The aim of the article is to depict the material and creative background of funerary art in the Baroque era. It presents the circumstances of the origins of some of the works written after the death of Krzysztof Radziwiłł Piorun and his son, Janusz, which were commissioned by the family of the deceased. The memory of the Voivode of Vilnius Voivodeship was honoured in 1604 by lecturers from Leipzig and Basel, including, among others, the author of the funeral speech, Mateusz Dresserus. From the correspondence, it emerges that he was provided with the materials necessary to draw it up by the Radziwiłłs’ servant, Salomon Rysiński. It was also Rysiński who was asked for assistance by Caspar Dornau, an academic from Brzeg, who was listing the information he needed in order to write a funerary panegyric for Janusz Radziwiłł. Rysiński pointed to other potential creators of occasional texts, mainly the clients of the Biržai court. Foreign authors were remunerated for their funerary panegyrics, whereas the court poets could expect a bequest or an annual payment for their service.
The 17th century silva rerum from the collections of the Bavorovianum (manuscript 1332/II), currently stored in The Lviv National Vasyl Stefanyk Scientific Library of Ukraine, contains copies of unknown occasional works about the Radziwiłł family from Birże. The most elaborate set consists of mourning poems for prince Krzysztof (d. 1640): "Lament na pogrzeb księcia pana wojewody wileńskiego…" [The lament for the funeral of sir prince voivode of Vilnius], three poems "Korony temuż" [The crown to thee], the tombstone, and "Na chorągiew temuż" [To the flag to thee]. The texts are preceded by a foreward that introduces the author, Walerian Gorzycki, and characterises the works, clarifying the evoked settings and referring to the genres issues. Lament… emphasises primarily the hetman’s military merits and his religious patronage. The three poems refer to the motif of crowns awarded to victorious commanders and commemorate the liberation of Smoleńsk and Mitawa. The poem "Na chorągiew…" is a Polish language version of a latin inscription placed on the flag prepared for the funeral of Radziwiłł that has been documented in 17th century prints (by Siestrzencewicz and Kmita).
The paper presents Christian Ambroży Kochlewski (1627–1647), a student of the educationalist Jan Amos Comenius, to whom the teacher dedicated his work Regulae vitae, in 1645. Christian and his cousin were sent to a school in Elbląg to study under the tutelage of the well-known teacher. This was prevented by some regulations of the school and town council, but after the intervention of Ambroży’s father – who had met Comenius and admired his work – the boys were allowed to become his students. The crowning achievement of the teaching and learning process was a work in which Comenius presents his views on life and gives some important advice and rules for a young man to follow. These concerned studying, travelling and leading an honest and noble life. Sadly, the young student died at the age of twenty. After his death a funeral sermon and a paper full of praise were written to commemorate the young and very promising nobleman. They were printed, and the text has been preserved and kept in the Wrocław University Library. The author of the sermon, Michał Matysewicz, who was the rector of the school in Kiejdany, described Christian as an intelligent, pious young man with great interest in studying. The text includes not only the tomb inscription and the epitaph for Christian, but also the epitaph for his father Piotr Kochlewski.