Jan Łasicki ( la, Johannis Lasitii or Lasicius; 1534–1602) was a Polish historian and theologian. He was well-educated and traveled extensively in Western Europe from 1556 to 1581. Around 1557 he converted to

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

, becoming a follower of the

Unity of the Brethren Unity of the Brethren (Latin ''Unitas Fratrum'') may refer to: *Unity of the Brethren (Czech Republic), the province of the Moravian Church in the Czech Republic *Unity of the Brethren (Texas), a Protestant church formed in the 1800s by Czech immig ...

after 1567. His major work is eight-volume ''Historia de origine et rebus gestis fratrum Bohemicorum''. Only one volume survives, which deals with customs and organization of the Brethren and was first published in 1660. His other works include ''Historia de ingressu Polonorum in Valachiam cum Bogdano'' (1584) about the Polish invasion of

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

. The work was translated into Polish by

Władysław Syrokomla Ludwik Władysław Franciszek Kondratowicz (29 September 1823 – 15 September 1862), better known as Władysław Syrokomla, was a Polish romantic poet, writer and translator working in Vilnius and Vilna Governorate, then Russian Empire. Biogr ...

in 1855. His 18-page ''Concerning the gods of Samagitians, and other

Sarmatians The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic peoples of classical antiquity who dominated the Pontic steppe from about the 3rd century BC to the 4th cen ...

and false Christians'' (''De diis Samagitarum caeterorumque Sarmatarum et falsorum Christianorum'', written and published in 1615) provides a

list of Lithuanian gods The list of Lithuanian gods is reconstructed based on scarce written sources and late folklore. Lithuania converted to Christianity in 1387, but elements of Lithuanian mythology survived into the 19th century. The earliest written sources, author ...

and is an important resource in the study of the

Lithuanian mythology Lithuanian mythology ( lt, Lietuvių mitologija) is the mythology of Lithuanian polytheism, the religion of pre-Christian Lithuanians. Like other Indo-Europeans, ancient Lithuanians maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure. ...

References

1534 births 1599 deaths Converts to Calvinism 16th-century Polish historians Polish male non-fiction writers Writers of the Moravian Church {{theologian-stub