The Knights of the Cross - Volume Two [Paperback]

Henryk K. Sienkiewicz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2002 | Series: Knights of the Cross (Book 2)

The period embraced in this set is "one of the most dramatic and fruitful of results in European Annals - remarkable for work and endeavor, especially in the Slav world," the author writes. Among Western Slavs, the great events were the Hussite Wars and the union of Lithuania and Polant. The Hussite Wars were caused by ideas of race and religion (born in Bohemia.) The period of Bohemian activity began in 1403 and ended in 1434, with the battle of Lipan.

Polish literature developed long ago into the main vehicle of national expression. For many Poles, their literature stands with their religion as the twin pillars of their heritage. Sienkiewicz studied literature, history, and philology at Warsaw University but left in 1871 without taking a degree. He had begun to publish critical articles in 1869 that showed the influence of positivism, a system of philosophy popular in Poland and elsewhere at the time, emphasizing in particular the achievements of science.

Known for their great narrative power and contain vivid characterizations, Sienkiewicz' work includes the great trilogy of historical novels began to appear in 1883. It is composed of With Fire and Sword (1884), The Deluge (1886), and Pan Michael (1887-88). Set in the later 17th century, the trilogy describes Poland's struggles against Cossacks, Tatars, Swedes, and Turks, stressing Polish heroism in a vivid style of epic clarity and simplicity.

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About the Author

Henryk (Adam Alexander Pius) Sienkiewicz (1846-1916) was a novelist, born in Wola Okrzejska, Poland. He studied at Warsaw, traveled in the United States, and in the 1870s began to write articles, short stories, and novels. His most widely known book is the story of Rome under Nero, Quo Vadis? (1896), several times filmed, notably in 1951 by Mervyn Le Roy (1900-87). He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1905.

The translator, Jeremiah Curtin (1835 - 1906), was a renowned folklorist, linguist and translator. An American, but of Irish descent, in 1887 he traveled in the West of Ireland (including the Aran Islands) recording tales and legends from Gaelic speakers. Born to an Irish Catholic family, Jeremiah Curtin spent his early years on a farm in Greenfield, Wisconsin. After graduating from Harvard (1863), where he studied under Francis James Child, he moved to New York, read law, and worked for the U.S. Sanitary Commission while translating and teaching languages. He then traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia (1864), where he served as Secretary to the American legation headed by Cassius Clay. In his free time Curtin traveled extensively throughout Russia and the Caucasus. Upon his return to the United States, Curtin lectured throughout the country about Russia, marrying Alma Cardell of Warren, Vermont in 1872.

Product Details

• Paperback: 472 pages
• Publisher: Fredonia Books (NL) (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589637267
• ISBN-13: 978-1589637269
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,988,451 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)