MROSKOWSKI, Marinus, *The Golden Axe Adorned with a Palm Frond*, or a Sermon for the Day of the Funeral of His Excellency Lord Stefan of Pilce Korycinski,

A Golden Axe Adorned with a Palm, or a Sermon for the Day of the Funeral of His Excellency Lord Stefan of Pilce Korycinski,

Chancellor of the Royal Kingdom of Warsaw, and Starost of Kowal, Oyców, Rabsztyń, Wolbrom, etc., etc. By Father Marynus Mroskowski, S.T.M., General of the Carmelite Order and court preacher to the chancellor. Kraków 1658. Printed at the Press of the Widow and Heirs of Franciszek Cezary. (19 x 15.5 cm), p. [24], 1 woodcut coat of arms on the reverse of the title page, secondary half-leather binding. 
(Estr. T. 22). A rare Polish funeral sermon delivered on September 12, 1658, at St. Stephen’s Church in Kraków in honor of Stefan Koryciński of Pilica (1617–1658), Grand Chancellor of the Crown. The work is panegyric and genealogical in nature: in addition to praising the deceased, it highlights the achievements and ancient lineage of the Koryciński family of the Topór coat of arms, drawing on Sarmatian tradition and the legendary origins of the Polish nobility. A particularly interesting example of early commemorative literature, illustrating the funeral culture, heraldry, and noble ideology of the 17th-century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. On the reverse of the title page is a woodcut of the Koryciński family’s Topór coat of arms. Signs of moisture and water damage; text underlined with a crayon. In good condition.