Daniel Naborowski


Daniel Naborowski was a Polish Baroque poet.
Daniel Naborowski was born in Kraków. Like many Polish noblemen of the time he was a Calvinist by faith. His education took place not only in Cracow, but also at Wittenberg and Basle. In Basle he studied medicine, in Orléans he studied law, and from Galileo in Padua he learned military engineering. Once he returned to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, he joined the court of magnate Janusz Radziwiłł, where he was his secretary and physician. He was also magnate's diplomatic envoy, and often traveled abroad. After Janusz death, he moved to the court of his relative Krzysztof Radziwiłł.
He died in Vilna, were near the end of his life he was appointed the city's judge.
Although some of his works were published in the 17th century, majority of his poems were published only in 1961. Besides poems, Naborowski was a translator, and wrote letters, epitaphs, trifles and laments, mostly praising the country's peaceful life in the spirit of sarmatism. He translated three sonnets by Petrarch. He used in these poems Polish alexandrine instead of hendecasyllable, starting thus long tradition of writing sonnets in 13 metre.