Czy królowa może osiągnąć chrześcijańską doskonałość? Duchowe porady Henryka Bitterfelda z Brzegu dla królowej Jadwigi z Listu dedykacyjnego traktatu „O życiu kontemplacyjnym i czynnym”
Can a queen achieve Christian perfection? Spiritual advice from Henryk Bitterfeld of Brzeg for queen Jadwiga from the dedication Letter of the treatise “On the contemplative and active life”

Summary/Abstract: Henry Bitterfeld of Brzeg dedicated his treatise, “On contemplative andactive life”, to Queen Jadwiga in response to her desire to pursue Christianperfection. This article aims to elucidate Bitterfeld’s conception of thisperfection and to assess whether he believed it could be shared by thePolish queen. The investigation is situated within the broader 14th-cen-tury discourse on the role of the laity in the Church. Amidst a crisisof the papacy and the ecclesiastical hierarchy, the laity began to demandmore subjective engagement and sought their own paths to achieving thefullness of Christian life. Bitterfeld emerges from the analysis as a the-ologian loyal to the traditional understanding of Christian perfection,as articulated by St. Thomas Aquinas. However, his writings also revealthe influence of the Prague intellectual milieu. He encourages the lai-ty, including Queen Jadwiga, to embody, within the constraints of theirecclesiastical roles and state duties, the model practiced by mendicants.Central to this model is the “vita mixta”, which integrates both active andcontemplative dimensions of life.

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