Mikalojus Akelaitis ( pl, Mikołaj Akielewicz, also known by pen-name ''Juras Varnelis''; 1829–1887) was a prominent Lithuanian writer,
publicist
A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for a work such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists who ...
and amateur
linguist
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
, one of the early figures of the
Lithuanian National Revival
The Lithuanian National Revival, alternatively the Lithuanian National Awakening or Lithuanian nationalism ( lt, Lietuvių tautinis atgimimas), was a period of the history of Lithuania in the 19th century at the time when a major part of Lithuanian ...
and participant in the
Uprising of 1863
The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...
.
Akelaitis completed only a four-year secondary school and worked as a tutor for nobility's children at various manors in present-day Poland and Lithuania. He learned several languages and started contributing articles to the Polish press. He wrote works on the
Lithuanian language
Lithuanian ( ) is an Eastern Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is the official language of Lithuania and one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.8 millio ...
,
literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
, folklore,
mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
,
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
. His favorite research subject was linguistics, but as many self-taught linguists he developed unscientific etymologies and theories. Many of his works remained unfinished or unpublished. He generally supported the resurrection of the former
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
and the
Polish-Lithuanian identity
The Polish-Lithuanian identity describes individuals and groups with histories in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth or with close connections to its culture. This federation, formally established by the 1569 Union of Lublin between the Kingdo ...
. He wrote texts that were meant for the common folk in Lithuanian, but his articles and studies for the
intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the in ...
were written in Polish as it was considered the language of culture at the time. He collaborated with
Simonas Daukantas
Simonas Daukantas ( pl, Szymon Dowkont; 28 October 1793 – 6 December 1864) was a Lithuanian/Samogitian historian, writer, and ethnographer. One of the pioneers of the Lithuanian National Revival, he is credited as the author of the first book o ...
and
Motiejus Valančius
Motiejus Kazimieras Valančius ( pl, , also known by his pen-name ''Joteika'' and ''Ksiądz Maciek''; 1801–1875) was a Catholic Bishop of Samogitia, historian and one of the best known Lithuanian/Samogitian writers of the 19th century.
Biogr ...
on plans to establish the first Lithuanian-language periodical ''Pakeleivingas'', but failed to secure government's permits. With financial aid of several nobles, he published five Lithuanian-language booklets in 1860 at the press of
Adam Honory Kirkor. Akelaitis joined the anti-Tsarist resistance leading to the
Uprising of 1863
The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...
– he organized an anti-government demonstration and wrote anti-government texts. He fled the Russian police to Paris where he worked at the
Polish Library in Paris
The Polish Library in Paris (french: Bibliothèque Polonaise de Paris, pl, Biblioteka Polska w Paryżu) is a Polish cultural centre of national importance and is closely associated both with the historic Great Emigration of the Polish élite to P ...
. At the outbreak of the uprising, he returned to Lithuania becoming an assistant commissioner of the
Polish National Government in
Augustów
Augustów (; lt, Augustavas, formerly known in English as ''Augustovo'' or ''Augustowo'')" is a city in north-eastern Poland with 29,729 inhabitants as of December 2021. It lies on the Netta River and the Augustów Canal. It is situated in the ...
. When it became clear that the uprising would not succeed, Akelaitis fled to Paris for the second time where he lived until his death. Despite poverty, he continued to be active in Polish and Lithuanian cultural life. He contributed articles to various Polish and Lithuanian periodicals, including ' where he had a regular column. His largest published work, a
Lithuanian grammar
Lithuanian grammar retains many archaic features from Proto-Balto-Slavic that have been lost in other Balto-Slavic languages, and is consequently very complex.
Properties and morphological categories
Grammatical terminology
:
Gender
Lithuania ...
in Polish, was published posthumously in 1890.
Biography
Early life and education
Akelaitis was born in near
Marijampolė
Marijampolė (; also known by several other names) is a cultural and industrial city and the capital of the Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad Oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The population of Mar ...
to a family of peasants. His father participated in the
Uprising of 1831
The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution,
was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...
and was sentenced to exile in
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
where he died. Akelaitis' stepgrandfather fought in the
Battle of Maciejowice
The Battle of Maciejowice was fought on 10 October 1794, between Poland and the Russian Empire.
The Poles were led by Tadeusz Kościuszko. Kościuszko with 6,200 men, who planned to prevent the linking of three larger Russian corps, commanded b ...
during the
Kościuszko Uprising
The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794 and the Second Polish War, was an uprising against the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Pr ...
while his grandfather's brother served in the
Polish Legions in Italy and fought in the
Battle of Somosierra
The Battle of Somosierra took place on 30 November 1808, during the Peninsular War, when a combined Franco-Spanish- Polish force under the direct command of Napoleon Bonaparte forced a passage through a Spanish Divison stationed at the Si ...
in Spain during the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
.
[ Orphaned Akelaitis grew up with his grandparents and stories of these campaigns. His mother obtained a housekeeper's job in ]Marijampolė
Marijampolė (; also known by several other names) is a cultural and industrial city and the capital of the Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad Oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The population of Mar ...
where Akelaitis took private lessons with a local priest and an organist in Sasnava
Sasnava is a small town in Marijampolė County, in southwestern Lithuania. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 546. It is on the confluence of the River and its tributary, the Šešupė
The Šešupė (; ; ; ) is a 298 km long river ...
.[ He then enrolled into a primary school in Marijampolė which he graduated at age 17.][ He continued studies at the four-year secondary school in Marijampolė where he was continuously ranked as one of the best students, but quit without graduating around 1850.][ He continued to self-study learning several languages.][ In addition to his native Lithuanian, he learned Polish, Russian, German, French, Latin, some Greek, Sanskrit, and Hebrew.][
]
Cultural and anti-government work
Akelaitis worked as a tutor of various children of the Lithuanian nobility
The Lithuanian nobility or szlachta ( Lithuanian: ''bajorija, šlėkta'') was historically a legally privileged hereditary elite class in the Kingdom of Lithuania and Grand Duchy of Lithuania (including during period of foreign rule 1795–1918 ...
and frequently moved around. He briefly lived in Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
where he contributed articles on the Lithuanian language and history to the Polish press.[ His first article was published in ''Kronika Wiadomości Krajowych i Zagranicznych'' in 1856. He collaborated with ethnographers ]Oskar Kolberg
Henryk Oskar Kolberg (22 February 1814 – 3 June 1890) was a Polish ethnographer, folklorist, and composer active during the foreign Partitions of Poland.[Simonas Daukantas
Simonas Daukantas ( pl, Szymon Dowkont; 28 October 1793 – 6 December 1864) was a Lithuanian/Samogitian historian, writer, and ethnographer. One of the pioneers of the Lithuanian National Revival, he is credited as the author of the first book o ...](_blank)
to Polish and sent them to Kolberg.[ In a letter dated 3 December 1857 to historian , he wrote:
The letter, published in ''Teka Wileńska'', was also one of the first to publicly raise the idea of publishing a Lithuanian-language newspaper.][ In 1858, Akelaitis moved to (german: Neu-Bergfried) in ]Courland
Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. ...
to live with Petras Smuglevičius, a medical doctor and a relative of painter Franciszek Smuglewicz
Franciszek Smuglewicz ( lt, Pranciškus Smuglevičius; 6 October 1745 – 18 September 1807) was a Polish-Lithuanian draughtsman and painter. Smuglewicz is considered a progenitor of Lithuanian art in the modern era. He was precursor of hi ...
. There he found Simonas Daukantas
Simonas Daukantas ( pl, Szymon Dowkont; 28 October 1793 – 6 December 1864) was a Lithuanian/Samogitian historian, writer, and ethnographer. One of the pioneers of the Lithuanian National Revival, he is credited as the author of the first book o ...
who wrote the first Lithuanian-language history of Lithuania. Akelaitis treated Daukantas as a fatherly figure and they supported each other's work.[ Akelaitis, Daukantas, and bishop ]Motiejus Valančius
Motiejus Kazimieras Valančius ( pl, , also known by his pen-name ''Joteika'' and ''Ksiądz Maciek''; 1801–1875) was a Catholic Bishop of Samogitia, historian and one of the best known Lithuanian/Samogitian writers of the 19th century.
Biogr ...
wanted to establish ''Pakeleivingas'', a Lithuanian-language periodical aimed at the ordinary village people, but could not get government's permission.[ Akelaitis began contributing to the Polish press in ]Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
and organizing publication of Lithuanian books. He managed to obtain financial support from Lithuanian nobles, including and Wilhelm Trojden Radziwiłł of Pavoloch
Pavoloch, also known as ''Pavolitsh'' in Yiddish, ''Pawolotsch'' in German, Па́волочь in Russian and ''Pawołocz'' in Polish, is a selo in Zhytomyr Raion, Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine. It was a town of the Cossack Hetmanate and an administr ...
and publish five Lithuanian booklets in 1860. Akelaitis taught Oginski's children in Rietavas
Rietavas (; Samogitian: ''Rėitavs''; pl, Retów) is a city in Lithuania on the Jūra River. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 3,979. It is the capital of Rietavas municipality.
The city is famous for building the first power ...
and hoped to establish a Lithuanian printing press. invited him to work for ''Kurier Wileński
''Kurier Wileński'' (literally: ''Vilnian Courier'') is the main Polish-language newspaper in Lithuania. Printed in Vilnius, it is the only Polish-language daily newspaper published east of Poland. A direct descendant of both the 19th-century n ...
'' but Akelaitis refused as the pay was too low. In 1860, Akelaitis was elected a member of the Vilnius Archaeological Commission
The Museum of Antiquities ( lt, Senienų muziejus, pl, Muzeum Starożytności) in Vilnius (Vilna, Wilno) was a museum of archaeology and history established by Count Eustachy Tyszkiewicz in 1855 at the premises of the closed Vilnius University. It ...
.[
In 1861, Akelaitis joined the anti-Tsarist resistance leading to the ]Uprising of 1863
The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...
. Together with Tadeusz Korzon
Tadeusz Korzon (1839—1918) was a historian specializing in the history of Poland.
Biography
Korzon was born to Polish parents in Lithuania, and as a youth he studied law at Moscow University.
He took part in the January Uprising (1863-18 ...
, he organized a demonstration in Aleksotas
The Aleksotas elderate ( lt, Aleksoto Seniunija) is an elderate in the southern section of the city of Kaunas, Lithuania, bordering the left bank of the Nemunas River. Its population in 2006 was 21,694. The elderate borders Vilijampolė and Cen ...
, Kaunas
Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...
on 12 August 1861 to commemorate the Union of Lublin
The Union of Lublin ( pl, Unia lubelska; lt, Liublino unija) was signed on 1 July 1569 in Lublin, Poland, and created a single state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest countries in Europe at the time. It replaced the pe ...
.[ According to the diary of , Akelaitis had no money and so he donated his mother's ring and watch for the demonstration.][ Akelaitis wrote anti-government texts in Lithuanian: prose ''Gromata Wylniaus Senelio'' (Letter of an Old Man from Vilnius) in which he described how the Russian police killed five innocent people in Warsaw and ''Pasaka senelio'' (Fairytale of an Old Man) in verse. The two works were translated into Polish and Russian.][ He sent the texts to Memel (]Klaipėda
Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuan ...
) to publish but the publisher instead turned the texts to the police. Akelaitis also published ''Giesmes nabożnos'', a Lithuanian translation of two Polish patriotic hymns, ''Bogurodzica
]
Bogurodzica (, calque of the Greek term ''Theotokos''), in English known as the Mother of God, is a medieval Roman Catholic hymn composed sometime between the 10th and 13th centuries in Poland. It is believed to be the oldest religious hymn or p ...
'' (Mother of God) and ' (God, Save Poland), which were likely translated by Akelaitis or by Antanas Baranauskas
Antanas Baranauskas ( la, Antonius Baranovski, pl, Antoni Baranowski; 17 January 1835 – 26 November 1902) was a Lithuanian poet, mathematician and Catholic bishop of Sejny. Baranauskas is best known as the author of the Lithuanian poem '' An ...
.[ Akelaitis went into hiding frequently changing his location and eventually fleeing to ]Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.[ Akelaitis was elected to the ][ and obtained a well paid position at the ]Polish Library in Paris
The Polish Library in Paris (french: Bibliothèque Polonaise de Paris, pl, Biblioteka Polska w Paryżu) is a Polish cultural centre of national importance and is closely associated both with the historic Great Emigration of the Polish élite to P ...
.[ He was also a member of the Paris Society of Polish Youth led by ]Zygmunt Padlewski
Zygmunt Padlewski (1836–1863) was a Polish insurgent who participated in the January Uprising. He was one of the leaders of the "Red" faction among the insurrectionists as a member of the Central National Committee (''Komitet Centralny Narod ...
.[
]
Uprising and emigration
When the Uprising of 1863
The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...
broke out, Akeliatis returned to Lithuania and became an assistant commissioner of the Polish National Government in Augustów
Augustów (; lt, Augustavas, formerly known in English as ''Augustovo'' or ''Augustowo'')" is a city in north-eastern Poland with 29,729 inhabitants as of December 2021. It lies on the Netta River and the Augustów Canal. It is situated in the ...
.[ He wrote proclamations, recruited men, organized weapons, etc.][ He published two issues of the Lithuanian newsletter (News about the Polish War with the Muscovites) in February and March 1864.][ Towards the end of the uprising he escaped to ]East Prussia
East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...
where he joined Lithuanian activities and attracted attention from the German police. He was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison, but managed to escape from the courtroom.[
Akelaitis again fled to Paris where he lived until his death. He married a French woman and had three children.][ Living in poverty, he still worked for the Polish and Lithuanian causes,][ contributing articles various periodicals, including to Polish '']Gazeta Warszawska
''Gazeta Warszawska'' (lit. ''Warsaw Gazette'') was the first newspaper published regularly in Warsaw for an extended period of time. Founded in 1774, it remained active under a variety of names until 1935. The names included the ''Gazeta Wolna ...
'', '' Kurjer Warszawski'', and Lithuanian ' and ''Aušra
''Aušra'' or ''Auszra'' (literally: ''dawn'') was the first national Lithuanian newspaper. The first issue was published in 1883, in Ragnit, East Prussia, Germany (newspaper credited it as lt, Ragainė) East Prussia's ethnolinguistic part - ...
'' (contributed an article on the names of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania
The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Lithuania, which was established as an absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three ducal dynasties that managed to stay in power—Hou ...
).[ He had a regular column in the Polish ' where he wrote about Parisian art exhibitions, French science and culture, ]Exposition Universelle (1878)
The third Paris World's Fair, called an Exposition Universelle in French, was held from 1 May to 10 November 1878. It celebrated the recovery of France after the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War.
Construction
The buildings and the fairgroun ...
, etc.[ He edited the Lithuanian section of trilingual newspaper ''Zmowa – Kupos susitarimas – Hromadzki zhowor'' which appeared in 1870 (after the first issue, its publication was interrupted by the Franco-Prussian War).][ He helped edit and publish a Lithuanian translation of ''Livre du peuple'' by ]Hugues Felicité Robert de Lamennais Hugues may refer to
People:
* Hugues de Payens (c. 1070–1136), French soldier
* Hugues I de Lusignan (1194/95 –1218), French-descended ruler a.k.a. Hugh I of Cyprus
* Hugues IV de Berzé (1150s–1220), French soldier
* Hugues II de Lusignan ...
in 1870.[ In 1886, he founded and chaired until his death the Želmuo Society (literally: ''shoot'') of Lithuanian emigrants. Initially, it was more a cultural organization to preserve Lithuanian language and culture among the ''émigrés''.][ He did not abandon ideas of an armed struggle against the Russian Empire – a Russian informant reported in 1866 that Akelaitis was writing a Lithuanian-language "revolutionary catechism" that would be published in Switzerland and smuggled to Russia.][ He died in 1887 and was buried at the Cimetière parisien de Pantin.][ His short obituaries were published in '']Tygodnik Illustrowany
''Tygodnik Illustrowany'' (, ''The Illustrated Weekly'') was a Polish language weekly magazine published in Warsaw from 1859 to 1939. The magazine focus was on literary, artistic and social issues.
History
It is said to have been one of the mos ...
'', ''Biblioteka Warszawska'', ''Ateneum''.[
]
Works
Overall, Akelaitis supported the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
and the Polish-Lithuanian identity
The Polish-Lithuanian identity describes individuals and groups with histories in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth or with close connections to its culture. This federation, formally established by the 1569 Union of Lublin between the Kingdo ...
– he believed that Lithuanians should join the Polish nation, but keep their language and culture.[ He was also a positivist.][ Akelaitis wrote works on the Lithuanian language, literature, folklore, mythology, history.][ He advocated the use of the Lithuanian language, but his articles and studies for the ]intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the in ...
were written in Polish as it was considered the language of culture at the time. Only texts addressed and meant for the common folk were written in Lithuanian.[ Akelaitis' Lithuanian texts were written mostly in the Western Aukštaitian dialect and attempted to use correct language, avoid various ]loan word
A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because the ...
s, use lively descriptions from everyday speech.[ He tended to use etymological and not phonetic spelling.][ To avoid loan words, he created Lithuanian terminology. Many reference works credit him as the author of , the Lithuanian word for dictionary, but likely he borrowed the word from Jurgis Pabrėža.][
]
Published
In 1858, Akelaitis published ''Słówko o bogach litewskich'', a study on the pagan 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. ...
. It was mainly a commentary and corrections of the mythology section in the nine-volume history of Lithuania by Teodor Narbutt
Teodor Narbutt ( lt, Teodoras Narbutas; 8 November 1784 – 27 November 1864) was a Polish–Lithuanian romantic historian and military engineer in service of the Russian Empire. He is best remembered as the author of a nine-volume Polish-langu ...
. He attributed the Prussian trinity ( Potrimpo, Peckols
Peckols and Patollo (known under a multitude of different names) were gods in the pagan Prussian mythology who were worshiped by the Old Prussians. Most researchers believe that, despite varying names, Peckols and Patollo were probably the same ...
, and Perkūnas
Perkūnas ( lt, Perkūnas, lv, Pērkons, Old Prussian: ''Perkūns'', ''Perkunos'', Yotvingian: ''Parkuns'', Latgalian: ''Pārkiuņs'') was the common Baltic god of thunder, and the second most important deity in the Baltic pantheon after Di ...
) to Lithuanians and analyzed their names from the linguistic point of view.[ It was first published as an article in ' and then as a separate booklet.][ The same year he published a ]panegyric
A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens.
Etymology
The word originated as a compound of grc, ...
poem in Lithuanian dedicated to Tsar Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Gra ...
and his visit to Vilnius (because it was submitted late, it was not included in the main album, but published separately).[ Several former students and professors of ]Vilnius University
Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...
hoped to persuade the Tsar to reopen the university.[
In 1860, with the help of , Akelaitis published five works in Lithuanian (in total, 26,000 copies) as the first works of the planned folk library series.][ It was a Lithuanian (Western Aukštaitian dialect)][ ]primer
Primer may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Primer'' (film), a 2004 feature film written and directed by Shane Carruth
* ''Primer'' (video), a documentary about the funk band Living Colour
Literature
* Primer (textbook), a t ...
, two prayer books, and two reworkings of short didactic
Didacticism is a philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature, art, and design. In art, design, architecture, and landscape, didacticism is an emerging conceptual approach that is driven by the urgent need to ...
stories by , ''Kwestorius po Lietuwą ważinedamas żmonis bemokinąsis'' (Quaestor, Traveling Across Lithuania, Teaches People) and ''Jonas Iszmisłoczius kromininkas'' (Shopkeeper John the Wise), which in turn was a reworking of a French story by and was already published in Lithuanian in 1823.[ These stories provided some educational facts from geography, history, natural sciences and promoted ]teetotalism
Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or i ...
.[ The primer, originally 59 pages long, was shortened and republished the same year in 22-page and 31-page editions. The primer was republished in 1867, 1869, 1872.][ After the Lithuanian press ban was enacted in 1864, the primer was frequently used in illegal village Lithuanian schools.][
In 1885, Akelaitis published 49-page ''Rzut oka na starożytność narodu litewskiego'' (A Glance at the Antiquity of the Lithuanian People), which he originally wrote in Lithuanian.][ Akelaitis was also a poet and published a few of his poems, including poems in ''Teka Wileńska'' (six volumes published in 1857–1858),][ poems dedicated to ]Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic Church, Catholic cano ...
and Lithuanian goddess Aušrinė in the Polish periodical ', ''Moja miłość'' (My Love) in ''Mrówka'' in 1869, ''Stracona owieczka'' (Lost Sheep) in a Polish calendar published by Jan Jaworski in 1877.[
His largest published work, the first part of a ]Lithuanian grammar
Lithuanian grammar retains many archaic features from Proto-Balto-Slavic that have been lost in other Balto-Slavic languages, and is consequently very complex.
Properties and morphological categories
Grammatical terminology
:
Gender
Lithuania ...
in Polish which discussed phonetics
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...
, was published posthumously by in 1890. The manuscript of the second unpublished part is kept at the Kórnik Library
Kórnik Library ( pl, Biblioteka Kórnicka) is one of the most famous Polish libraries, founded by Tytus Działyński in 1828 in the town of Kórnik. Currently the library, despite being robbed by the Germans during World War II, is one of the f ...
.[ The work included Akelaitis' biography written by . Akelaitis started his work with a lengthy introduction describing the distribution of Lithuanian speakers and Lithuanian dialects (based on research of ]Antanas Baranauskas
Antanas Baranauskas ( la, Antonius Baranovski, pl, Antoni Baranowski; 17 January 1835 – 26 November 1902) was a Lithuanian poet, mathematician and Catholic bishop of Sejny. Baranauskas is best known as the author of the Lithuanian poem '' An ...
).[ The grammar which focuses on sounds and pronunciations is full of amateurish etymologies and unscientific theories.][ However, it is still valuable for lists of words and cited examples.][
]
Unpublished
Many other works by Akelaitis remained unpublished or unfinished. His favorite research subject was linguistics and Lithuanian language. He lived at the time when the comparative linguistics
Comparative linguistics, or comparative-historical linguistics (formerly comparative philology) is a branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages to establish their historical relatedness.
Genetic relatedness ...
emerged as a discipline, and he worked to compare Lithuanian with other Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...
.[ His ambitious project was the compilation of three dictionaries: Lithuanian–Polish, Polish–Lithuanian, and comparative dictionary of Lithuanian, Slavic, Greek, and Sanskrit languages.][ ' mentioned in 1860 that the Lithuanian–Polish and the comparative dictionaries were ready, but the manuscripts have not survived.][ Akelaitis also studied Lithuanian phonetics, prepositions, ]grammatical case
A grammatical case is a category of nouns and noun modifiers (determiners, adjectives, participles, and Numeral (linguistics), numerals), which corresponds to one or more potential grammatical functions for a nominal group in a wording. In vari ...
s, tenses, etymology, etc. However, as a self-taught amateur, he developed unscientific etymologies and theories – for example, in developing etymologies, he relied on pronunciation similarities instead of employing the comparative method
In linguistics, the comparative method is a technique for studying the development of languages by performing a feature-by-feature comparison of two or more languages with common descent from a shared ancestor and then extrapolating backwards t ...
.[
In 1862, with financial support from ]Valerian Kalinka
Valerian Kalinka (or Walerian Kalinka; 1826–1886) was a Polish priest and historian.
Kalinka was born near Cracow, but fled from Poland in 1846 on account of political entanglements and his involvement in the Krakow Uprising. Kalinka was th ...
, Akelaitis wrote his largest work, the Polish-language ''Opisanie Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego'' (Description of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...
) or ''Litwa pod rządem Rossyjskim'' (Lithuania under the Russian Rule).[ The manuscript, preserved at the ]Polish Library in Paris
The Polish Library in Paris (french: Bibliothèque Polonaise de Paris, pl, Biblioteka Polska w Paryżu) is a Polish cultural centre of national importance and is closely associated both with the historic Great Emigration of the Polish élite to P ...
, was first described by Paulius Galaunė
Paulius Galaunė (January 25, 1890 in Pagelažiai near Ukmergė – October 18, 1988 in Kaunas) was a Lithuanian art historian, museum curator, and graphic artist. He was one of the first professional museum curators in Lithuania and was well-pub ...
in 1924 and remains unpublished. It is an unfinished 387-page study on Lithuania, its territory, inhabitants, economy, religion, education, administration under the Russian Empire.[ The work mixed statistical data with emotional condemnation of the Tsarist regime and its ]Russification
Russification (russian: русификация, rusifikatsiya), or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians, whether involuntarily or voluntarily, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian cultur ...
policies, discussed the abolition of serfdom in 1861 and accused the regime of economic and agricultural downturn, and idealized the policies of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
(e.g. religious tolerance or the Statutes of Lithuania
The Statutes of Lithuania, originally known as the Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, were a 16th-century codification of all the legislation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and its successor, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Stat ...
). The work was modeled after Kalinka's ''Galicya i Kraków pod panowaniem austryackiem'' (Galicia and Kraków under the Austrian Rule) about the Austrian Partition
The Austrian Partition ( pl, zabór austriacki) comprise the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired by the Habsburg monarchy during the Partitions of Poland in the late 18th century. The three partition (politics), p ...
published in 1853.[
He started working on a translation of ]Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
and Karl von Rotteck
Karl Wenzeslaus Rodecker von Rotteck (18 July 1775, Freiburg, Baden – 26 November 1840, Freiburg) was a German political activist, historian, politician and political scientist. He was a prominent advocate of freedom of the press and the aboli ...
to Polish, wrote a short didactic
Didacticism is a philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature, art, and design. In art, design, architecture, and landscape, didacticism is an emerging conceptual approach that is driven by the urgent need to ...
work on the history of Lithuania,[ and a comedy in Polish (1859).][ His manuscript of a Polish translation of the Lithuanian epic poem '' The Seasons'' by ]Kristijonas Donelaitis
Kristijonas Donelaitis ( la, Christian Donalitius; 1 January 1714 – 18 February 1780) was a Prussian Lithuanian poet and Lutheran pastor. He lived and worked in Lithuania Minor, a territory in the Kingdom of Prussia, that had a sizable Lithuani ...
was confiscated by the police in 1861.[ He wrote a Lithuanian booklet on trains and steam engines in which he had to create about a hundred Lithuanian technical terms.][ He also collected Lithuanian folk fairy tales – his collection was used by ]Jonas Basanavičius
Jonas Basanavičius (, pl, Jan Basanowicz; 23 November 1851 – 16 February 1927) was an activist and proponent of the Lithuanian National Revival. He participated in every major event leading to the independent Lithuanian state and is often give ...
in his published collection of Lithuanian folklore.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akelaitis, Mikalojus
1829 births
1887 deaths
Amateur linguists
19th-century Lithuanian writers
Linguists from Lithuania
January Uprising participants
People from Marijampolė
Lithuanian emigrants to France
Activists of the Great Emigration
Lithuanian writers in Polish