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Revision as of 22:12, 20 July 2006 by Elonka (talk | contribs) (Rewrote paragraph to give more strength to the final quote.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Antanas Baranauskas (Template:Lang-pl} (January 17, 1835, Anykščiai - November 26, 1902) was a Lithuanian-born poet , mathematician and a bishop of Sejny . He used the pseudonyms A.B., Bangputys, Jurksztas Smalaūsis, Jurkštas Smalaūsis, and Baronas.
Baranauskas was born to a humble peasant family of distant szlachta (noble) origin. Early in his youth his parents sent him to a local bi-yearly parochial school. After finishing his studies there, Baranauskas initially stayed in the parish as a helper. After that he was sent to a bi-yearly school for communal writers in Rumšiškės. There he started writing his first poems in Polish. In 1853 he finished school and started working as a writer and chancellor in various local communes (towns). During his work he met Karolina Praniauskaitė (Polish: Karolina Proniewska), a locally-renowned writer, with whom he shared a passion for the poetry of Adam Mickiewicz. With time, under influence of another notable Polish poet of the epoch, Juliusz Słowacki, Baranauskas' poetry improved in style. Praniauskaitė also suggested that Baranauskas try writing in Lithuanian. In 1856 Karolina's family tried to separate the couple, by sponsoring Baranauskas' entry into the Catholic Seminary of Varniai. While studying there, he became more interested in the Lithuanian language, and wrote a commentary on Lithuanian and Samogitian dialects "Apie lietuvių ir žemaičių kalbą". It was the first attempt to distinguish these different Lithuanian dialects.
Also while in the seminary, Baranauskas started writing poems in Lithuanian, and continued writing in Lithuanian (with few exceptions) ever since. One of his early works written under clear influence of Mickiewicz was Anykščių šilelis (The Forest of Anykščiai). It is considered to be one of the classic works of Lithuanian literature. Literature critics consider it as a symbolic reference to Lithuanian history and language. It is known that Baranauskas wrote the poem in anger, because his lector said that the Lithuanian language was not beautiful enough to write poems in. The poem was first published in 1861, and again in 1862 in Laurynas Ivinskis calendars.
From 1858 to 1862, Barnauskas studied at the St. Petersburg Spiritual Academy, receiving a Masters degree in theology. From 1863-1864 he studied at München, Rome, Innsbruck and Louvain catholic universities.
Starting in 1871, he worked at the Kaunas seminary, and began teaching Lithuanian language. He wrote a Lithuanian language grammar textbook, Mokslas lietuviškosios kalbos. After Baranauskas went to Sejny, he gained a considerable reputation by being able to preach in both Polish and Lithuanian. He also translated into Lithuanian three fifths of the Bible.
In his later years Antanas Baranauskas enjoyed some of the comforts of life and considered himself to be of Polish noble origin. He followed traditions of the krajowcy, and tried to reconcile nationalists from both - Lithuanian and Polish - sides. For that he was rather unpopular amongst the nationalists.
Before Baranauskas, the main "respectable" languages in the area were considered to be Russian and Polish, so many Lithuanians believe that Baranauskas was one of the primary individuals responsible for re-legitimizing the Lithuanian language, and by extension, Lithuanian culture. Referring to Baranauskas in a lecture, the early 20th century Lithuanian poet Maironis once said, "Without him, there might not be us".
Notes and references
- In-line:
- ^ Template:Pl icon various authors (1993). "Antoni Baranowski". In Małgorzata Pawłowska (ed.). Biografie Suwalskie. Suwałki: Jaćwież.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); External link in|chapterurl=|chapterurl=ignored (|chapter-url=suggested) (help) - ^ Template:Lt icon Justinas Marcinkevičius (1995). "Štai kas yra mes". Tekančios upės vienybė. Kaunas: Santara. pp. 42–44.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ Template:Lt icon Egidijus Aleksandravičius (2003). Giesmininko kelias. Vilnius: Versus Aureus.
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