274 



POLAND 



monarch for the encouragement of literature, anil 

 among other things founded the university of 

 Cracow, which lion continued to 1* the centre of 

 intellectual life and culture in Poland. Among 

 the very oldest literary momiiiii'iits is a hymn to 

 the Virgin Mary, ascribed to St Adalbert. The 

 MS. in which it is preserved is dated 1408. Be- 

 longing to the middle of the 14th century is the 

 -i> called psalter of Queen Margaret, discovered at 

 the convent of St Floriun in l,S'2(i, which has Keen 

 edited by Professor NVhring ; there is also the 

 Bible of Queen Sophia, which has come down in an 

 imperfect copy, anil is said to have been written 

 about 1455; it has IKM-II edited by Professor 

 Malecki. Writers of Latin chronicles were Martin 

 Gallus, who tlonii-heil U-tweeii 1110 and 1135, 

 Kiidliiliek (1 160-1 223), and Jan Dlugosy. or 

 Longinus ( 1415-80), all of whom were ecclesiastics. 

 The last is also worthy of remembrance as an able 

 diplomatist. Jan Laski, Archbishop of Gnesen 

 (1457-1531), published a valuable collection of the 

 oldest Polish laws, Commune Inclyti Polonite Regni 

 Primiegium. In 1474 the lirst printing-press was 

 established at Cracow by Gttnther Zainer ; the 

 first book in the Polish language was published 

 there in 1521. In 1543 died the great astronomer 

 Nicholas Copernicus. Some other specimens of 

 Old Polish before the 16th century will be found 

 collected in the valuable work of Xehring, Attjivl- 

 nische Sprachdenkmriier ( Berlin, 1887). 



(2) The second period of Polish literature em- 

 braces that which is called the golden age ( 1548- 

 1606). The series of poets begins with Nicholas 

 Rei (1505-69), commonly called the 'father of 

 Polish poetry,' who spent hi- life at the courts of 

 the Sigismunds. He was a Protestant. His lie-i 

 work is Zwierciadlo albo zywot Poczcitoego Czlo- 

 ir,,/;,i ('The Mirror : or the Life of an Honourable 

 Man,' 1567); he also wrote a play on the subject 

 of Joseph. Although his language is roii^li and 

 careless, there is much shrewdness and satire 

 in his writings. Jan Kochanowski (1530-84), 

 called the prince of Polish poets, has left a great 

 deal of verse, the most beautiful of which are his 

 Trent/ or Lamentations on the death of his 

 daughter Urania. His nephew Peter translated 

 the Jerusalem Delivered of Tasso. Szarzynski 

 (died 1581) introduced the sonnet into Polish. 

 Szymonowicz (1557-1629) was a writer of good 

 pastorals (Sielanki), as was also Xinmrowicz (died 

 1629), a native of Lemlierg. Sebastian Klonowicz, 

 called Acernus (died 1602), is celebrated as a 

 satirist and descriptive poet. The Reformation 

 made rapid progress in Poland ; many of the nobility 

 were Calvinists, and the Socini oiiuie to reside in 

 the country. Translations of the Bible appeared, 

 bin the .ie-iiit reaction soon made itself felt, 

 specially under the influence of Skarga (1552- 

 1612), renowned for his pulpit eloquence. Among 

 the historians of this ]'iiod the most celebrated 

 are Martin Bielski, whose Chronicle was continued 

 by bis HOII Joachim; Lukas (Jornicki (died 1591), 

 author of a history of the Polish crown (Dzicje. w 

 Koranic PoUkitj, "Crac. 1637); Siryikowiki (died 

 1582), whose Chronicle of Lithuania (Konigsb. 

 1582) is an admirable work; and Paprocki (died 

 1614). 



(3) The third jieriod of Polish literature, also 

 called the Macaronic (1606-1764), is coincident 

 with the rule of the Jesuits, who first obtained 

 a footing in Poland about 1566, through the 

 influence of Cardinal Hosius, soon got poMM 

 sion of the schools, and seriously checked t ID- 

 intellectual development of the nation. The lit- 

 erature of the period is for the most part |x>or, 

 consisting mainly of Iximbastic panegyric ; the 

 language l>eing corrupted by Latmisms ami fre- 

 quently by the introduction of whole Latin sen- 



tenceshence the term Macaronic. To this period 

 iH-limg < 'a-imir Sarbiewski, known by his Latin 

 name Sarhievius (1595-1640), a celebrated writer 

 of Latin odes ; \Vuclaw Potocki, now known to 

 have been the author of the poem \\'njiiii f 'hvrinuka, 

 or War of Chocim, long pn-served in manuscript; 

 Kochowski (died 1699), a soldier-iioet, who has left 

 some sprightly odes; Twiudowski (died 1660), a 

 M-i\ prolific writer, author of a poem on Ladislaus 

 IV.; Opalinski 11009-1656), who has left some 

 bitter satires reviling bis countrymen, whom he 

 betrayed to the Swedes; Chrosrinski, the trans- 

 lator of Lucan ; Morszty n, the translator of Corneille; 

 and l-'.li/abetb Dru/.backa (<lied 1760), whose 

 writings show some fii-ling for nature. History 

 again took n Latin form, in spite of its having 

 been \\ i in i'n in the golden age in Polish : we may 

 mention Starowolski(died 1656), author of 1'nfnniti, 

 rive Stnt iix Ji'i-i/ni 1'iilonia: Dttfrifitin ( \Volfenbuttel, 

 lii.'io), and otlier works ; Kojalowicz, a Jesuit (died, 

 Ki77). who wrote a History of Lithuania ; and Kas- 

 pai Niesiecki, a .lesilit (died 17-14), whose Kornnii, 

 rnl.il.-ii (4 vols. Lemh. 1728-43) is the most im- 

 portant work on Polish heraldry. 



(4) The fourth period is that of the reign of 

 Stanislaus Poniatowski and the dismemlwrment 

 of Poland, till the rise of romanticism (1764- 

 1822); it owes its characteristics partly to the 

 influence of French culture, partly also to the 

 patronage of literature and science by King 

 Stanislaus, the princes C/aitorvski, Jablonowsk, 

 and other noblemen, and the educational reforms 

 of Stanislaus Konarski ( 1700-73). The good work 

 begun by Konarski was carried on by Koj>c/ynski 

 (1735-1817), who was the first to establish 'on a 

 scientific basis the grammar of the Polish language 

 in his (jriiiHuiittt/ka Narodoiva ; otlier ant hots wen- 

 Itohomolcc and Zablocki, who adapted a great 

 many French pieces for the stage. But the l<est 

 writer for the stage was Fredro, who iK-longs to 

 a later period. The most noted dramatist, how- 

 ever, of this time, who may perhaps lie called 

 the real founder of the Polish stage, was Bogu- 

 slawski (1759-1829), who wrote alnive eighty 

 plays, the majority of which, under the title of 

 Dziela Driiniiiti/i .://<, were published at Wai-saw 

 (9 vols. 1820). The most conspicuous jioet of 

 this time was Ignacy Krasicki (1735-1801), who 

 tried all kinds of literature an epic on the war 

 of Chocim, a weak production, and some satires 

 and fables. We must also mention Tri-mliecki ; 

 Cajetan Wegierski, the satirist; OodebtkL ami 

 Wezyk. Adnm Naruszewicz was but a mediocre 

 poet, but he wrote a valuable Uixtiniin Xiirvdu 

 I'oltkteijo ( ' History of the Polish Peoidt-'), which 

 he carrie<l down to the year 1386. In 1801 the 

 historian Tudi-usz Czacki, Franeiszek Dmochowski. 

 and Bishop Jan Albertramly founded at Warsaw 

 the 'Society of the Friends of Knowledge,' which 

 especially under the auspices of Sta-/ye liore good 

 fruit till it was dissolved in 1S32, when its library of 

 ."(t,(HK) volumes was carried oil to St IVtershurg. At 

 the same time Jozef Ossolinski, Hugo Kollataj, and 

 Stanislaus Potocki by word and writing exercised 

 a great influence on tfie renovat ion of the national 

 spirit. Karpinski (1745-1825) was a very popular 

 (met as a writer of sentimental elegies and idylls, 

 and Woimiez ( 1 757- 1 829 ) was celebrated both as 

 a poet and divine. Nicmccwic/. ( 17"i" 1841) was 

 a statesman and soldier, and is rememliered for 

 his historical songs ( Spietcy Historycznc ). Lastly, 

 as the great precursor of the romantic school, must 

 l>e mentioned Kasimir Broilzinski (1791-1835), 

 whose idyll \Vicsla\f has been much axlmired. 



(5) The fifth period comprises from 1822 to the 

 present time ; the era of romanticism, dating from 

 the appearance of Mickiewicz, the greatest Polish 

 poet. At Wilno, which after 1815 liccame the centre 



