Polish literature: Encyclopedia II - Polish literature - History

Polish literature - History

Polish literature - Middle Ages

The earliest monuments of Polish literature date back to the Middle Ages. Inspired by Christian traditions recently imported from elsewhere in Europe, local anonymous copyists prepared copies of books — mostly religious — that were popular in western Europe. About the 11th century local scriptoria were founded, and the first books were created on Polish soil. Notable examples of early Polish books include the Latin Missal of Bishop Ciołek and Olbracht's Gradual.

In the early 1470s the first printing houses were opened in Kraków and Wrocław. Twenty years later, the first Cyrillic printing house was founded in Kraków by Orthodox Church hierarchs.

Notable works of literature from this period include:

• The Chronicle of the Bavarian Geographer (11th century)
• The Holy Cross Annals (early 12th century)
• The Chronicles of Gallus Anonymus
• The Chronicles of Wincenty Kadłubek (13th century)
• The Chronicle of Janko of Czarnków (14th century)
• The Czerwińsk Breviary
• The Holy Cross Sermons: the oldest extant manuscripts of fine prose in the Polish language.
• Queen Zofia's Bible (earliest Polish-language Bible)
• The Puławy Psalter
• Saint Florian's Breviary (late 14th century, partially in Polish)
• Bogurodzica: a Polish song praising the Virgin Mary, written down in the 14th century, though probably popular at least a century before; one of the earliest texts printed in Polish.
• The Gradual of King John I Olbracht of Poland
• Missal of Erazm Ciołek (ca. 1515)
• Statua synodalia Wratislaviensia (1475): a printed collection of Polish and Latin prayers
• Florian Ungler's Hortulus Animae (1513): the first book printed entirely in Polish.
• Jan Długosz's Chronicle (15th century).
• David's Psalter.
• Jan Łaski's Communae Poloniae Regni privilegium.
• Jan Długosz's Catalogus archiepiscoporum Gnesnensium.

Several short texts of the period, in Polish, were influenced heavily by contemporaneous western literature. These include Bogurodzica (Mother of God), a short song praising the Virgin Mary, which served as a Polish anthem, and Rozmowa mistrza Polikarpa ze śmiercią (Master Polikarp's Conversation with Death).

Polish literature - Renaissance

With the advent of the Renaissance, the Polish language was finally accepted on an equal footing with Latin. Polish culture and art flourished under Jagiellonian rule, and many foreign poets and writers settled in Poland, bringing with them new literary trends. Such writers included Kallimach (Filip Buonaccorsi) and Konrad Celtis. Many other Polish writers studied abroad or at the Kraków Academy, which became a melting pot for new ideas and currents. In 1488 the Nadwiślańskie Bractwo Literackie (Vistula Literary Guild), the world's first writers' club, was created at Kraków.

One of the last Polish writers to use Latin as his principal vehicle of expression was Klemens Janicki (Ianicius), who became one of the most notable Latin poets of his time and was laureled by the Pope. Other writers such as Mikołaj Rej and Jan Kochanowski laid the foundations for a Polish literary language and modern Polish grammar.

Notable Polish writers and poets active in the 16th century included:

• Mikołaj Rej (1505-1569)
• Jan Kochanowski (1530-1584)
• Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski (1503-1572)
• Szymon Szymonowic (1558-1629)
• Łukasz Górnicki (1524-1603)
• Piotr Skarga (1536-1612)
• Andrzej Krzycki (1482-1537)
• Mikołaj Hussowski Hussowczyk (died ca. 1533)
• Jan Dantyszek Dantiscus (1485-1548)
• Klemens Janicki Ianicius (1516-1542)

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki