Mikolaj Rej
Mikolaj_Rej.jpg
Mikołaj Rej or Mikołaj Rey of Naglowice (1505-1569) was one of the best known Polish poets and writers of the Renaissance. He was also a politician a musician and a nobleman of Oksza Coat of Arms. A Calvinist since 1541 or 1548.
Rej was born in Żurawin near Halicz. Although he received little formal education in Lwów and one year in Cracow Academy, he managed to educate himself by studying Latin literature. He moved to the Chełm area in 1531, and from then on frequented the court of Hetman Mikołaj Sieniawski. He took part in sejms and thought his writing to be an important social mission. Rej was the first Polish writer to receive a major prize for his output. By the end of his life, he owned several villages. He received Temerowce from King Zygmunt I the Old, and Dziewięciele from Zygmunt II August as a lifelong possession and two towns, one of them was Rejowiec, founded by the author in 1547.
Works
- Zwierciadło which includes Żywot człowieka poczciwego (1567/1568)
- Psałterz Dawidów (1546)
- Żywot Józefa (1545)
- Kupiec (1549)
- Rzecz pospolita albo Sejm pospolity
- Zwierzyniec (1562)
- Krótka rozprawa między trzema osobami: Panem, Wójtem i Plebanem (1543)