Maciej Stryjkowski
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Maciej Stryjkowski (also referred to as Strykowski and Strycovius;Nowa encyklopedia powszechna PWN. t. 6, 1997 – ) was a Polish historian, writer and a poet, known as the author of ''Chronicle of Poland, Lithuania, Samogitia and all of Ruthenia'' (1582). The work is generally considered to be the first printed book on the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.


Biography

Maciej Stryjkowski was born around 1547 in
Stryków Stryków (german: 1943-45 Strickau) is a town in central Poland, in Łódź Voivodeship, in Zgierz County. It has 3,428 inhabitants (2020). History Early history The first mention of Stryków was in 1387. Stryków was a village situated on the ...
, a town in the
Rawa Voivodeship Rawa Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Kingdom of Poland since 15th century until the partitions of Poland in 1795. It was part of the Province of Greater Poland. Together with the Plock and Masovian ...
in the
Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exist ...
. He graduated from a local school in the town of
Brzeziny Brzeziny (; yi, ברעזין, ''Brezin'') is a town in Poland, in Łódź Voivodeship, about 20 km east of Łódź. It is the capital of Brzeziny County and has a population of 12,326 as of December 2021. It once was a thriving Jewish sh ...
, after which he joined the
Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Naval Force and the Lithuanian Air Force. In wartime, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (whi ...
. He served in a garrison in
Vitebsk Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest ci ...
under
Alexander Guagnini Alexander Guagnini ( pl, Alexander Gwagnin, it, Alessandro Guagnini dei Rizzoni; 1538 in Verona, Republic of Venice – 1614 in Kraków, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth) was a Venetian-born Polish writer, military officer, chronicler and his ...
. He was a
Pole Pole may refer to: Astronomy *Celestial pole, the projection of the planet Earth's axis of rotation onto the celestial sphere; also applies to the axis of rotation of other planets *Pole star, a visible star that is approximately aligned with the ...
, but spent most of his life in the Grand Duchy, initially as a soldier. Around 1573, at the age of roughly 25, he retired from active service and became a
protégé Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...
of
Merkelis Giedraitis Merkelis Giedraitis ( pl, Melchior Giedroyć; – 6 April 1609) was Bishop of Samogitia from 1576 to 1609. Educated at Protestant universities in the Duchy of Prussia and Germany, he actively combated the Reformation implementing resolutions of t ...
, the
bishop of Samogitia Bishops of Samogitia, Samogitian diocese (now a part of Lithuania) from 1417 to 1926. The seat of the diocese was in Varniai/Medininkai until 1864, when it was moved to Kaunas. It was liquidated in 1926 by Pope Pius XI when the archdiocese of K ...
. Eventually, Stryjkowski became a Catholic priest and ended as a provost at the parish of
Jurbarkas Jurbarkas (; Samogitian dialect, Samogitian: ''Jorbarks'', known also by several #Etymology, alternative names) is a List of cities in Lithuania, city in Tauragė County, in Samogitia, Lithuania. Jurbarkas is located in the historic land of Kar ...
near the Lithuania–Prussia border. There he devoted his life to writing a monumental chronicle of the lands of Poland–Lithuania, eventually published in
Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...
(today
Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...
) in 1582. The book, published under the title of ''Chronicle of Poland, Lithuania, Samogitia, and all of Ruthenia of Kiev, Moscow, Novgorod...''The full title of the book in contemporary Polish language was long ''Kronika Polska, Litewska, Żmódzka y wszystkiej Rusi Kijowskiey, Moskiewskiey, Siewierskiey(...) y rozmaite przypadki woienne y domowe, pruskich, mazowieckich, pomorskich y inszych krain Królestwu Polskiemu y Wielkiemu Xięstwu Litewskiemu przyległych(...)'' and included all of the lands of mediaeval Ruthenia listed separately, as well as a short explanation of sources used. Because of that, it is usually referred to by its opening names only. is a classic piece of literature written in the
Polish language Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as the native language of the Poles. In a ...
and detailed much of the history 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 Crown of the Kingdom of ...
and its parts from their legendary roots up to 1581. Some fragments of his work are written in 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 ...
. He also encouraged
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 ...
to use the Lithuanian language. The chronicle was a successful compilation of earlier chronicles by
Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histor ...
and
Maciej Miechowita Maciej Miechowita (also known as ''Maciej z Miechowa, Maciej of Miechów, Maciej Karpiga, Matthias de Miechow''; 1457 – 8 September 1523) was a Polish renaissance scholar, professor of Jagiellonian University, historian, chronicler, geogra ...
, but also includes Ruthenian chronicles, folk tales and legends. It instantly gained much fame among the
szlachta The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...
and it is often argued that Stryjkowski was among the Polish–Lithuanian writers to shape the Lithuanian national identity, as his works were later copied by scores of writers and chroniclers in all parts of the region. Until the 19th century, the works of Stryjkowski were considered to be the basic sources of information on early period of history 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 ...
. It was not until the advent of modern
historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...
that his chronicle started to be criticised and disputed, mainly due to his favour of the
magnate The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...
s, lack of distinction between legends and historic accounts and his theory on the Roman origin of the Lithuanian ruling families. In 1577, Stryjkowski also authored an
epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...
''On the beginnings of the famed nation of Lithuania (...)'',As in the case of his chronicle, the full title was ''O początkach, wywodach, dzielnościach, sprawach rycerskich i domowych sławnego narodu litewskiego, żemojdzkiego i ruskiego, przed tym nigdy od żadnego ani kuszone, ani opisane, z natchnienia Bożego a uprzejmie pilnego doświadczenia'', which could be roughly translated as ''On the beginnings, accounts, virtues, marital and domestic affairs of the famed nations of Lithuania, Samogitia, Ruthenia; never before touched or described by anyone, put down out of God's inspiration and own experience.'' which however was not published until after Stryjkowski's death. He died around the year 1593, though the exact date and place remain unknown.


Notes


References


Further reading

* *
List of Lithuanian Gods Found in Maciej Sryjkowski chonicle
by
Gintaras Beresnevičius Gintaras Beresnevičius (July 8, 1961 in Kaunas – August 6, 2006 in Vilnius) was a Lithuanian historian of religions specializing in Baltic mythology. He together with Norbertas Vėlius is considered to be the best specialist in Lithuanian myt ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stryjkowski, Maciej Military personnel of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Historians of Lithuania 16th-century Polish nobility 16th-century Polish historians Polish male non-fiction writers Polish poets Polish male writers Diplomats of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1590s deaths 1540s births