Franciszek Ziejka (3 October 1940 – 19 July 2020) was a Polish scholar who specialized in

Polish literature Polish literature is the literary tradition of Poland. Most Polish literature has been written in the Polish language, though other languages used in Poland over the centuries have also contributed to Polish literary traditions, including Latin, ...

Biography

Ziejka was born into a peasant family of eight children. He studied Polish literature at

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

under the guidance of Wacław Kubacki. In 1971, he defended his doctoral thesis on symbolism of

Stanisław Wyspiański Stanisław Mateusz Ignacy Wyspiański (; 15 January 1869 – 28 November 1907) was a Polish playwright, painter, poet, and interior and furniture designer. A patriotic writer, he created symbolic national dramas accordant with the artisti ...

's '' The Wedding''. In 1982, he supported accreditation in his essay ''The Golden Legend of Polish Peasants''. In 1991, he became a university professor. In the meantime, Ziejka taught Polish at the

University of Provence The University of Provence Aix-Marseille I () was a Public university, public research university mostly located in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille. It was one of the three University of Aix-Marseille, Universities of Aix-Marseille and was part of t ...

from 1970 to 1973, then at the

University of Lisbon The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; ) is a public university, public research university in Lisbon, and Portugal's largest university. It was founded in 1911, but the university's present structure dates to the 2013 merger of the former Universit ...

from 1979 to 1980. He also taught at the

Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (; ), abbreviated as INALCO, is a French Grand Etablissement with a specializing in the teaching of languages and cultures from the world. Its coverage spans languages of Central Europ ...

from 1984 to 1988. Ziejka became a member of the

Polish Academy of Learning The Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences or Polish Academy of Learning (, PAU), headquartered in Kraków and founded in 1872, is one of two institutions in contemporary Poland having the nature of an academy of sciences (the other being the Po ...

in 1997 in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. He was also a member of the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences (, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of distinguished scholars a ...

and the Polish

PEN International PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide professional association, association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association ...

Club. Ziejka is the author of multiple plays broadcast on Polish television, such as ''A Legend is Born'', ''Polish October'', and ''Traugutt''. He served on the scientific council of the

Polish Library in Paris The Polish Library in Paris (, ) is a Polish cultural centre of national importance and is closely associated both with the historic Great Emigration of the Polish élite to Paris in the 19th-century and the formation in 1832 of the Literary Soci ...

and he chaired the Panteon Narodowy w Krakowie.

Distinctions

*Officer of the

Ordre des Palmes académiques A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...

(2002) *Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(2006) *Grand Officer of the Portugal Order of Merit (2008) *Commander of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

(2012) *

Order of the Southern Cross The National Order of the Southern Cross () is a Brazilian Orders, decorations, and medals of Brazil, order of chivalry founded by List of monarchs of Brazil, Emperor Pedro I of Brazil, Pedro I on 1 December 1822. The order aimed to commemorate ...

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

Doctorates ''Honoris Causa''

* Pedagogical University of Cracow *Pontifical Faculty of Theology of Wrocław * Jan Kochanowski University *

Pontifical University of John Paul II The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow () is an academic institution located in Kraków, Poland, that offers graduate degrees in theology, philosophy, and church history. It derived from the theology faculty of Jagiellonian Unive ...

* Maria Curie-Skłodowska University

Bibliography

*''W kręgu mitów polskich'' (1977) *''Studia polsko-prowansalskie'' (1977) *''Moje spotkania z Portugalią'' (1983) *''Złota legenda chłopów polskich'' (1984) *''Dialog serdeczny'' (1988) *''Paryż młodopolski'' (1993) *''Nasza rodzina w Europie. Studia i szkice'' (1995) *''Poeci, misjonarze, uczeni. Z dziejów kultury i literatury polskiej'' (1998) *''Mythes polonais. Autour de « La Noce » de Stanisław Wyspiański'' (2001) *''Gaudium veritatis'' (2005) *''Odkrywanie świata. Rozmowy i szkice'' (2010) *''Serce Polski. Szkice krakowskie'' (2010)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ziejka, Franciszek Polish educators 1940 births 2020 deaths People from Tarnów County Jagiellonian University alumni Academic staff of the University of Provence Academic staff of the University of Lisbon