Konstantinas Sirvydas (rarely referred as ''Konstantinas Širvydas''; la, Constantinus Szyrwid; pl, Konstanty Szyrwid; – August 23, 1631) was a Lithuanian religious preacher,

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoretica ...

, and one of the pioneers of Lithuanian literature from 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 Lit ...

, at the time a confederal part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.Note that in 16th and 17th centuries the idea of national identity did not yet exist in its modern sense and Szyrwid is referred to either as a Pole or Lithuanian; as in: He was a Jesuit priest, a professor at the Academia Vilnensis, and the author of, among other works, the first

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes domain ...

of 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 mill ...

and the first trilingual dictionary in Lithuanian,

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, and

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

(1619). Famous for his eloquence, Sirvydas spent 10 years of his life preaching sermons at St. Johns' Church in Vilnius (twice a day – once in Lithuanian and once in Polish).

Biography

He was born in Lithuania some time between 1578 and 1581, in the village of Sirvydai near Anykščiai. In 1612, he became a professor of

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at the Academia Vilnensis, the predecessor 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 ...

. Between 1623 and 1624 he also briefly served as the deputy

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of his alma mater, after which he continued as a professor in theology,

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term '' art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically th ...

, and philosophy.

Works

At the same time, he began his career as a preacher, writer, and scientist. He published his trilingual Polish-Lithuanian-Latin dictionary ''Dictionarium Trium Lingvarum in usum Studiosæ Iuventutis'', one of the first such books in Lithuanian literary history some time before 1620. It was later printed in at least five editions, the fifth and last edition being printed in 1713. Until the 19th century, it was the only Lithuanian dictionary printed in Lithuania. Sirvydas' lexicon is often mentioned as a milestone in the standardisation and codification of the Lithuanian language. The first edition contained approximately 6000 words, the second was expanded to include almost 11,000 words. It also included a lot of newly created Lithuanian words, including for example ''mokytojas'' (teacher), ''taisyklė'' (rule), and ''kokybė'' (quality). A decade later, in 1629, he published the first volume of a collection of his

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. ...

s entitled ''Punktai sakymų'', and later translated them into the Polish language as ''Punkty kazań''. The Lithuanian version of this work was often used as a primer to teach the Lithuanian language. However, it was not until 1644 that the second volume was finally published. Around 1630, he compiled the first book of grammar of the Lithuanian language (''Lietuvių kalbos raktas'' – 'Key to the Lithuanian Language'), which did not, however, survive to our times. He died of tuberculosis on August 23, 1631 in Vilnius.

Other works

*''Explanationes in Cantica Canticorum Salomonis et in epistolam D. Pavli ad Ephesios''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sirvydas, Konstantinas Balticists 1570s births 1631 deaths Lithuanian lexicographers Lithuanian writers Linguists from Lithuania History of the Lithuanian language 17th-century Lithuanian Jesuits 17th-century deaths from tuberculosis Vilnius University alumni Academic staff of Vilnius University Tuberculosis deaths in Lithuania