop and archbishop of Mohilev

On 3 July 1848, Hołowiński was appointed

''cum iure successionis'' of the Archdiocese of Mohilev and titular bishop of

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

. His appointment was approved by the Tsar of Russia on 25 August 1848; he was consecrated on 30 November 1848 at the Church of St. Catherine in Saint Petersburg by Kazimierz Dmochowski. Hołowiński was appointed archbishop of Mohilev on 16 January 1851, after the death of Kazimierz Dmochowski; he assumed the position on 26 January of the same year. Hołowiński died on 19 October 1855 after a prolonged sickness in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. He was buried at Vyborg Cemetery (near the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Saint Petersburg) in 1856.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *{{Cite journal, url=https://ejournals.eu/czasopismo/przekladaniec/artykul/polskie-przeklady-szekspira-na-kresach-w-xix-wieku, title=Polskie przekłady Szekspira na Kresach w XIX wieku, first=Alicja, last=Kosim, date=29 June 2018b, journal=Przekładaniec, volume=36 , issue=36, pages=98–124, language=pl, doi=10.4467/16891864PC.18.006.9548, doi-access=free 1807 births 1855 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Russian Empire Bishops appointed by Pope Pius IX Translators of William Shakespeare