Vintsent Dunin-Marcinkievič ( be, Вінцэнт (Вінцук) Дунін-Марцінкевіч; pl, Wincenty Dunin-Marcinkiewicz; February 8, 1808 – December 21, 1884) was a
Polish-
Belarusian writer, poet, dramatist and social activist and is considered one of the founders of the modern Belarusian literary tradition and national school theatre.
[Дунін-Марцінкевіч Вінцэнт]
/
Мысліцелі і асветнікі Беларусі: Энцыклапедычны даведнік. Менск: Беларуская Энцыклапедыя, 1995.
Biography
Vintsent Dunin-Marcinkievič was born in a Belarusian part of the
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 Poland and Lithuania ru ...
, in a noble family (
szlachta of
Łabędź coat of arms) in the region of
Babruysk
Babruysk, Babrujsk or Bobruisk ( be, Бабруйск , Łacinka: , rus, Бобруйск, Bobrujsk, bɐˈbruɪ̯s̪k, yi, באָברויסק ) is a city in the Mogilev Region of eastern Belarus on the Berezina River. , its population was 209 ...
. He graduated from the medical faculty of the
University of St. Petersburg.
He wrote both in contemporary
Belarusian and
Polish languages. Writing in the modern Belarusian language he faced the problem of its being not standardized, as the written tradition of the
Old Belarusian (Ruthenian) language had been largely extinct by that time.
From 1827 Dunin-Marcinkievič lived and worked in
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
as a bureaucrat. In 1840 he acquired a mansion near
Ivyanets and went there to write most of his works.
In 1859 he translated
Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (; 24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. A principal figure in Polish Ro ...
's epic poem ''
Pan Tadeusz'' into the
Belarusian language
Belarusian ( be, беларуская мова, biełaruskaja mova, link=no, ) is an East Slavic language. It is the native language of many Belarusians and one of the two official state languages in Belarus. Additionally, it is spoken in some p ...
and published it 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 ...
. Under the pressure of
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
authorities he succeeded in publishing only the first two chapters of the poem. This was the first translation of the poem into another
Slavic language
The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic, spoken during the Ea ...
.
Dunin-Marcinkievič was accused by the police in separatist propaganda during the
January Uprising. He was arrested but later set free. However, he was kept under supervision by the police. His daughter, Kamila Marcinkievič, participated in the uprising and was sentenced to the psychiatric hospital for her political activity.
[Silitski, Vitali and Zaprudnik, Jan. ''Historical Dictionary of Belarus''. 2nd Edition. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, 2007. 309.]
The writer was buried in Tupalshchyna, now
Valozhyn
Valozhyn, Vałožyn or Volozhin ( be, Вало́жын, , russian: Воло́жин, lt, Valažinas, pl, Wołożyn, yi, וואָלאָזשין ''Volozhin''; also written as Wolozin and Wolozhin) is a town in the Minsk Region of Belarus. The pop ...
rajon.
Most notable works
* Opera "Sielanka" ( be, "Ідылія", ''"Idyll"''; 1846) — the first play, written partly in contemporary Belarusian language.
* Poem "Hapon" ( be, "Гапон"; 1855) — the first poem, written completely in contemporary Belarusian.
* Plays and poetry, some of them in contemporary Belarusian (1855–1861), some of them being:
** "Wieczernice i Opętany" (1856)
** "Interested? Read it! Three tales and brief verse" ( pl, "Ciekawyś? Przeczytaj! Trzy powiastki i wierszyk ulotny"; 1857);
** "Belarusian piper" ( pl, "Dudarz białoruski");
** "Bylicy, raskazy Nawuma" ( be, "Быліцы, расказы Навума"; not published);
** "Chalimon na karanacji" ( be, "Халімон на каранацыі"; not published);
** "Lucynka czyli Szwedzi na Litwie" (1861);
* Play "
Pinskaja šliachta" ( be, "Пінская шляхта", ''"Pinsk nobility"'', pl, "Pińska szlachta"; 1866)
* The first Belarusian translation of
A. Mickiewicz's "
Pan Tadeusz" (1859; published only partly, the circulation confiscated almost immediately).
Note: proper names and place names are rendered in BGN/PCGN.
References
External links
Virtual guide to Belarus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunin-Martsinkyevich, Vintsent
1808 births
1884 deaths
People from Babruysk District
People from Bobruysky Uyezd
Vintsent
Belarusian writers
Belarusian male poets
Belarusian translators
19th-century Belarusian people
19th-century translators
19th-century Belarusian poets
19th-century Polish male writers
19th-century Polish poets
Polish writers in Belarusian
Belarusian writers in Polish
Belarusian nobility