Olbrycht Karmanowski (born circa 1580, died after 1632) was a Polish nobleman, member of

Polish Brethren The Polish Brethren (Polish: ''Bracia Polscy'') were members of the Minor Reformed Church of Poland, a Nontrinitarian Protestant church that existed in Poland from 1565 to 1658. By those on the outside, they were called "Arians" or "Socinians" (, ' ...

Church, courtier, poet and translator. He is regarded as one of the minor poets of Polish late

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

and

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

Biography

Olbrycht Karmanowski was born into a family of noblemen. Information about his life is scanty. His coat of arms was Prus I. He was well educated, probably in schools at Raków and

Lubartów Lubartów () is a town in eastern Poland, with 23,000 inhabitants (2004), situated in Lublin Voivodeship. It is the capital of Lubartów County and the Lubartów Commune. Historically it belongs to Lesser Poland. Lubartów was established in 154 ...

. He also studied abroad. He took part in the Zebrzydowski Rebellion in 1607. Later he became a courtier of a powerful magnate, Lithuanian duke

Krzysztof Radziwiłł Prince Krzysztof Radziwiłł (Christopher Radvila, lt, Kristupas Radvila) (22 March 1585, Biržai – 19 November 1640) was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish–Lithuanian Nobility, noble (szlachcic), and a notable magnate, politicia ...

the younger (1585-1640). Among others he was a supervisor of Radziwiłł's

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

Works

Olbrycht Karmanowski is the author of several poems that are preserved to this day. Among his works is the cycle ''Pieśni pokutne'' (''Penitential Hymns''). His well-known poem is ''Olbrycht Karmanowski Piotrowi Kochanowskiemu, autorowi przełożenia "Gofreda"'' (''Olbrycht Karmanowski to Piotr Kochanowski, the translator of the Jerusalem Delivered 1618''). Karmanowski's ''Pieśń 13. W chorobie'' (''Canto 13. In an Illness'') is especially interesting as an early example of enneasyllable with the caesura after the fifth syllable. This metre, introduced into Polish Renaissance verse by

Jan Kochanowski Jan Kochanowski (; 1530 – 22 August 1584) was a Polish Renaissance poet who established poetic patterns that would become integral to the Polish literary language. He is commonly regarded as the greatest Polish poet before Adam Mickiewicz. Li ...

but not much used before the 19th century, is extremely popular today.Wiktor Jarosław Darasz, Mały przewodnik po wierszu polskim, Towarzystwo Miłośników Języka Polskiego, Kraków 2003, p. 102-103 (in Polish). He used

Sapphic stanza The Sapphic stanza, named after Sappho, is an Aeolic verse form of four lines. Originally composed in quantitative verse and unrhymed, since the Middle Ages imitations of the form typically feature rhyme and accentual prosody. It is "the longest ...

s in the poem ''O śmierci'' (''On Death''), too. Karmanowski was also a translator of verse, including poems by

Anacreon Anacreon (; grc-gre, Ἀνακρέων ὁ Τήϊος; BC) was a Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and erotic poems. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets. Anacreon wrote all of his poetry in the ...

and

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

Criticism

* Janusz Ziembiński, ''Twórczość poetycka Olbrychta Karmanowskiego'' 'Olbrycht Karmanowski's literary work'' Uniwersytet Ślaski w Katowicach, Katowice 2010.

References

Bibliography

* Olbrycht Karmanowski, ''Wiersze i listy'' 'Poems and letters'' Wydał dited byRadosław Grześkowiak, Instytut Badań Literackich and Pro Cultura Litteraria, Warszawa 2010.

External links

Olbrycht Karmanowski's three poems at Staropolska.pl (in Polish)

Olbrycht Karmanowski's poems (in Polish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karmanowski, Olbrycht 16th-century births 17th-century deaths Polish Calvinist and Reformed Christians Polish male poets