Lithuanian literature

Lithuanian literature (lietuvių literatūra) concerns the art of written works created by Lithuanians throughout their history. A wealth of Lithuanian literature was written in Latin, 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 a poem - monument Bellum Prutenum (Prussian war) dedicated to a Battle of Grunwald against Teutonic order. A person under the pseudonym Michalo Lituanus (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. Petrus Roysius Maurus Alcagnicensis (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. Boierus Laurentius (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 victory of Lithuanians over Sweden's army in the Battle of Kircholm in 1605.

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related concepts (7)

Lithuanian press ban

The Lithuanian press ban (spaudos draudimas) was a ban on all Lithuanian language publications printed in the Latin alphabet in force from 1865 to 1904 within the Russian Empire, which controlled Lithuania proper at the time. Lithuanian-language publications that used Cyrillic were allowed and even encouraged. The concept arose after the failed January Uprising of 1863, taking the form of an administrative order in 1864, and was not lifted until 24 April 1904.

Lithuanian National Revival

The Lithuanian National Revival, alternatively the Lithuanian National Awakening or Lithuanian nationalism (Lietuvių tautinis atgimimas), was a period of the history of Lithuania in the 19th century at the time when a major part of Lithuanian-inhabited areas belonged to the Russian Empire (the Russian partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth). It was expressed by the rise of self-determination of the Lithuanians that led to the formation of the modern Lithuanian nation and culminated in the re-establishment of an independent Lithuanian state.

Lithuania Minor

Lithuania Minor (Mažoji Lietuva; Kleinlitauen; Litwa Mniejsza; Ма́лая Литва́), or Prussian Lithuania (Prūsų Lietuva; Preußisch-Litauen, Litwa Pruska), is a historical ethnographic region of Prussia, where Prussian Lithuanians (or Lietuvininkai) lived, now located in Lithuania and the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia. Lithuania Minor encompassed the northeastern part of the region and got its name from the territory's substantial Lithuanian-speaking population.