Pan Tadeusz, or Sir Thaddeus, by Polish writer and philosopher, Adam Mickiewicz, is recognized as the national epic of Poland and it is considered by many to be last great epic poem in European literature. Told during the tumultuous time of Napeolon Bonaparte when Poland-Lithuania was all but dissolved, Pan Tadeusz recounts the story of two young lovers from warring noble families.

In this 1917 translation by George Noyes Rapall, the poem is carefully retold in a narrative form along with a thorough introduction concerning the author’s life and an analysis of the original work.