section_path: Spread/Poland
section_name: Poland
paragraph_text: Poland
  
  The Polish Renaissance lasted from the late 15th to the late 16th century and was the Golden Age of Polish culture. Ruled by the Jagiellonian dynasty, the Kingdom of Poland (from 1569 known as the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth) actively participated in the broad European Renaissance. An early Italian humanist who came to Poland in the mid-15th century was Filippo Buonaccorsi, who was employed as royal advisor and councillor. The tomb of John I Albert, completed in 1505 by Francesco Fiorentino, is the first example of a Renaissance composition in the country. Many Italian artists subsequently came to Poland with Bona Sforza of Milan, when she married King Sigismund I in 1518. This was supported by temporarily strengthened monarchies in both areas, as well as by newly established universities.
  
  The Renaissance was a period when the multi-national Polish state experienced a substantial period of cultural growth thanks in part to a century without major wars, aside from conflicts in the sparsely populated eastern and southern borderlands. Architecture became more refined and decorative. Mannerism played an important part in shaping what is now considered to be the truly Polish architectural style – high attics above the cornice with pinnacles and pilasters. It was also the time when the first major works of Polish literature were published, particularly those of Mikołaj Rey and Jan Kochanowski, and the Polish language became the lingua franca of East-Central Europe. The Jagiellonian University transformed into a major institution of higher education for the region and hosted many notable scholars, chiefly Nicolaus Copernicus and Conrad Celtes. Three more academies were founded at Königsberg (1544), Vilnius (1579), and Zamość (1594). The Reformation spread peacefully throughout the country, giving rise to the Nontrinitarian Polish Brethren. Living conditions improved, cities grew, and exports of agricultural products enriched the population, especially the nobility (szlachta) and magnates. The nobles gained dominance in the new political system of Golden Liberty, a counterweight to monarchical absolutism.