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[[Image:Jan Kochanowski.jpg|thumb|200px|right|[[Jan Kochanowski]], a leading poet and writer of Polish Renaissance, and one of the most eminent Slavic poets.]] |
[[Image:Jan Kochanowski.jpg|thumb|200px|right|[[Jan Kochanowski]], a leading poet and writer of Polish Renaissance, and one of the most eminent 16th-century Slavic poets.]] |
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The '''Renaissance in Poland''' (Polish: ''Odrodzenie'') lasted from the late [[15th century]] to the late [[16th century]] and |
The '''Renaissance in Poland''' (Polish: ''Odrodzenie'') lasted from the late [[15th century]] to the late [[16th century]] and came to be regarded in retrospect as the [[golden age]] of [[Polish culture]]. The [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Kingdom of Poland]] (from 1569 known as the [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]]), ruled by the [[Jagiellon dynasty]], actively participated in the European [[Renaissance]]. A century without major wars - only conflicts on the sparsely populated eastern and southern borders - allowed the multinational Polish entity to experience a significant period of cultural growth. The [[Reformation]] spread peacefully throughout the country (giving the rise to the [[Polish Brethren]]), living conditions improved significantly, cities grew, and exports of agricultural goods enriched the population, especially the nobility ([[szlachta]]) who gained the dominant hand in the [[political system]] ([[Golden Freedom]]). |
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== Overview == |
== Overview == |
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{{Culture of Poland}} |
{{Culture of Poland}} |
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The [[Renaissance]], |
The [[Renaissance]], which originated in [[Italy]], started spreading in Poland in the [[15th century|15th]] and [[16th century]]. This was a result of activities of Italian artists ([[Francesco Florentino]], [[Bartholommeo Berecci]], [[Santi Gucci]], [[Mateo Gucci]], [[Bernardo Morando]], [[Giovanni Baptista di Quadro]], etc.), merchants ([[Boners]], [[Monteluppi]]) and thinkers ([[Filip Callimachus]]) who had come to Poland since the late [[15th century|15th]]. Most of them came to [[Cracow]], the Polish capital until 1611. |
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[[Image:Nikolaus Kopernikus.jpg|150px|right|thumb|Nicolaus Copernicus, a leading scholar of Polish Renaissance.]] |
[[Image:Nikolaus Kopernikus.jpg|150px|right|thumb|Nicolaus Copernicus, a leading scholar of Polish Renaissance.]] |
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The Renaissance belief in the dignity of man and power of his reason found a receptive ground in Poland. Many works were translated into Polish and Latin from classical Latin, Greek and Hebrew, as well as contemporary languages like Italian. [[Cracow Academy]], one of |
The Renaissance belief in the dignity of man and power of his reason found a receptive ground in Poland. Many works were translated into Polish and Latin from classical Latin, Greek and Hebrew, as well as contemporary languages like Italian. The [[Cracow Academy]], one of Poland's oldest universities, enjoyed it's Golden Era between 1500 and 1535, attracting 3215 students in the first decade of the 16th century - a record not surpassed until the late 18th century. The period of Polish renaissance, supportive of intellectual pursuits, produced many outstanding scientists and artists. Among them were [[Nicholaus Copernicus]] who in his ''[[De revolutionibus orbium coelestium]]'' developed the [[heliocentrism|heliocentric]] theory of the universe, [[Maciej of Miechów]], author of ''Tractatus...'', the first accurate [[geography|geographical]] and [[ethnography|ethnographical]] description of [[Eastern Europe]], [[Bernard Wapowski]], a [[cartographer]] whose maps of Eastern Europe appeared in [[Ptolemy]]'s ''Geography'' <!-- huh!? -->, [[Marcin Kromer]] who in his ''De origino...'' described both the [[history of Poland|history]] and [[geography of Poland]], [[Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski]], a philosopher who advanced novel political and social theories concerning the whole state, [[Mikołaj Rej]] who has popularized the use of [[Polish language]] in poetry, and [[Jan Kochanowski]] who perfected Polish poetic language and became recognized in Poland as the most eminent [[Slavs|Slavic]] poet until the beginning of the [[19th century]]. |
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[[Image:De_revolutionibus_orbium_coelestium.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Title page of ''De revolutionibus'']] |
[[Image:De_revolutionibus_orbium_coelestium.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Title page of ''De revolutionibus'']] |
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Young Poles, especially sons of nobility, educated in a network of more then 2500 parish schools, many [[gymnasium]] and several academies often travelled abroad to complete their education. Members of Polish intellectual elite, like Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski, [[Jan Dantyszek]] or [[Jan Łaski]] maintained contacts with leading European luminaries, including [[Thomas Moore]], [[Erasmus]] and [[Philip Melanchthon |
Young Poles, especially sons of nobility, educated in a network of more then 2500 parish schools, many [[gymnasium]] and several academies often travelled abroad to complete their education. Members of the Polish intellectual elite, like Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski, [[Jan Dantyszek]] or [[Jan Łaski]] maintained contacts with leading European luminaries, including [[Thomas Moore]], [[Erasmus]] and [[Philip Melanchthon]]. |
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Incentives for development of art and [[architecture]] were many. King [[Zygmunt the Old]] crowned in 1507 was a sponsor of many artists, and launched an ambitious project of transforming [[Wawel Castle]] into a Renaissance residence. Magnates and wealthy burghers were also eager to display their artistic tastes and patronage. The main beneficiaries of Renaissance art were [[Cracow]] (which attracted many Italian architects) and [[Gdańsk]] (which attracted mostly architects from Germany and the Netherlands), but many other cities also spotted Renaissance buildings. In 1578, [[kanclerz|chancellor]] [[Jan Zamoyski]] conceived a bold plan of building the ideal Renaissance city, and he sponsored the creation of [[Zamość]], which quickly became an important administrative, commercial and educational city in Renaissance Poland. |
Incentives for development of art and [[architecture]] were many. King [[Zygmunt the Old]] (crowned in 1507) was a sponsor of many artists, and launched an ambitious project of transforming [[Wawel Castle]] into a Renaissance residence. Magnates and wealthy burghers were also eager to display their artistic tastes and patronage. The main beneficiaries of Renaissance art were [[Cracow]] (which attracted many Italian architects) and [[Gdańsk]] (which attracted mostly architects from Germany and the Netherlands), but many other cities also spotted Renaissance buildings. In 1578, [[kanclerz|chancellor]] [[Jan Zamoyski]] conceived a bold plan of building the ideal Renaissance city, and he sponsored the creation of [[Zamość]], which quickly became an important administrative, commercial and educational city in Renaissance Poland. |
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[[Image:SebLubomirski.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Painting of [[Sebastian Lubomirski]], wealthy 16th century Polish nobleman.]] |
[[Image:SebLubomirski.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Painting of [[Sebastian Lubomirski]], wealthy 16th century Polish nobleman.]] |
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Renaissance painting was introduced in Poland by many immigrant artists, |
Renaissance painting was introduced in Poland by many immigrant artists, such as [[Hans Dürer]], [[Hans Suss]] and [[Lucas Cranach]]<!--which one? please details-->, and was later practised by such local painters as [[Marcin Krober]] (a court painter of king [[Stefan Batory]]). The portraitists left behind an extensive pictorial gallery of the noble and the wealthy, capturing characteristic features and social position of each person. |
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The centre of musical culture was the royal residence at Cracow, where kings surrounded themselves with foreign and local composers and musicians. The finest works of the period include vocal and instrumental compositions, dances, organ and polyphonic music as well as solemn oratorios and masses. Especially popular were compositions for organ and the lute. The ''Tablature'', compiled in 1540 |
The centre of musical culture was the royal residence at Cracow, where kings surrounded themselves with foreign and local composers and musicians. The finest works of the period include vocal and instrumental compositions, dances, organ and polyphonic music as well as solemn oratorios and masses. Especially popular were compositions for organ and the lute. The ''Tablature'', compiled in 1540 by [[Jan of Lublin]], was an extensive collection of all known European organ compositions. [[Mikołaj Gomółka]] was the author of musical rendition of Kochanowski's poems. The most famous Polish composer was [[Wacław z Szamotuł]], recognized in Poland as one of the outstanding Renaissance composers. |
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The first [[printing press]] was set up in Cracow in 1473 by [[Kasper Straube]] from [[Bavaria]]. It is estimated that between 1561 and 1600 seventeen printing houses in Poland published over 120 titles per year, with the average edition size of 500 copies. The first complete translation of the [[Bible]] into Polish was done in 1561 by [[Jan Leopolita]]. Around that time the first Polish [[orthography]] dictionary was published (by [[Stanisław Murzynowski]] in 1551); grammar books and dictionaries also proliferated. Polish renaissance was [[bi-lingual]], with the szlachta's speech being a mixture of Polish and Latin, and various authors oscillating between Polish, Latin and a mixture of those two languages. |
The first [[printing press]] was set up in Cracow in 1473 by [[Kasper Straube]] from [[Bavaria]]. It is estimated that between 1561 and 1600 seventeen printing houses in Poland published over 120 titles per year, with the average edition size of 500 copies. The first complete translation of the [[Bible]] into Polish was done in 1561 by [[Jan Leopolita]]. Around that time the first Polish [[orthography]] dictionary was published (by [[Stanisław Murzynowski]] in 1551); grammar books and dictionaries also proliferated. Polish renaissance was [[bi-lingual]], with the szlachta's speech being a mixture of Polish and Latin, and various authors oscillating between Polish, Latin and a mixture of those two languages. |
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The general tone of Polish literature was set by the nobility, |
The general tone of Polish literature was set by the nobility, which propagated their own ideals of material and spiritual values. Thus poems extolled the virtue of [[manor]] life and importance of [[agriculture]]: for example Rej celebrated the life and occupations of a country squire, while Kochanowski wrote about the pleasures and beauty of country's lives and nature. Literary forms run the full gamut from [[ode]]s and [[pastoral]]s through [[sonnet]]s and [[elegy|elegies]] to [[satire]] and [[romance]]. |
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== Scholars of Polish Renaissance == |
== Scholars of Polish Renaissance == |
Revision as of 23:37, 13 March 2006
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The Renaissance in Poland (Polish: Odrodzenie) lasted from the late 15th century to the late 16th century and came to be regarded in retrospect as the golden age of Polish culture. The Kingdom of Poland (from 1569 known as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), ruled by the Jagiellon dynasty, actively participated in the European Renaissance. A century without major wars - only conflicts on the sparsely populated eastern and southern borders - allowed the multinational Polish entity to experience a significant period of cultural growth. The Reformation spread peacefully throughout the country (giving the rise to the Polish Brethren), living conditions improved significantly, cities grew, and exports of agricultural goods enriched the population, especially the nobility (szlachta) who gained the dominant hand in the political system (Golden Freedom).
Overview
Part of a series on the |
Culture of Poland |
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Traditions |
Mythology |
Cuisine |
Festivals |
Religion |
The Renaissance, which originated in Italy, started spreading in Poland in the 15th and 16th century. This was a result of activities of Italian artists (Francesco Florentino, Bartholommeo Berecci, Santi Gucci, Mateo Gucci, Bernardo Morando, Giovanni Baptista di Quadro, etc.), merchants (Boners, Monteluppi) and thinkers (Filip Callimachus) who had come to Poland since the late 15th. Most of them came to Cracow, the Polish capital until 1611.
The Renaissance belief in the dignity of man and power of his reason found a receptive ground in Poland. Many works were translated into Polish and Latin from classical Latin, Greek and Hebrew, as well as contemporary languages like Italian. The Cracow Academy, one of Poland's oldest universities, enjoyed it's Golden Era between 1500 and 1535, attracting 3215 students in the first decade of the 16th century - a record not surpassed until the late 18th century. The period of Polish renaissance, supportive of intellectual pursuits, produced many outstanding scientists and artists. Among them were Nicholaus Copernicus who in his De revolutionibus orbium coelestium developed the heliocentric theory of the universe, Maciej of Miechów, author of Tractatus..., the first accurate geographical and ethnographical description of Eastern Europe, Bernard Wapowski, a cartographer whose maps of Eastern Europe appeared in Ptolemy's Geography , Marcin Kromer who in his De origino... described both the history and geography of Poland, Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski, a philosopher who advanced novel political and social theories concerning the whole state, Mikołaj Rej who has popularized the use of Polish language in poetry, and Jan Kochanowski who perfected Polish poetic language and became recognized in Poland as the most eminent Slavic poet until the beginning of the 19th century.
Young Poles, especially sons of nobility, educated in a network of more then 2500 parish schools, many gymnasium and several academies often travelled abroad to complete their education. Members of the Polish intellectual elite, like Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski, Jan Dantyszek or Jan Łaski maintained contacts with leading European luminaries, including Thomas Moore, Erasmus and Philip Melanchthon.
Incentives for development of art and architecture were many. King Zygmunt the Old (crowned in 1507) was a sponsor of many artists, and launched an ambitious project of transforming Wawel Castle into a Renaissance residence. Magnates and wealthy burghers were also eager to display their artistic tastes and patronage. The main beneficiaries of Renaissance art were Cracow (which attracted many Italian architects) and Gdańsk (which attracted mostly architects from Germany and the Netherlands), but many other cities also spotted Renaissance buildings. In 1578, chancellor Jan Zamoyski conceived a bold plan of building the ideal Renaissance city, and he sponsored the creation of Zamość, which quickly became an important administrative, commercial and educational city in Renaissance Poland.
Renaissance painting was introduced in Poland by many immigrant artists, such as Hans Dürer, Hans Suss and Lucas Cranach, and was later practised by such local painters as Marcin Krober (a court painter of king Stefan Batory). The portraitists left behind an extensive pictorial gallery of the noble and the wealthy, capturing characteristic features and social position of each person.
The centre of musical culture was the royal residence at Cracow, where kings surrounded themselves with foreign and local composers and musicians. The finest works of the period include vocal and instrumental compositions, dances, organ and polyphonic music as well as solemn oratorios and masses. Especially popular were compositions for organ and the lute. The Tablature, compiled in 1540 by Jan of Lublin, was an extensive collection of all known European organ compositions. Mikołaj Gomółka was the author of musical rendition of Kochanowski's poems. The most famous Polish composer was Wacław z Szamotuł, recognized in Poland as one of the outstanding Renaissance composers.
The first printing press was set up in Cracow in 1473 by Kasper Straube from Bavaria. It is estimated that between 1561 and 1600 seventeen printing houses in Poland published over 120 titles per year, with the average edition size of 500 copies. The first complete translation of the Bible into Polish was done in 1561 by Jan Leopolita. Around that time the first Polish orthography dictionary was published (by Stanisław Murzynowski in 1551); grammar books and dictionaries also proliferated. Polish renaissance was bi-lingual, with the szlachta's speech being a mixture of Polish and Latin, and various authors oscillating between Polish, Latin and a mixture of those two languages.
The general tone of Polish literature was set by the nobility, which propagated their own ideals of material and spiritual values. Thus poems extolled the virtue of manor life and importance of agriculture: for example Rej celebrated the life and occupations of a country squire, while Kochanowski wrote about the pleasures and beauty of country's lives and nature. Literary forms run the full gamut from odes and pastorals through sonnets and elegies to satire and romance.
Scholars of Polish Renaissance
Renaissance |
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Aspects |
Regions |
History and study |
- Jan Łaski (John Lasco), evangelical reformer
- Maciej of Miechów (Maciej Miechowita), writer, university teacher
- Nicholas Copernicus, astronomer
- Marcin Kromer, writer, geographer
- Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski, writer, philosopher
- Piotr Skarga, Jesuit, political reformer
Artists of Polish Renaissance
- Mikołaj Rej, poet
- Jan Kochanowski, poet
- Szymon Szymonowic, poet
- Mikołaj Sęp Szarzyński, poet
- Łukasz Górnicki, writer
- Jan Sacranus, writer
- Andrzej Krzycki, poet
- Johannes Dantiscus, poet
- Wacław z Szamotuł, composer
- Mikołaj Gomółka, composer, singer
- Marcin Krober, painter
Immigrants:
- Hans Dürer
- Hans Suss
- Lucas Cranach
- Mateo Gucci
- Santi Gucci
- Georg Pencz
- Bartholommeo Berecci
- Bernardo Morando
Polish renaissance buildings gallery
References
- Michael J. Mikoś, Polish Renaissance Literature: An Anthology. Ed. Michael J. Mikoś. Columbus, Ohio/Bloomington, Indiana: Slavica Publishers. 1995. ISBN 0893572578 (contains short bio and "Satire III: On Burdens and Oppressions of Peasants in Poland.") on-line