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Literature

Mikołaj Rej

1505 - 1569 · Writer, Poet · b. in Żurawno

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Polish poet and writer (1505-1569)

Mikołaj Rej or Mikołaj Rey of Nagłowice was a Polish poet, prose writer, politician, and musician of the early Polish Renaissance. He was the first major author to write exclusively in the Polish language and is regarded, alongside Biernat of Lublin and Jan Kochanowski, as one of the founders of Polish literary language and literature.

Key achievements

  • 01One of the first to write mainly in Polish
  • 02Famous words in defence of the Polish language
  • 03Founder of native literature in the vernacular

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