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Francysk Skaryna (alternative transcriptions of his name: ''Francišak Skaryna'' or ''Francisk Skaryna''; lat, Franciscus Scorina, be, Францыск (Францішак) Скарына ; pl, Franciszek Skaryna, cs, František Skorina; 1470 – 1551/29 January 1552) was a
Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...
humanist, physician, and translator. He is known to be one of the first book printers in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and in all of Eastern Europe, laying the groundwork for the development of the of the
Church Slavonic language Church Slavonic (, , literally "Church-Slavonic language"), also known as Church Slavic, New Church Slavonic or New Church Slavic, is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzeg ...
.


Early life and education

Skaryna was born into a wealthy family from Polotsk, which was then a major trade and manufacturing center of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. His father, Luka Skaryna, was a merchant, who dealt with someone known as Doronya Ivanov, from
Velikiye Luki Velikiye Luki ( rus, Вели́кие Лу́ки, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪjə ˈlukʲɪ; lit. ''great meanders''. Г. П.  Смолицкая. "Топонимический словарь Центральной России". "Армада-П ...
. Skaryna's older brother, Ivan, was also a merchant. The brothers owned property, possibly ancestral, in Polotsk.Sokolová Františka. Francisko Skoryna v dile českých slavistů. Sbornik k 500-jubileju narozeni významného bĕloruského humanisty, 1490–1990. – Praha: Narodní knihovna, Slovanská knihovna, 1992. Research indicates that Skaryna was born in 1470. The year 1490 is often proposed based on the assumption that he was 14 when he came to study in Kraków in 1504. The date is an upper boundary; while new students younger than 14 were rare, older ones were not unusual, and Skaryna could have started his studies at the age of 18 or even older. suggested that the overlapping sun and moon on Skaryna's personal emblem indicates that he was born around the time of the 1486
solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six month ...
, which was observed in Polotsk.Е. Немировский. Франциск Скорина. Минск, 1990. It is believed that he received his primary education in Polotsk and possibly in Vilnius.Г. Галенчанка. Скарына, Францыск // Энцыклапедыя ВКЛ, т.3, Мінск, 2007, с. 576. In 1504, Skaryna is recorded as a student at
Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
. In 1506, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1512, after passing all required tests, he received a doctorate in medicine at the University of Padua in Italy. Records suggest that he requested to take his examination in Padua but had not studied in the city. Earlier, he obtained an " artium doctor" degree, but the exact date and place are unknown.


Later life

Skaryna arrived in Prague by 1517. According to one hypothesis, he had been a student at
Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...
in Prague, but there is no documentary evidence of this. In the same year, he rented a
printing house In publishing, printers are both companies providing printing services and individuals who directly operate printing presses. Printers can include: *Newspaper printers, often owned by newspaper publishers *Magazine printers, usually independe ...
from a merchant named Severin in Prague and started publishing a new translation of the Bible with his own prefaces. On 6 August 1517, his first edition, ", was released. "The Psalter" comprises nearly all of the biblical books of
Holy Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...
. He released new books periodically over the next few months (10 September, 6 October, 5 December, 2 January 1518, 9 January, and 19 January). Then, on 10 August 1518, he published four books at the same time. The culmination of his life's work was printing a translation of the Bible in twenty-three books from 1517 to 1519.Галенчанка Г. Я. Францыск Скарына - беларускі і ўсходнеславянскі першадрукар. Мiнск: Навука і тэхніка, 1993. 280 с. ІSBN 5-343-00891-7 In 1522, Skaryna opened the first printing house in Vilnius. He published "", followed by "Apostol" in 1525. "Apostol" was released in the same order as it is used in
Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...
worship now. In the late 1520s or early 1530s, he visited Moscow. He wished to distribute his books in Moscow but was unsuccessful. Skaryna married Margarita, the widow of a Vilnius city councilor. In 1529, following his brother's death, he went to Poznań and obtained a share of Ivan's property. In 1530, he moved with his wife to Königsberg, but they soon returned to Vilnius. In 1532, he worked as a doctor and secretary to John, Bishop of Vilnius. After two years, creditors of his late brother Ivan considered Skaryna as the brother's primary heir, and imprisoned him in Poznań. He was there for several months. Roman Skaryna, Ivan's son and Francysk's nephew, actively helped his uncle, meeting with King Sigismund I. When Skaryna was released, he sent a complaint letter with a counterclaim against the creditors to the King. In response to the letter, he was awarded two royal privilege certificates (dated 21 and 25 November 1532). These certificates exempted him from the jurisdiction of all authorities except the King. The last information about Skaryna is mentioned in the archives of 1534. He moved from Vilnius to Prague. He probably served in the royal garden in Prague until his death. According to some theories, Skaryna taught as a professor at
Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...
in Prague. He is presumed to have died sometime between 1551 and January 29, 1552. In 1552, his son Simeon Rus Skaryna received a royal certificate, according to which he, as the sole heir, was given all of the property of his father. The property included manuscripts, letters, and books.


Religion

It is not known for certain whether Skaryna was Catholic or
Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...
. His name is Catholic, but it is often suggested that he changed it before entering the university. A single copy of a document in which he is called ''Georgius Franciscus'' instead of just ''Franciscus'' gave birth to a theory that ''Georgius'' was his original name; today, however, it is mostly accepted to be a scribe's error (the presumed correct reading being ''egregius Franciscus'', "venerable Francysk"). In any case, the once popular theory that he changed his name from ''Georgius'' to ''Franciscus'' to be able to enter the university is unsupported by evidence: the name ''Georgius'' was equally popular among the Catholic and the Orthodox in the region, and in Skaryna's year there were more students named ''Georgius'' than ''Franciscus'' in Kraków. In 1552, after Skaryna's death (and long after his final departure from the country) King Sigismund August mentioned in a letter that a man from his country printed a translation of the Bible and tried to sell his edition in Moscow, but the books had been burned there because they had been produced "by a subject of the Roman Church". The books mentioned in the letter are most probably Skaryna's.


Publishing activities

Skaryna devoted his life to the publication of the biblical texts. He sought to make the Bible more available to the common people and write it in an accessible language. Skaryna also composed prefaces to his editions, in which he emphasized that the purpose of his publishing activities was to help ordinary people "become acquainted with wisdom and science". He contributed to the development of the Belarusian literary language. This Bible became the second printed Bible in the Slavic world, following the publication of a Czech edition.


Books

In 1517, Skaryna started his publishing career in Prague. He printed his Psalter, and then twenty-two books of the
Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
under the shared name ''Biblia Ruska''. His books were different from the Western European printed Bibles of that time, in that they were all published in the quarto format. Skaryna's editions of the Bible were printed in the
Church Slavonic Church Slavonic (, , literally "Church-Slavonic language"), also known as Church Slavic, New Church Slavonic or New Church Slavic, is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzeg ...
language with many Ruthenian words. Belarusian linguists can also identify the influence of the
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
and Czech languages. Skaryna's books contributed to the development of the of the
Church Slavonic language Church Slavonic (, , literally "Church-Slavonic language"), also known as Church Slavic, New Church Slavonic or New Church Slavic, is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzeg ...
. Skaryna's Bible challenged the existing rules of that time. It contains text from the publisher, his comments, forewords, and afterwords. In addition, it contains prints with his image. It is the only such case in the history of the publication of Bibles in Eastern Europe. All of Skaryna's editions are very rare today, especially those published in Vilnius. Copies are stored in libraries in Minsk, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Vilnius, Lviv, London, Prague, Copenhagen, and Kraków.


Legacy

The language in which Francysk Skaryna printed his books was based on
Church Slavonic Church Slavonic (, , literally "Church-Slavonic language"), also known as Church Slavic, New Church Slavonic or New Church Slavic, is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzeg ...
, but with a large number of Belarusian words, and therefore was most understandable to the inhabitants of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (the territory of modern Belarus). Skaryna was one of the pioneers of publishing in Cyrillic script, but not the first: the '' Oktoikh'' was published by
Schweipolt Fiol Schweipolt Fiol (also Sebald Vehl or Veyl; c. 1460 – 1525 or 1526) was a German-born 15th century pioneer of Cyrillic printing. Fiol spent a considerable part of his life in Poland, particularly Kraków, the capital of the Polish Kingdom at th ...
in 1491. While he used an
Eastern Slavic language The East Slavic languages constitute one of three regional subgroups of the Slavic languages, distinct from the West and South Slavic languages. East Slavic languages are currently spoken natively throughout Eastern Europe, and eastwards to Siber ...
, it is difficult to determine precisely what language he used, since there was no standard Belarusian language at that time. Some researchers maintain that Skaryna's books were in
Church Slavonic Church Slavonic (, , literally "Church-Slavonic language"), also known as Church Slavic, New Church Slavonic or New Church Slavic, is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzeg ...
heavily saturated with Ruthenian. Some Belarusian scholars see Skaryna as a Renaissance man, on par with Copernicus and Erasmus, whose work in the Slavic lands was a part of the European Reformation. After the
dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
, the Leninsky Avenue, the main avenue of Minsk, the capital of Belarus, was renamed to the Skaryna Avenue. However, in 2005, under the rule of Alexander Lukashenko, it was renamed to the Independence Avenue. The Old Barysau Way (''Starabarysauski trakt'') was renamed to Skaryna Street (''vulica Skaryny''). In addition, streets are named for Francysk Skaryna in Polatsk, Vitebsk, Nesvizh,
Orsha Orsha ( be, О́рша, Во́рша, Orša, Vorša; russian: О́рша ; lt, Orša, pl, Orsza) is a city in Belarus in the Vitebsk Region, on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers. History Orsha was first mentioned in 1067 as Rsha ...
, Slutsk, and many other cities of Belarus. Two awards are given in Belarus in honor of Skaryna: the
Medal of Francysk Skaryna Awards and decorations of Belarus are governed by the Law of the Republic of Belarus on State Awards of 18 May 2004. The highest award is the title of the Hero of Belarus. The law also specifies orders, medals and honorary titles of Belarus. Her ...
, and the Order of Francysk Skaryna. There are monuments to Francysk Skaryna in Polotsk, Minsk, Lida, Vilnius, Chisinau, and Prague. Several cultural organizations are named for Skaryna, particularly the Frantsishak Skaryna Belarusian Language Society in Belarus, and the
Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum (Belarusian: ; also referred to as Skaryna Library and ''Skarynaŭka'') in north London, England, is the only library outside Belarus to collect exclusively in the field of Belarusian studies. It wa ...
in London. Homyel State University is named for Skaryna. In 1969, Boris Stepanov filmed a movie "Я, Францыск Скарына" (I, Francysk Skaryna ). In 1991, Skaryna was depicted on the Soviet Union one-ruble coin.


See also

* Symon Budny * Ivan Fedorov *
Johann Gutenberg Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable-type printing press. Though not the first of its kind, earlier designs w ...
*
Spiridon Sobol Spiridon Sobol ( Belarusian: Спірыдо́н Міро́навіч Со́баль, Russian: Спиридо́н Миро́нович Со́боль) (1580—1590, Mogilev − 1645, Muntenia) was a Belarusian printer and educator. Sobol was t ...
* Spread of the printing press


References


Further reading

*
Francysk Skaryna, the Martin Luther of Belarus
. ''The Economist''. 31 January 2017.


External links


The Laboratory of Francysk Skaryna Studies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scorina, Franciscus 15th-century births 16th-century deaths People from Polotsk People from Polotsk Voivodeship 16th-century printers Belarusian culture Early printed Bibles Jagiellonian University alumni University of Padua alumni Belarusian-language writers Ruthenian people of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Belarusian printers Ruthenian-language writers 16th-century Polish businesspeople 16th-century biblical scholars European biblical scholars