![Michał Dymitr Krajewski](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Micha%C5%82_Dymitr_Krajewski.PNG)
Michał Dymitr Tadeusz Krajewski (8 September 1746 – 5 July 1817), sometimes also referred to as Dymitr M. Krajewski, was a Polish writer and educational activist of the times of the
Enlightenment in Poland
The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment in Poland were developed later than in Western Europe, as the Polish bourgeoisie was weaker, and szlachta (nobility) culture (Sarmatism) together with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth political system (Gol ...
. His 1784
book
A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...
''Podolanka'' became the most debated and published Polish novel of that year, and his next book, ''Wojciech Zdarzyński'', is considered to be the first
Polish science-fiction
Science fiction and fantasy in Poland dates to the late 18th century. During the latter years of the People's Republic of Poland, a very popular genre of science fiction was social science fiction. Later, many other genres gained prominence.
Pol ...
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
.
Biography
Krajewski (coat of arms Jasieńczyk) was born in the
Rus Voivodeship on 8 September 1746. On 22 July 1763 he joined the order of
Piarists in
Podoliniec, where he gained the name of Dymitr. After his
novitiate
The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...
he studied
rhetoric
Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
and
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
in
Międzyrzecze Koreckie. From 1769 he attended the Piarists college in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
and in 1782 he became a
prefect
Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area.
A prefect's ...
of
Collegium Nobilium. Author of several books and other literary works, he was supported by the Church itself.
[Jan Ij. “van der” Meer, ''Literary Activities and Attitudes in the Stanislavian Age in Poland (1764-1795): a social system?'', Rodopi, 2002, ]
Google Print, p.47
/ref> In 1788 he took the rectory
A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage.
Function
A clergy house is typically ow ...
in Białaczów
Białaczów is a village (a town in 1456 - 1870) in Opoczno County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Białaczów. It lies approximately south of Opoczno and south-east of ...
. In 1793 he left the priesthood and settled in Końskie
Końskie ( yi, Kinsk, קינצק / קינסק) is a town in south-central Poland with 20,328 inhabitants (2008), situated in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. Historically, Końskie belongs to the province of Lesser Poland, and since its found ...
. In 1809 he moved to Warsaw, where he joined the Society of Friends of Science (''Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk'').
Works
Krajewski's writings concentrated on social issues
A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society and ones that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's cont ...
and political debate about the need to reform the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
(along the lines suggested by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
). He was the supporter of the reformists idea, especially in the area of the education (like the reforms of the Commission of National Education, first ministry of education in the world).
His first book published in 1784 was the ''Podolanka wychowana w stanie natury, życie i przypadki swoje opisująca'' (The Podolian Girl: raised in the natural state, describing her life and events), inspired by French book by Henri Joseph Du Laurens Henri Joseph Du Laurens (sometimes ''Laurens'' or ''Dulaurens'', original name Henri Joseph Laurent, 1719–1793 or 1797) was a French unfrocked trinitarian monk, satirical poet and novelist, born at Douai
Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; ...
(''Imirce, ou la fille de la nature''). The main hero, a female, criticizes humanity's efforts to destroy and subordinate nature. Podolanka initiated the first literary debate in Poland[Jan Ij. “van der” Meer, ''Literary Activities and Attitudes in the Stanislavian Age in Poland (1764-1795): a social system?'', Rodopi, 2002, ]
Google Print, p.25
an
p.114
/ref> and had seven editions in one year.[Jan Ij. “van der” Meer, ''Literary Activities and Attitudes in the Stanislavian Age in Poland (1764-1795): a social system?'', Rodopi, 2002, ]
Google Print, p.63
/ref>
In 1785 he published another book, the ''Wojciech Zdarzyński życie i przypadki swoje opisujący'' (Wojciech Zdarzynski - life and adventures of himself describing) - about the adventures of a young Pole who uses a balloon
A balloon is a flexible bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, and air. For special tasks, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), or light so ...
to visit a utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...
n country on the Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
. The book is considered the first Polish science-fiction
Science fiction and fantasy in Poland dates to the late 18th century. During the latter years of the People's Republic of Poland, a very popular genre of science fiction was social science fiction. Later, many other genres gained prominence.
Pol ...
book.Seria autorska Polonistyki Uniwersytety Warszawskiego
(Author series of Polish literature studies at University of Warsaw
The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...
. Last accessed on 1 November 2006. Krajewski published a sequel to it in 1786 - ''Pani Podczaszy
Deputy cup-bearer () was since the 13th century a court office in Poland and later in Lithuania. Deputy cup-bearer was the deputy of the cup-bearer, with the time more important than his superior.
Since the 14th–16th century an honorable court ...
na. Tom drugi Przypadków Wojciecha Zdarzyńskiego'' (Cup-Bearers's wife. Second tome of adventures of Wojciech Zdarzynski). Those books were influenced by the earlier works of bishop Ignacy Krasicki, who is recognized as the author of the first Polish novel ('' Mikołaja Doświadczyńskiego przypadki'', 1776).[Ignacy KRASICKI 1735-1801](_blank)
Biography by Prof. dr hab. Irena Kadulska at VIRTUAL LIBRARY OF POLISH LITERATURE. Last accessed on 2 November 2006.
Near the end of his life Krajewski wrote a historical work ''Dzieje panowania Jana Kazimierza od roku 1656 do jego abdykacji w roku 1668'' (Times of reign of Jan Kazimierz from 1656 to his abdication in 1668). The first volume was published in 1846; the second was lost. This book was part of the Society of Friends of Science project aimed at compiling a modern history of Poland.[John D. Stanley, Peter Brock, Piotr Wróbel, ''Nation And History: Polish historians from the Enlightenment to the Second World War'', University of Toronto Press,2006, ]
Google Print, p.51
/ref> Among his other historical books was one about hetman
( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders.
Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military co ...
Stefan Czarniecki (1830).[Jan Ij. “van der” Meer, ''Literary Activities and Attitudes in the Stanislavian Age in Poland (1764-1795): a social system?'', Rodopi, 2002, ]
Google Print, p.130
/ref>[John D. Stanley, Peter Brock, Piotr Wróbel, ''Nation And History: Polish historians from the Enlightenment to the Second World War'', University of Toronto Press,2006, ]
Print, p.39
/ref>
His novels ''Podolanka'' and ''Wojciech Zdarzyński'' have been published several times in the 20th century and later.
References
External links
* Konstanty Wojciechwowski, ''Pierwsze naśladownictwo "Nowej Heloizy" w romansie polskim: (ks. Krajewskiego "Pani Podczaszyna" 1786)'', Kraków 190
*
Longer description of 'Podolanka'
*
Longer description of Wojciech Zdarzyński'
- an
another one
Further reading
* Irena Łossowska, ''Michał Dymitr Krajewski. Zarys monograficzny'', Warszawa 1980.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krajewski, Michal Dymitr Tadeusz
1746 births
1817 deaths
19th-century Polish historians
Polish male non-fiction writers
Piarists
18th-century Polish Roman Catholic priests
18th-century Polish–Lithuanian novelists
19th-century Polish novelists
Polish male novelists
19th-century Polish male writers
18th-century male writers
18th-century Polish historians