The earliest recorded mention of the Polish lelum, polelum comes from the “Prayer Book of Sister Constance” (Modlitewnik Siostry Konstancji) which seems to have been put together in 1527 (at least, that is, according to Jerzy Samuel Bandtkie aka Bandtke the famous Polish philologist, linguist and historian). It is a copy of earlier (probably end of 15th or early 16th century) books. The prayer book itself was mostly handwritten it seems but also, apparently, contains some printed material. It is stored in the Jagiellonian Library though was published by Władysław Wisłocki (1841-1900) in 1882. From there it came to the attention of Brueckner and others.
In the prayer book, the saying lelum polelum seems to mean as much as “easily” or “without effort.” Wisłocki gives the full sentence as:
“But who should receive it [the glory of eternal life] for free leli poleli, without suffering anything, without performing any good deeds?”
„A któż ją daremno otrzyma (chwałę żywota wiecznego) leli poleli, nic nie cierpiąc, nic dobrego nie działając?”
As to who this sister Constance was, your guess is as good as anyone’s.
Of course, lelum polelum, continues to be a favorite of many a Suav with some Suavic warriors being particularly fond of it.
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