Mikołaj Rej
| Mikołaj Rej | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
4 February 1505 Żurawno, Poland (now Zhuravno, Ukraine) |
| Died | Between 8 September and 5 October 1569 (aged 64) Rejowiec, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland |
| Pen name | Mikołaj Rey |
| Occupation | Poet, writer, politician, musician |
| Nationality | Polish |
Mikołaj Rej or Mikołaj Rey of Nagłowice (4 February 1505 – between 8 September/5 October 1569) was a Polish poet and prose writer of the emerging Renaissance in Poland as it succeeded the Middle Ages, as well as a politician and musician. He was the first Polish author to write exclusively in the Polish language, and is considered (with Biernat of Lublin and Jan Kochanowski), to be one of the founders of Polish literary language and literature.
Rej was born into a noble family at Żurawno, near Halicz. His father had moved to Ruthenia from Nagłowice, near Kraków at the invitation of archbishop Jan Wątróbka. His mother, Barbara Herburt, married Rej's father there. Although young Rej received little formal education in Lwów, and, at the age of 13 attended but one year at the Kraków Academy, he managed to educate himself by studying Latin literature.
Approximately 1524, Rej began his service at the court of voivode 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 area, which had been bequeathed to his wife, and thereafter, he frequented the court of Hetman Mikołaj Sieniawski. In either 1541 or 1548, Rej converted to Calvinism. He took part in synods and founded Protestant schools and communities on his lands.
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Wikipedia