Lithuanian literature () concerns the art of written works created by Lithuanians throughout their history.
History Latin language
A wealth of Lithuanian literature was written in Latin,Introduction to Latin language Lithuanian literature the main scholarly language in the Middle Ages. The edicts of the Lithuanian King Mindaugas are the prime example of literature of this kind. The Letters of Gediminas are another crucial heritage of the Lithuanian Latin writings.
One of the first Lithuanian authors who wrote in Latin was Nicolaus Hussovianus (about 1480 – after 1533). His poem Carmen de statura, feritate ac venatione bisontis (A Song about the Appearance, Savagery and Hunting of the Bison), published in 1523, describes the Lithuanian landscape, way of life and customs, touches on existing political problems and reflects the clash of paganism and Christianity.
Joannes Vislicensis (1485–1520) wrote Bellum Prutenum (Prussian war), an epic poem which was dedicated to the Battle of Grunwald against the Teutonic order.
A person under the pseudonym (about 1490 – 1560) wrote a treatise De moribus tartarorum, lituanorum et moscorum (On the Customs of Tatars, Lithuanians and Muscovites) in the middle of the 16th century, but it was not published until 1615.
(about 1505 – 1571), was a lawyer and poet of Spanish birth who became an extraordinary figure in the cultural life of Lithuania in the 16th century. Augustinus Rotundus (about 1520 – 1582) was a publicist, lawyer, and mayor of Vilnius, who wrote a history of Lithuania in Latin around the year 1560 (no known manuscript has survived). Jonas Radvanas, a humanist poet of the second half of the 16th century, wrote an epic poem imitating the Aeneid of Vergil. His Radivilias, intended as the Lithuanian national epic, was published in Vilnius in 1588.
Laurentius Boierus (about 1561–1619) was a poet of Swedish descent, who graduated from the University of Vilnius. His main work is Carolomachia – a poem dedicated to the Lithuanian victory over the Swedish Army in the Battle of Kircholm in 1605. The poem was written and published in 1606 - just after one year of the event. The poem celebrated Lithuanian Grand Hetman (polemarchos as referred to in the poem) Jan Karol Chodkiewicz and the Lithuanian army. Many interesting battle details were attested in his poem, also one of the first mentionings of the Lithuanian battle cry - (, )
Matthias Sarbievius (1595–1640) was a Latin-language poet of Polish birth, graduated from Vilnius University and spent most of his productive years in Lithuania - Vilnius and Kražiai. His European fame came from his first collection of poetry, Lyricorum libri tres (Three Books of Lyrics, 1625). In his book Dii gentium (Gods of The Nations,1627) along with Roman deities he described Lithuanian mythology.
Adam Schröter (1525–1572) wrote a poem in Latin devoted to river Nemunas De fluvio Memela Lithuaniae carmen elegiacum (Elegic songs about Lithuanian river Nemunas).
17th-century Lithuanian scholars also wrote in Latin, which was the common scholarly language in Catholic Europe: and Žygimantas Liauksminas are known for their Latin writings in theology, rhetorics and music. Albertas Kojalavičius-Vijūkas wrote the first printed Lithuanian history in two volumes, Historiae Lituanae (1650, 1669). Kazimieras Kojelavičius-Vijūkas was a prolific writer - his legacy counts more than 20 books in Latin.
Maciej Stryjkowski and Augustinus Rotundus were strong proponents of using Latin as the official language of Grand Duchy of Lithuania because they thought that Lithuanian language was just a vernacular language which had developed from Latin. Their belief was based on grammatical similarities between Lithuanian and Latin.
Universitas lingvarum Litvaniae, written in Latin and published in Vilnius, 1737, is the oldest surviving grammar of the Lithuanian language published in the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Latin books of Lithuanian authors were published in Vilnius, Kraków and Riga. In the 16th century alone, 158 Latin books were published in Vilnius. Research reveals 374 books published in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, or written by citizens of Grand Duchy of Lithuania and published abroad, in the 15th-16th centuries. Although the first printing press in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was established in Vilnius in 1522, the first Lithuanian who established a printing press was John Lettou in the City of London in 1480.
Lithuanian language
Lithuanian scholars Abraomas Kulvietis (about 1510 – 1545), Stanislovas Rapolionis (1485–1545) were the very first authors to write in the Lithuanian language. Lithuanian literary works in the Lithuanian language were first published in the 16th century. In 1547, Martynas Mažvydas (about 1520–1563) compiled and published the first printed Lithuanian book, The Simple Words of Catechism, which marks the beginning of printed Lithuanian literature. He was followed by Mikalojus Daukša (1527–1613) in Lithuania Propria with his Catechism, or Education Obligatory to Every Christian. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Lithuanian literature was primarily religious. During the Reformation, Catholic and Calvinist supporters in Lithuania competed with each other for influence and education of minds. One example of this - the largest published book in Lithuanian in the 17th century - Calvinist Catechism and collection of psalms Knyga nobažnystės krikščioniškos (The Book of the Christian Piety), patronaged by Jonušas Radvila. During the 18th century, the number of secular publications increased, including dictionaries. The University of Vilnius promoted the usage of the language and the creation of literary works in the first half of the 19th century. But after the partitioning of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russia, which controlled most of the Lithuanian territory through its empire, in the mid-19th century announced a 40-year ban on the printing in the Lithuanian language in the Latin alphabet. It feared an uprising from Lithuanian nationalists. As a result, publishing was transferred to East Prussia, and Lithuanian books were delivered to Lithuania by book smugglers. The first Lithuanian secular book was a translation of Aesop's fables - Ezopo pasakėčios (Die Fabeln Aesopi), translated from Latin and published in 1706 by Johann Schultz (1648–1710).
The Sermon Book of Wolfenbüttel (Volfenbiūtelio postilė) - the manuscript of the Sermon Book of Wolfenbüttel (1573) is the oldest known Lithuanian handwritten book. The author or authors are unknown. The book was found in the Herzog August Library in Wolfenbüttel.
Jonas Bretkūnas (1536–1602) - presumably of Old Prussian descent, a Lutheran pastor, was one of the best-known developers of the written Lithuanian language. He translated the Bible into Lithuanian and was the author of twelve Lithuanian books. His most notable works are Chronicon des Landes Preussen (1578–1579), Postilla, tatai esti trumpas ir prastas išguldimas evangeliu (1591), Kancionalas nekurių giesmių (1589), a manuscript of Lithuanian Bible - Biblia (1590). The Lithuanian language of Bretkūnas is rich and was unmatched till the writings of Kristijonas Donelaitis. It largely influenced the formation of a Lithuanian literary language and writing style.
Konstantinas Sirvydas (1579–1631) religious preacher, lexicographer, published the first volume of a collection of his sermons entitled Punktai Sakymų (Sermons), the purity, style and richness of the Lithuanian language of it are still admired today. His Polish-Latin-Lithuanian dictionary Dictionarium trium linguarum was used up to the 19th century and was highly rated by Lithuanian writers and lexicographers.
Samuelis Boguslavas Chilinskis (1631–1666) a Calvinist, translator of the Bible into Lithuanian. The translation was passed to print in London in 1660, but due to unfavourable circumstances it was not finished - only half of the Old Testament was published. Chilinskis also issued two brochures in which he explained his work to the British society and the necessity to publish the Bible in Lithuanian with short information about the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - An Account of the Translation of the Bible into the Lithuanian Tongue (1659) and Ratio institutae translationis Bibliorum in linguam Lithuanicam, in quam nunquam adhuc Scriptura sacra est versa, ex quo fidem Christianam, ab conjunctionem Magni Ducatus Lithvaniae cum Regno Poloniae (1659). As a main source Chilinskis used then popular Dutch Bible edition Statenbijbel.
Kristijonas Donelaitis (1714–1780) wrote the first Lithuanian poem in hexameter Metai (The Seasons, 1818), thus laying the foundations for Lithuanian poetry. His poem is considered the most successful hexameter text in Lithuanian as yet.
Antanas Strazdas (1760–1833) was a poet, who wrote lyrics influenced by folk songs. His best-known work, the hymn Pulkim ant kelių(Let us Fall on Our Knees) is still sung to this day in churches. His most famous poems include Strazdas (The Thrush), where the poet, personified by the bird, sings about peasant's joys and worries; Aušra (The Dawn) tells about the joy dawn brings and that breaks a lot of rules on rhythm and rhyme; Barnis (The Quarrel) is the only poem about Strazdas himself.
Jurgis Pabrėža (1771–1849) was a priest, physician, and botanist; he wrote an encyclopedic work on botany in Samogitian dialect Taislius auguminis (Botany), created Lithuanian terminology of botany. He also wrote about 250 original sermons and a diary Ryžtai (Determinations).
Simonas Daukantas (1793–1864) promoted a return to Lithuania's pre-Commonwealth traditions, which he depicted as a Golden Age of Lithuania and a renewal of the native culture, based on the Lithuanian language and customs. With those ideas in mind, he wrote already in 1822 a history of Lithuania in Lithuanian - Darbai senųjų lietuvių ir žemaičių (The Deeds of Ancient Lithuanians and Samogitians), though still not yet published at that time.
Mikalojus Akelaitis (1829–1887) one of the most prominent creators of and publishers of Lithuanian didactic literature, publicist, ethnographer. He contributed to Auszra (The Dawn), Gazieta Lietuwiszka (The Lithuanian newspaper), composed narratives Kvestorius (1860), Jonas Išmisločius (1860). In a letter to historian Michal Balinski in 1857 he wrote: "We should lift up the Lithuanian language, wrest away from scorn that language which has the Sanskrit greatness, the Latin force, the Greek refinement, and the Italian melodiousness."
Bishop Motiejus Valančius (1801–1875) sponsored the illegal practice of printing Lithuanian books in Lithuania Minor and smuggling them into Lithuania by knygnešiai. He wrote books himself in a rich Samogitian dialect: Palangos Juzė (Juzė from Palanga); the first illustrated book for children in Lithuanian, Vaikų knygelė (Children's book); Žemaičių vyskupystė (Samogitian bishopric). He also urged to resist Russification and to protest against the closing of Catholic churches and monasteries. Valančius was one of the main figures who laid the ground for the Lithuanian National Revival.
Antanas Baranauskas (1835–1902) wrote the poem Anykščių šilelis (The Forest/Pinewood of Anykščiai, a programmatic work whose main aim was to uncover the beauty of the Lithuanian language and to demonstrate its suitability for poetry. The poem Anykščių šilelis is considered the most famous syllabic verse in Lithuanian. Baranauskas was also a mathematician and dialectologist and created many Lithuanian mathematical terms.
Vaclovas Biržiška (1884–1965) in his monumental 3 volume encyclopedic work Aleksandrynas collected biographies, bibliographies and biobibliographies of Lithuanian writers who wrote in Lithuanian, starting in 1475 and ending in 1865. 370 persons are included in Aleksandrynas.
20th-century literature