scholarly journals The Arabic-Turkish Fragments of the Croatian Latinist Writer Bartul Đurđević in the Polish Anti-Tatar Book Alfurkan Tatarski by Piotr Czyżewski (Wilno, 1616/1617)

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 26-37
Author(s):  
Sergei Temchin
Keyword(s):  
Central Europe ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
Latin Translation ◽  
Bilingual Dictionaries ◽  
European Languages ◽  
Latin Language ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania ◽  
Turkish Language ◽  
Grand Duchy ◽  
Manuscript Copy

The article focuses on the small Oriental texts published in Piotr Czyżewski’s Polish anti-Muslim pamphlet Alfurkan tatarski (Wilno, 1616/1617) directed against the local Tatars of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. These texts consist of a small Arabic-Turkish prayer and the well-known Ottoman prophecy about “The Red Apple” and the expected victory of Christians over the Turks. The author argues that they go back to the Latin-language editions of the Croatian writer Bartul Đurđević/Bartolomej Georgijević (c. 1506 – c. 1566), who, after his return from a long Ottoman captivity, published several books on the Turkish subjects that were translated into many national European languages and disseminated in different editions throughout Western and Central Europe. These editions often contained samples of Ottoman texts accompanied by a parallel Latin translation and Latin-language interpretations of them, as well as small bilingual dictionaries, thus introducing Islam and the Turkish language to Europe. The article demonstrates the widespread prevalence of both Oriental texts (the Arabic-Turkish prayer and the Ottoman prophecy) in the European printed tradition and the presence of interest in them in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, evidenced by a manuscript copy of the Ottoman prophecy (late 17th century) and the Polish translation of both texts published in 1548 and 1615.

scholarly journals Lithuanian aspirations for an equality with the Crown in the 17th century. An attempt to systematize

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-187
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Ziober
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Government Institutions ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania ◽  
Vice Chancellors ◽  
Grand Duchy

AbstractThe activity of representatives of the elites of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which sought equality with the Crowners, but also the defense of their prerogatives was present from the first days after the signing of the Lublin Union. Analyzing this issue, it should be remembered that the Crown and Lithuania were separated state bodies, which union did not merge into one country, but formed a federal state. They were characterized by a separate treasury, army, offices, judiciary, law, local government institutions, i.e. basically everything that determines the administrative independence of the country. Lithuanians wanted to guarantee the same rights as the Crown nobility had, however, remaining separate. Thus, offices were established having the same prerogatives in the Crown and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, such as the Grand and Field Hetman, Chancellor and Vice-Chancellors, Treasurer and Grand and Court Marshal, as well as a number of land and town dignities and dignitaries. The first of these were allocated appropriate seats in the senate, behind their crown counterparts, which caused quarrels between Poles and Lithuanians. However, manifestations of activity guaranteeing and “reminding” Poles of Lithuania’s separateness from the Crown were evident throughout the entire existence of the federal Commonwealth.

scholarly journals The Image of Lithuania in English Publications in the 17th Century

2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-118
Author(s):  
Gintautas Sliesoriūnas
Keyword(s):  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
English Language ◽  
Close Contact ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
Related Issue ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
English Society ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania ◽  
Grand Duchy ◽  
West European

In the 17th century, as contacts between citizens of England, which was gaining increasing importance in Europe, and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) intensified, the phenomenon of the image of Lithuania in English and Scottish societies, as well as the level of their knowledge about the GDL, became more important. The issue of mentioning Lithuania in West European historical sources and the related issue of the image of Lithuania in the region in the 16th–17th centuries has already been analysed in Lithuania, albeit not thoroughly enough. However, the question of the image of Lithuania in English publications in the 17th–18th centuries still requires more detailed analysis. This article discusses Lithuania-related facts that could have been familiar not only to the narrow circle of people that were in close contact with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, but also to wider well-read English and Scottish society. The few educated members of English society who had an interest in learning more about Lithuania had access to publications in various languages published in different countries. However, this article dwells almost exclusively on publications in the English language dating from the 17th century that facilitated the rendering of knowledge and opinions about Lithuania to a much wider circle of people who read in the English language.

scholarly journals Słowniki w Wielkim Księstwie Litewskim – przyczynek do historii (zachodnio)ruskiej leksykografii i leksyki

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 109-125
Author(s):  
Lilia Citko
Keyword(s):  
17Th Century ◽  
Focus Of Attention ◽  
16Th Century ◽  
Loan Words ◽  
History Of ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania ◽  
Grand Duchy

Dictionaries in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania – a Contribution to the History of (Western)Ruthenian Lexicography and Word-Inventory In the article an attempt to describe the oldest Western Ruthenian dictionary has been made. The analysis is based on the following texts: 1) Leksis s tolkovanīem slovenskikh mov prosto  of the first part of the 16th century, 2) Leksis siriech rechenïia v"krat"tsie s"bran(")ny. I īz slove(n)skago iazyka naprosty(ĭ) ruskīĭ diale(k)t istol(")kovany L,Z  by L. Zizaniy (Vilno 1596), 3) Leksīkon slavenorosskīĭ ī imen tl"kovanīe  by P. Berynda (Kiev 1627), 4) Sinonima slavenorosskaia (the end of the 17th century). The focus of attention is directed to lexicographic specificity of the antique texts, the elements of their macro- and microstructures, sources and techniques of material documentation, which made it possible to observe the evolution of lexicographers` methodological procedure in the range of the structure of an entry, e.g.: efforts to introduce grammatical information, qualifiers (mostly etymological and stylistic), and material exemplification.Dictionaries, which were essentially used to learn the language of liturgical celebration, contained religious vocabulary. It should be noted, however, that their authors introduced Ruthenian words of various thematic groups and stylistic registers to the translated parts of lexicons. In Berynda`s dictionary Polish loan words appeared as entries. Słowniki w Wielkim Księstwie Litewskim – przyczynek do historii (zachodnio)ruskiej leksykografii i leksykiW artykule podjęto próbę charakterystyki najstarszych słowników zachodnioru­skich na podstawie kilku źródeł: 1) Leksis s tolkovanīem slovenskikh mov prosto z pierwszej połowy XVI w.; 2) Leksis siriech rechenïia v"krat"tsie s"bran(")ny. I īz slove(n)skago iazyka naprosty(ĭ) ruskīĭ diale(k)t istol(")kovany L,Z  W. Zizaniego (Wilno 1596); 3) Leksīkon slavenorosskīĭ ī imen tl"kovanīe  P. Beryndy (Kijów 1627); 4) Sinonima slavenorosskaia  (koniec XVII w.). Głównie uwagę skupiono na specyfice leksykograficznej zabytków, elementach ich makro-i mikrostruktury, źródłach oraz sposobach dokumentacji materiału. Pozwoliło to zaobserwować pewną ewolucję warsztatu metodologicznego leksykografów w zakresie budowy artykułu hasłowego, jak np. próby wprowadzania informacji gramatycznej, kwalifikatorów (głównie etymologicznych, stylistycznych) oraz egzemplifikacji materiałowej.Słowniki, przeznaczone zasadniczo do nauki języka liturgicznego i lektury ksiąg cerkiewnych, gromadziły przede wszystkim leksykę religijną. Należy jednak zauważyć, że do przekładowej części leksykonów ich autorzy wprowadzali słownictwo ruskie należące do różnych grup tematycznych i rejestrów stylistycznych. W charakterze wyrazów hasłowych słownika Beryndy mogły występować również pożyczki polskie.

scholarly journals The Death Penalty in Magdeburgian Cities of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the Late-16th and Early-17th Century

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-110
Author(s):  
Gitana Zujienė
Keyword(s):  
Death Penalty ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania ◽  
Grand Duchy

In the article, based on the acts of Magdeburg Law and the court books of Magdeburgian cities, the issue of the death penalty in Magdeburgian cities of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania is analysed. The most often imposed death penalties are discussed. There is an analysis of which crimes they were given for. Their use is compared with data from Poland and some Magdeburgian cities in Western Europe.

scholarly journals Lublin Union in the context of narrative minimalism and legal historical contents in the end of 16th – the first half of 17th century

2019 ◽  
pp. 22-30
Author(s):  
V. V. Halubovich
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
Public Law ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
The Public ◽  
Documentary Sources ◽  
History Of ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Grand Duchy

The article analyzes the information about Lublin 1569 Union from the narrative and documentary sources that date back to the reign of the first monarchs of Vasa dynasty. The author defines main contexts of the term «union» use in the sejm constitutions and documentation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania congresses. The direct correlation between the estimates of the Union at different levels of state representative institutions of the Commonwealth is revealed. The Lublin Sejm of 1569 was a key event in the history of Eastern Europe, but in the historical works (chronicles and annals) of the second half of 16th – early 17th century information about it and its decisions are concise and general. At the end of 16th – the first half of 17th century the memory of Lublin Union was not mainly broadcast by narrative channels. In keeping the memory about 1569 events legal deeds and state institutions decisions were of considerable importance. The result of the state union with Poland was the approval of the public law standards that could not be ignored by any representative of the so-called political people of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the following centuries. The author maintains that as a whole the Grand Duchy of Lithuania gentry did not question the correctness of the 1569 choice, took and defended «Lublin myth», as under those conditions it had more benefits than losses.

scholarly journals Stipendiaries of the Calvinist Church of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and its Synod in Foreign Universities in the 17th Century

2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-50
Author(s):  
Ingė Lukšaitė
Keyword(s):  
17Th Century ◽  
University Education ◽  
Religious Minority ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
International Alumni ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania ◽  
Foreign Universities ◽  
Grand Duchy

The article analyses the organisation of higher education by the Calvinist Church of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Unitas Lituaniae) in the 17th century, in the period of the weakening of the Reformation, covering the first half of the 17th century, and the second half of the century, when Evangelicals became a religious minority. Research reveals that the education of young people at foreign universities was funded by private means, collected in the districts and accumulated by the Synod. This article also investigates the formation of the institution of international alumni at the Synod of the Calvinist Church, which became part of the system of education of that Church. The stipendiaries had to make up for the financial aid by working at locations assigned by the Synod. The continuous operation of the institute of international alumni at the Synod for more than a century permitted cultural contacts and simultaneously promoted the infusion of new ideas into the evolution of Lithuanian culture. The most important of the latter included the formation of groups of clergymen and school teachers with a university education; the nurturing of Adomas Rasijus’ (ca 1575–1627/8) projects for the adjustment of the social structure and the refinement of the education system in Lithuania by the establishment of academic grammar schools for the nobility and merchants from Lithuania with special syllabi; the encouragement of S.B. Chylinski to translate the Bible into Lithuanian in the middle of the 17th century in Franeker and London; understanding the importance of the Lithuanian language as a written language and the language of the Holy Scripture; the possibility to get acquainted with the translation, text and commentaries of the Dutch Statenbijbel; the encouragement to complete the translation of the New Testament into the Lithuanian language and publish it in 1701; planning the translation of a commentary to the Dutch Statenbijbel into Polish.

scholarly journals The Careers of Calvinist Stipendiaries from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 17th Century. The Example of Gabriel Dyjakiewicz

2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-71
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Bagińska
Keyword(s):  
17Th Century ◽  
Further Education ◽  
Grammar School ◽  
University Of Leiden ◽  
Archival Documents ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania ◽  
The University ◽  
Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Grand Duchy

This article applies to a minister of the Calvinist Church in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Gabriel Dyjakiewicz (1660–1724), who became the superintendent of Unitas Lithuaniae (the Lithuanian Brethren) in the Podlasie district and proved to be a remarkable figure. His career was launched successfully thanks to the scholarships given to him. The text is primarily based on memoirs written by him of almost his whole life, and archival documents in the collection of the Reformed Synod, mainly held by the Wróblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences in Vilnius. The education of Dyjakiewicz consisted of several stages: first, only a twoyear study in the Grammar school in Slutsk, where he received a private scholarship for further education, this time in Protestant university centres. Second, studies at the University of Königsberg and the University of Leiden. In the last case, Dyjakiewicz most likely benefited from a scholarship which he had received from Unitas Lithuaniae. The author briefly characterises both the nature of the grammar school and the two universities, and the obligations which rested on bursary holders. The rest of the article is devoted to the professional and public activities of Dyjakiewicz.

scholarly journals The Intrinsic and Extrinsic. Latinitas in the Research of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Literatūra ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 93-110
Author(s):  
Skirmantas Knieža
Keyword(s):  
Cultural History ◽  
Cultural Models ◽  
The State ◽  
Customary Law ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Latin Language ◽  
Cultural Code ◽  
Latin Culture ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania ◽  
Grand Duchy

This paper analyses the reception of Latin language and culture in the research of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It focuses on the works of various disciplines – social and cultural history, literary research, art criticism, etc. – and seeks to identify the recurring themes, symbols and topics that comprise homogenous narratives and interpretations. They consolidate the findings of different fields of study and thus allow to analyse the Latinitas of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as an integral part of the political community’s identity.The symbols of Latin language and culture can be identified as a basis for a Shift from oral to written culture. It conveys the ideas of order and organisation, as it transforms customary law into a codified one, a natural religion into that based on Scripture, etc. It alters the society as well, mainly because writing and written culture marks a shift in identity and behaviour. Also, by focusing on social and educational aspects, the Shift marks an institutional change, which permeates the developments of the state and society as a whole.The multipolar cultural field of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania is described by four cultural models – Polish, Lithuanian, Ruthenian, and Latin. The metaphor of Interaction shows how Latin culture and language is seen as one of the four ideological alternatives that legitimize the state, dynasty and sovereignty.Thirdly, the metaphor of Tension depicts Latinitas as part of the dichotomy between Eastern and Western civilizations by expressing the symbolical content of the latter. This narrative also emphasizes the internal confessional disputes inside the Western Church, and by exploiting the specific understanding of the Renaissance humanism, it becomes a means to understand sociocultural conflicts of the Early Modern state.The interpretation of Latinitas as a communication channel is nested under the metaphor of Medium. Works in this category usually portray Latin language as an expression of a social, economic, political, etc. status quo, which differs in each European state. Latin culture thus helps to articulate national interests and identity, and enables the cultural exchange among the Western countries as well.Finally, by emphasizing the poor literacy of the society and only limited possibilities to learn Latin and acknowledge its cultural code, researchers portray Latinitas as a Secret. The speakers and writers of Latin form a hermetic group, possessing the knowledge of a cultural matrix inaccessible to others. The dignity of Latin language also strengthens the status of vernacular languages, and thus accumulates the process of identity formation.These five narratives exemplify how Latinitas is embedded within the economic, political, and cultural activities of the society. It also depicts the different ways by which it becomes an integrating principle of the identity of the intellectual and political classes in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It provides an account of Roman descent, sustains the claim for political sovereignty, and indicates the civilizing process. By adopting those five different narratives, researchers may further analyse Latinitas not only as a separate cultural layer, but as a part of social identity as well.

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