Today I wanted to talk about such an important subject for people from Poland and not only from Poland. Polish literature has always been inextricably linked to the historical development of the country as the political situation, particularly over the last two centuries, has not always favored freedom of speech. Many writers (pisarze) were forced to emigrate, while those who remained were often obliged to publish their works in other countries. Poland boasts four winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature: Henryk Sienkiewicz, Władysław S. Reymont, Czesław Miłosz and Wisława Szymborska.
The Middle Ages
Polish writing originates in the 11th century. The earliest works were in Latin, often written by people from other regions who copied hagiographies and holy chronicles. The oldest Polish chronicle, by the Benedictine monk Gall Anonim, dates from the beginning of the 12th century. Native Polish writers soon appeared, and Polish literature expended into all the literary forms known in Europe at the time. The first work in the Polish language was written in the second half of the 13th century. The earliest religious song in Polish, The Mother of God (Bogurodzica), was probably written at the end of the 13th century, although it is not found in manuscript until the 15th century. The Polish Holy Cross Sermons (Kazania Świętokrzyskie) date from around 1450.
Bogurodzica is a religious hymn, a simple prayer for personal happiness on earth and for a blessed life in heaven. It is addressed to Mary asking her for intercession and it does not mention issues of national identity. Nonetheless, this beautiful, quiet chant served the country as its anthem and was called, for instance by Jan Długosz, “carmen patrium”/the song of the homeland.”
Renaissance and Baroque
The renaissance is regarded as the Golden Age (Złoty Wiek) of Polish literature, when both prose and poetry (proza i poezja) flourished. Mikołaj Rej (1505-69), the first significant writer in the Polish language, is generally regarded as the father of Polish literature. 
The most prominent poet at the time was Jan Kochanowski (1530-84), who wrote the first Polish tragedy, entitled The Dismissal of the Greek Envoys (Odprawa Posłów Greckich). He was also the author of the humorous Trifles (Fraszki) and the sorrowful Laments (Treny), a lament in the form of a cycle of 19 poems.
Other notable figures among Poland’s early poets are Mikołaj Sęp Sarzyński (1550-81) and Szymon Szymonowic (1558-1629).
The ancient Sarmatia culture had a great influence on Polish Baroque literature.
The greatest works of the period are by Jan Chryzostom Pasek (1636-1701), who wrote highly colorful accounts both of great historical events and of the everyday life of the Polish nobility in the reign of Jan III Sobieski.
Next time I will tell you more about the 19th and the 20th century in the Polish Literature.
Do następnego razu! (Till next time…)
