DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.14049941
title: Database of the Monita privata (secreta) editions/reprints/translations

description: Description

This dataset provides an expansive, scholarly resource on Monita privata (later referred to also as Monita secreta), a unique anti-Jesuit polemic that emerged in early seventeenth-century Europe—a period characterized by religious and political turbulence. Likely composed between 1606 and 1612, this text gained traction through multiple Latin and vernacular editions, ostensibly as a covert guide for Jesuit members on wielding influence, wealth, and power through subversive means.

In this dataset, bibliographic information is systematically enriched with geographical identifiers and temporal references to provide clarity on the publication history and authenticity of various editions. The dataset reveals the impact of the Monita in catalyzing anti-Jesuit sentiment through the centuries, not only in Europe but also in the Americas. Rich in metadata, this resource sheds light on how Monita privata/secreta and its subsequent editions may have fueled conspiracy theories about Jesuit secrecy and manipulation.

Additionally, the dataset reframes traditional historiographical views, challenging the attribution of authorship to the ex-Jesuit Hieronim Zahorowski (d.1634) and positing that the Monita may have been a Venetian (-inspired) fabrication, designed to critique Jesuit influence in Habsburg territories in Central Europe. The inclusion of regional identifiers and contextual data supports a nuanced analysis, making this dataset invaluable for understanding the geographic and political dimensions of early modern anti-Jesuit subversive and parodic literature.

Dataset Contents





Bibliographic Resource ID: A unique identifier for each bibliographic resource.




Title: The title of the edition.




Year of Publication: The estimated year or range of years when the manuscript was written.




Place of Publication: A Geonames identifier of the publication place.




Set of additional research-oriented metadata:






monita:placeInText – identifier of a place appearing in the text




monita:placeType – information on the veracity of the place appearing in the text




monita:privataInTitle – boolean value for the phrase “privata” appearing in the text




monita:publishedSeparately – boolean value for information on the book release




monita:secretaInTitle – boolean value for the phrase “secreta” appearing in the text




monita:yearCertainty – certainty about the year of publication




monita:yearOrigin – origin of the year of publication.




Data Format

Terse RDF Triple Language (TTL) with attached metadata and identifiers.

Data Source

Collected from national library catalogs, private archives, and research institutions focusing on (early) modern history, this dataset emerged from an extensive archival and library exploration conducted as part of a research project funded by the Polish National Science Centre (NCN). Research visits spanned Cracow, Vilnius, and Rome—each city chosen for its historical significance in Jesuit and anti-Jesuit narratives—along with targeted investigations in Lublin, Warsaw, and Berlin. In Cracow, the Provincial Archives, the Czartoryski Library, and the Jagiellonian Library provided access to Jesuit manuscripts and records of religious conflicts. Vilnius offered insights into Jesuit opposition within the Lithuanian context. The University Library and the Wróblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences contained rare anti-Jesuit manuscripts and correspondences from Polish writers critical of the Society’s role in Lithuanian education and culture. In Rome, the Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu (ARSI) and Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale yielded polemical texts within the Fondo Gesuitico collection and translations of Monita privata into Spanish, alongside rare Italian editions that circulated as political propaganda. The Biblioteca Casanatense further contributed previously unknown prints, underscoring the Monita's pan-European impact. Additional research in Lublin, Warsaw, and Berlin focused on tracing the origins and dissemination of the Monita privata and re-examining its authorship. Lublin’s State Archives documented Zahorowski’s biography and reconciliation with the Society of Jesus, while Warsaw’s libraries revealed subtle textual variations across Monita editions, enhancing understanding of its European transmission. In Berlin, the Staatsbibliothek provided rare early modern prints and manuscripts; cross-referencing findings from Lublin and Warsaw prompted a reevaluation of the traditional attribution of authorship to Zahorowski, instead suggesting that the Monita may have originated within the Venetian intellectual circles surrounding Fra Paolo Sarpi (1552–1623).

Applications

The dataset has been used in the project “Literatura antyjezuicka w Rzeczypospolitej Obojga Narodów” [Anti-Jesuit literature in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth] and can be used for research in literary history, Jesuit studies, political science, and cultural studies.