Mikołaj Rej or Mikołaj Rey of Nagłowice (4 February 1505 – between 8 September/5 October 1569) was a Polish poet and

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

writer of the emerging

Renaissance in Poland The Renaissance in Poland ( , ; ) lasted from the late 15th to the late 16th century and is widely considered to have been the Golden Age of Polish culture. Ruled by the Jagiellonian dynasty, the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland (from 1569 part of ...

as it succeeded the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, as well as a politician and musician. He was the first Polish author to write exclusively in the

Polish language Polish (, , or simply , ) is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language of the Lechitic languages, Lechitic subgroup, within the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is written in the Latin script. It is primarily spo ...

, and is considered (with

Biernat of Lublin Biernat of Lublin ( Polish: ''Biernat z Lublina'', Latin ''Bernardus Lublinius'', ca. 1465 – after 1529) was a Polish poet, fabulist, translator, and physician. He was one of the first Polish-language writers known by name, and the most i ...

and

Jan Kochanowski Jan Kochanowski (; 1530 – 22 August 1584) was a Polish Renaissance poet who wrote in Latin and Polish and established poetic patterns that would become integral to Polish literary language. He has been called the greatest Polish poet before ...

), to be one of the founders of Polish literary language and literature.Mikołaj Rej collection (with biography and body of works), ''National Digital Library'' (Cyfrowa Biblioteka Narodowa ''Polona''), 2006.

Life

Rej was born into a noble family (bearers of the Oksza coat of arms) at

Żurawno Zhuravno (; ; , ) is a Populated places in Ukraine#Rural settlements, rural settlement in Stryi Raion, Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Zhuravne settlement hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: , 2,968 ...

, near Halicz. His father Stanisław, "a pious, honourable, and quiet man", had (with the help of a relative who was Archbishop of Lwów), moved to

Ruthenia ''Ruthenia'' is an exonym, originally used in Medieval Latin, as one of several terms for Rus'. Originally, the term ''Rus' land'' referred to a triangular area, which mainly corresponds to the tribe of Polans in Dnieper Ukraine. ''Ruthenia' ...

from Nagłowice, near

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

at the invitation of archbishop Jan Wątróbka. His mother, Barbara Herburt, married Rej's father there as his second wife. Although young Rej received little formal education in

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, and, at the age of 13 attended but one year at the Kraków Academy, he managed to educate himself by studying

Latin literature Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings written in the Latin language. The beginning of formal Latin literature dates to 240 BC, when the first stage play in Latin was performed in Rome. Latin literatur ...

. In approximately 1524, Rej began his service at the court of

voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

Andrzej Tęczyński in Sandomierz. There, he acquired most of his vast knowledge in the field of humanities. He returned to his family's town of Topola and married Zofia Kosnówna (Kościeniówna). In 1531 Rej moved to Kobyle, in the

Chełm Chełm (; ; ) is a city in eastern Poland in the Lublin Voivodeship with 60,231 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is located to the south-east of Lublin, north of Zamość and south of Biała Podlaska, some from the border with Ukraine. The ...

area, which had been bequeathed to his wife, and thereafter, he frequented the court of

Hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...

Mikołaj Sieniawski Mikołaj Sieniawski (c. 1489 – 1569) was a notable Poland, Polish magnate, military commander and a prominent politician of his times. He built stone Brzeżany Castle round which the modern town of Berezhany has developed. Since 1539 Miko ...

. In either 1541 or 1548, Rej converted to

Calvinism Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...

. He took part in

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

s and founded

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

schools and communities on his lands. Rej took part in

sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

s and thought his writing an important social mission. He was the first Polish writer to receive a substantial reward for his output. By the end of his life, he owned several villages and oversaw many. He received Temerowce from King

Sigismund I the Old Sigismund I the Old (, ; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was List of Polish monarchs, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the son of Casimir IV of P ...

, and Dziewięciele from King

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus (, ; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and t ...

as a lifelong possession and two towns, one of them Rejowiec, founded by Rej in 1547. Living during the

Golden Liberty Golden Liberty (; , ), sometimes referred to as Golden Freedoms, Nobles' Democracy or Nobles' Commonwealth ( or ''Złota wolność szlachecka'') was a political system in the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), Kingdom of Poland and, after the Unio ...

embraced by the

Polish nobility The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

, tolerance characterized his oversight and this philosophy was carried on by his sons. Rej died at Rejowiec in 1569. On the five-hundredth anniversary of his birth, Mikolaj Rej was described as a "father of Polish literature", and it also was noted that his grandson, Andrzej Rej (diplomat), royal secretary and Calvinist, is Mikolaj's most prominent offspring. That grandson may be the subject of the 1637 painting by

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

, '' A Polish Nobleman'' (perhaps, painted while he was visiting Amsterdam during a trip as a Polish ambassador on a diplomatic mission to the courts of the Danish, the English, and the Dutch).Radziwill, Boguslaw, ''Autobiography'', Introduction by Tadeusz Wasilewski, Warsaw, 1979.

Works

Wizerunek zywota czlowieka poczciwego Mikolaj Rej 1567

In 1543 Rej debuted as a writer, under the pen name "Ambroży Korczbok Rożek," with his most famous book, ''A Brief Discussion among Three Persons: a Lord, a Commune Chief, and a Priest'' (''Krotka rozprawa między trzemi osobami, panem, woytem a plebanem'').Rej, Mikołaj (1505–1569)
"Krotka rozprawa między trzemi osobami, panem, woytem a plebanem"
''National Digital Library''; retrieved 28 September 2011. Rej's works touch on a large array of matters. He authored

works that described the ideal of the Polish

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

, criticized the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, and showed a genuine solicitude for his country. His

syntax In linguistics, syntax ( ) is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure (constituenc ...

is strongly influenced by

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

style. His

poetic meter In poetry, metre ( Commonwealth spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse metre, or a certain set of ...

discloses a deliberate effort to impart to the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

metrical model with which he was so familiar, a regularity that it lacked. Rej's works include: * ''Krótka rozprawa między trzema osobami: Panem, Wójtem i Plebanem'' (A Brief Discourse among Three Persons: a Lord, a Commune Chief, and a Priest, 1543), written under the pen name, ''Ambroży Korczbok Rożek'' * ''Żywot Józefa'' (The Life of Joseph, 1545). * ''Żywot Człowieka Poczciwego'' (The Life of the Honest Man) * ''Kupiec'' (The Merchant, 1549) * ''Zwierzyniec'' (The Bestiary, 1562) * ''Zwierciadło'' ( Speculum), incorporating the three-book prose ''Wizerunek własny żywota człowieka poczciwego'' (''The Image of a Good Man's Life'', 1567–68) * ''Rzecz pospolita albo Sejm pospolity'' (The Commonwealth, or the General Sejm)

Quotation

Legacy

In commemoration of the five-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Mikołaj Rej, Poland's

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

(parliament) declared 2005 to be ''the Year of Mikołaj Rej''. In 1994–97, Rej's descendant and namesake, Nicholas Andrew Rey (1938–2009), served as American Ambassador to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Notes

References

Czesław Miłosz Czesław Miłosz ( , , ; 30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. He primarily wrote his poetry in Polish language, Polish. Regarded as one of the great poets of the ...

, ''The History of Polish Literature'', University of California Press, 1984; .

External links

A Short Conversation Between Three Persons, a Squire, a Bailiff, and a Parson (selections)
by Michał J. Mikoś
Life of an honest man (selections)
by Michał J. Mikoś
Collected works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rej, Mikolaj 1505 births 1569 deaths 16th-century Polish poets Converts to Calvinism Polish Calvinist and Reformed Christians Polish musicians 16th-century Polish nobility Mikolaj 16th-century Polish politicians Polish male poets