Hieronim Morsztyn (1581–1623) was a Polish poet. He is known as one of the earliest poets of the
Polish baroque
The Polish Baroque lasted from the early 17th to the mid-18th century. As with Baroque style elsewhere in Europe, Poland's Baroque emphasized the richness and triumphant power of contemporary art forms. In contrast to the previous, Renaissance sty ...
and
sarmatism
Sarmatism (or Sarmatianism; pl, Sarmatyzm; lt, Sarmatizmas) was an ethno-cultural ideology within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was the dominant Baroque culture and ideology of the nobility () that existed in times of the Renai ...
. His most popular poem is ''Światowa Rozkosz'' (Worldly Pleasure).
Little is known about his life. Born in an
Arian
Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...
family to Florian Morsztyn and Zuzanna Łaska he was orphaned early and brought up by his uncle
Samuel Łaski, the royal secretary. He attended a
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
college in
Braniewo
Braniewo () (german: Braunsberg in Ostpreußen, la, Brunsberga, Old Prussian: ''Brus'', lt, Prūsa), is a town in northern Poland, in Warmia, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 16,907 as of June 2021. It is the capital ...
. During his later life he became associated with the
magnate
The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...
s' courts in
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of ...
and
Vilna
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urba ...
.
Morsztyn's major works are ''Światowa Rozkosz'' (Worldly Pleasure or Worldly Bliss, from 1606), ''Antypasty małżeńskie'' (Matrimonial Appetisers from 1650), and ''Summariusz wierszów'' (Compendium of poems), a collection of over three hundred poems, written between 1606 and 1613, but never published. Few of his original manuscripts have survived, and most of his works that we know comes from later reprints. Some of the works considered his are attributed to him based on style analysis, as they were reprinted as anonymous. In many of his
trifle
Trifle is a layered dessert of English origin. The usual ingredients are a thin layer of sponge fingers or sponge cake soaked in sherry or another fortified wine, a fruit element (fresh or jelly), custard and whipped cream layered in that ord ...
s and songs, Morsztyn praised the beauty of the world, contrasting it with the burden of sin and with eternal bliss, but occasionally he wrote about other issues, including politics - like in his ''Konfederacji 1614 nagrobek'' (Tombstone for the 1614
confederation
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical iss ...
).
References
Short bio and selection of poems
1581 births
1623 deaths
Hieronim
Polish poets
Poets from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
{{Poland-poet-stub