The Baltic Crusades. the Lithuanian Conflict Part V. Samogitia Erupts
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Geolinguistic and Sociolinguistic Situation of Northern Samogitians of Kretinga: Dialectal Area, Use of the Dialect, Linguistic Attitudes
DALIA PAKALNIŠKIENĖ Lietuvių kalbos institutas Fields of research: history of Lithuanian language, Baltic linguistics, geolinguistics. JŪRATĖ LUBIENĖ Klaipėdos universitetas Fields of research: lexicology, dialectology, geolinguistics. GEOLINGUISTIC AND SOCIOLINGUISTIC SITUATION OF NORTHERN SAMOGITIANS OF KRETINGA: DIALECTAL AREA, USE OF THE DIALECT, LINGUISTIC ATTITUDES Šiaurės žemaičiai kretingiškiai geolingvistiniu ir sociolingvistiniu požiūriu: plotas, tarmės vartojimas, kalbinės nuostatos ANNOTATION The aim of this article is to highlight the parameters denoting the vitality level of lin- guistic and cultural identity of one dialectal community (namely, the Northern Samogi- tians of Kretinga) under the circumstances of increasing globalization and diglossia. In accordance with the theoretical concept of geolinguistics as a dynamic dialectology, the do- main classification proposed by Anton M. Hagen and the empirical material issues denoting sociocultural identity of the subdialect are presented. The vitality and sociocultural distinc- tion of the dialectal area is being sustained by various factors, three of which have the most important role: sufficiently developed infrastructure, dialect use and attitudes based on the value system of users of the dialect. Straipsniai / Articles 37 DALIA PAKALNIŠKIENĖ, JŪRATĖ LUBIENĖ KEYWORDS: Samogitian dialect, Northern Samogitians of Kretinga, stan- dard language, geolinguistics, sociolinguistics, domain, linguistic attitude. ANOTACIJA Straipsnyje svarstoma, ar įmanomas vienu dialektu kalbančios -
Lithuanian Religious and Ceremonial Terms of Semitic Origin: the Phenomenon of Azazel
Etnolingwistyka 29 Lublin 2017 I. Rozprawy i analizy DOI: 10.17951/et.2017.29.257 Rolandas K r e g ž d y s (Vilnius, Lithuanian Culture Research Institute) Lithuanian religious and ceremonial terms of semitic origin: the phenomenon of Azazel The article deals with the so-called phenomenon of Azazel, i.e. the scape- goat icon, examples of which can be found in the Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language and in dialectal sources. Its relics are also traced in three-day Shro- vetide rites before the Lenten fast, which begins on Ash Wednesday (Shrove Tuesday in Lithuania), and in the Easter feast from Piev˙enaiin Samogitia (the histrionic so-called “Easter Jews” vigil on the night before Easter). Using different methods of investigating cultural realia, i.e. cross-cultural comparison and linguistic analysis (based on the inner and external reconstruction (or historical) methodology), two main types of religious terms of Semitic origin registered in the Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language and dialectal sources are identified: (i) Hebraisms with neutral or hereditary connotation; and (ii) pejoratives or semantically modified words with an anti-Semitic background. The paper also explains the origin of the xenophobic elements of the Easter feast, the way it has been celebrated in Piev˙enaiuntil today. Key words: Azazel/scapegoat phenomenon; religious terms; ceremonial terms; Hebraism; pejorative; semantically modified words Introduction: a short prehistory of the origin and purport of the scapegoat or Azazel icon The mythonym of Azazel or Hazazel (Azael, Azozel)1 is traditionally explained as an appellative of one of the chiefs of the 200 fallen angels 1 The exact meaning of the proper name is ambiguous: 1. -
THE EXPERTS of LITHUANIAN in SERVICE of the RUSSIAN EMPIRE: DMITRIIKASHIRIN, ZAKHARIILYATSKII, and ANDRIUS POIDENAS Summary
Giedrius Subačius THE EXPERTS OF LITHUANIAN IN SERVICE OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE: DMITRIIKASHIRIN, ZAKHARIILYATSKII, AND ANDRIUS POIDENAS Summary From 1795 to 1914 the Russian Empire controlled Lithuania. It instilled a ban on Latin letters for Lithuanian texts that lasted for almost forty years (1865-1904). During that time almost sixty Lithuanian books in Cyrillic (i.e., Russian) letters were printed mostly by the initiative of the imperial administrators in Lithuania. Underground Lithuanian books and newspapers were printed in Latin script abroad and dispersed by knygnesiai (book carriers) and read illegally in Lithuania. At the same time, schools that had been teaching Lithuanian were also closed and so-called public "Russian schools" were introduced as a countermeasure to the spreading network of under ground private "home" schools, which taught Lithuanian in Latin script. The book The Experts of Lithuanian in Service of the Russian Empire: Dmitrii Kashirin, Zakharii Lyatskii, and Andrius Poidenas (Vilnius: Institute of the Lithuanian Language, 2011) recounts linguistic biographies of the three experts who served the administra tion of the Vilnius Education District to prepare, edit, evaluate, review, and correct certain Lithuanian texts in Cyrillic. Most of the Lithuanian Cyrillic texts approved by the imperial administrators in the Vilnius Education District were distributed to the schools and the populace in the form of primers and public readings. In the rare cases of private initiatives to print Lithuanian books in Cyrillic alphabet (e.g., that of Juozapas Miliauskas), the experts were used by the administrators to criticize and to reject the unwelcome proposals. By and large this book deals with the life and work of Kashirin, Lyatskii, and Poidenas: the three experts producing and evaluating Lithuanian Cyrillic during the 1867-1901 period of the ban on Latin script. -
THE PAST and PRESENT of the SAMOGITIAN LANGUAGE 1. Historical Overview an Essential Question Has Been Repeatedly Raised Since Ol
The Past and Present of the Samogitian Language JUOZAS PABRĖŽA https://doi.org/10.22364/bf.28.1.05 Baltu filoloģija XXVIII (1) 2019 THE PAST AND PRESENT OF THE SAMOGITIAN LANGUAGE Juozas PABRĖŽA Šiauliai University 1. Historical overview An essential question has been repeatedly raised since olden times: is Samogitian a language or a dialect? Before the appearance of standard Lithu- anian, the concept of the Samogitian language prevailed. Quite a few Samogi- tians wrote their works in Samogitian. The 19th c. boasts a particularly large number of such works. In that period the concern and efforts to create standard Lithuanian on the basis of the Samogitian dialect were particularly obvious. The language and the spelling of Dionizas Poška, Silvestras Valiūnas and Simonas Stanevičaus, all of them originally being South Samogitians, were oriented towards their native Dūnininkai dialect. Three of the most prominent Samogitians of the 19th c. — Jurgis Ambraziejus Pabrėža, Simonas Daukantas and Motiejus Valančius — employed the North Samogitian Dounininkai dialect in their writings. The creator of the standard Samogitian language J. A. Pabrėža wrote: “A Samogitian will never agree about the language either with a Lithuanian, a Prussian or a Latvian.” (Subačius 1996: 54) Juozas Čiulda, the author of the most solid grammar of the Samogitian language of the time, written in Polish in 1854 (Trumpi samprotavimai apie žemaičių kalbos gramatikos taisykles — “Brief Reasoning about the Rules of the Samogitian Language”) consistently used the concept of the Samogitian language, and at the end of his book affirms this by stating the following: “These are my speculations about the Samogitian language. -
National Minorities in Lithuania, a Study Visit
National Minorities in Lithuania; A study visit to Vilnius and Klaipėda for Mercator Education 7-14 November 2006 Tjeerd de Graaf and Cor van der Meer Introduction The Mercator-Education project hosted at the Frisian Academy has been established with the principal goal of acquiring, storing and disseminating information on minority and regional language education in the European region 1. Recently a computerised database containing bibliographic data, information about people and organisations involved in this subject has been established. The series of Regional Dossiers published by Mercator-Education provides descriptive information about minority languages in a specific region of the European Union, such as characteristics of the educational system and recent educational policies. At present, an inventory of the languages in the new states of the European Union is being made showing explicitly the position of ethnic minorities. In order to investigate the local situation in one of these new states in more detail and to inform representatives of the communities about the work of Mercator Education and the policies of the European Union in this field, a delegation from the Frisian Academy visited Lithuania in the week 7-14 November 2006. Together with Lithuanian colleagues a program for this visit was prepared according to the following schedule. Schedule of the study trip to Lithuania 7 – 14 November 2006 Tuesday 7 November: Arrival in Vilnius at 13:25 with TE465 16:00 Meeting at the Department of National Minorities and Lithuanians -
The Grunwald Trail
n the Grunwald fi elds thousands of soldiers stand opposite each other. Hidden below the protec- tive shield of their armour, under AN INVITATION Obanners waving in the wind, they hold for an excursion along long lances. Horses impatiently tear their bridles and rattle their hooves. Soon the the Grunwald Trail iron regiments will pounce at each other, to clash in a deadly battle And so it hap- pens every year, at the same site knights from almost the whole of Europe meet, reconstructing events which happened over six hundred years ago. It is here, on the fi elds between Grunwald, Stębark and Łodwigowo, where one of the biggest battles of Medieval Europe took place on July . The Polish and Lithuanian- Russian army, led by king Władysław Jagiełło, crushed the forces of the Teutonic Knights. On the battlefi eld, knights of the order were killed, together with their chief – the great Master Ulrich von Jungingen. The Battle of Grunwald, a triumph of Polish and Lithuanian weapons, had become the symbol of power of the common monarchy. When fortune abandoned Poland and the country was torn apart by the invaders, reminiscence of the battle became the inspiration for generations remembering the past glory and the fi ght for national independence. Even now this date is known to almost every Pole, and the annual re- enactment of the battle enjoys great popularity and attracts thousands of spectators. In Stębark not only the museum and the battlefi eld are worth visiting but it is also worthwhile heading towards other places related to the great battle with the Teutonic Knights order. -
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania As a Successor of Rome in the Early
Open Political Science, 2018; 1: 170–181 Research Article Joanna Orzeł* From imagination to political reality? The Grand Duchy of Lithuania as a successor of Rome in the early modern historiography (15th–18th centuries)# https://doi.org/10.1515/openps-2018-0015 received December 17, 2018; accepted December 31, 2018. Abstract: At the beginning of the Renaissance Lithuanians understood that to join the civilization of Western Europe, it was necessary to have an appropriate (it means: very long) tradition. Like other countries, they had to create their own myth of origin. The most prestigious tradition was Greek-Roman antiquity, so the country’s origin story was invented, claiming its people descended directly from Rome. According to subsequent chronicles, the founder of the new state was Palemon (Publius Libon, initially Vilia). Using the theory of cultural memory of Jan and Aleida Assmann, the article presents how and why the Lithuanian myth of origin was transformed from 15th to the end of the 18th century. Particular attention was paid to the current needs of the state and the powerful noble families of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which also found their origins in the state myth. During the early modern period, the changes in the story were made (including the date of Palemon’s arrival in the Lithuanian lands). Nonetheless, the myth was not questioned for a long time. Even once it had already been established that it was no more than a fairy tale, the story was revived again, performing other functions in the 19th century. Keywords: cultural memory; foundation myth; mythical genealogy; Palemon; the Grand Duchy of Lithuania; Polish- Lithuanian historiography; Greco-Roman antiquity in early modern period. -
History of the Crusades. Episode 298. the Baltic Crusades. the Lithuanian Conflict Part III
History of the Crusades. Episode 298. The Baltic Crusades. The Lithuanian Conflict Part III. Trying Times. Hello again. Last week we saw Samogitia rise up in rebellion, which in turn aroused suspicions in the Grand Master as to Vytautas' involvement in Samogitian affairs. The Grand Master of the Teutonic Order ended up invading Lithuania, with the aim of ousting Vytautas and placing the Order's new ally, one of Jogaila's younger brothers, into the position of Grand Duke of Lithuania. However, while the two-pronged Teutonic raid into Lithuania netted the Order a bunch of prisoners and caused a great deal of damage, it didn't end up defeating Vytautas, who left Lithuania to deal some devastating blows to Teutonic possessions in Samogitia and Livonia. By the end of last week's episode, both sides had had enough of the destructive conflict, and had met to thrash out a peace agreement. The attempts to broker a peace deal which both sides could accept continued on and off until a breakthrough occurred in May of the year 1404. Interestingly, these peace talks didn't involve Vytautas, who was off campaigning in the Russian Principalities, but the two principal attendees - Grand Master Konrad von Jungingen and the King of Poland Jogaila - managed to come up with an arrangement which involved all three parties, the Grand Master, Jogaila, and Vytautas, reaffirming the Treaty of Sallinwerder, and it also involved the Grand Master agreeing to renounce the Teutonic Order's claim on the strategically important town of Dobrin. Jogaila in particular, was pleased with the Dobrin part of the agreement, and he managed to convince a reluctant Vytautas to agree to the terms of the agreement, which he signed at Ritterswerder in August of 1404. -
The Lithuanian Jewish Community of Telšiai
The Lithuanian Jewish Community of Telšiai By Philip S. Shapiro1 Introduction This work had its genesis in an initiative of the “Alka” Samogitian Museum, which has undertaken projects to recover for Lithuanians the true history of the Jews who lived side-by-side with their ancestors. Several years ago, the Museum received a copy of the 500-plus-page “yizkor” (memorial) book for the Jewish community of Telšiai,2 which was printed in 1984.3 The yizkor book is a collection of facts and personal memories of those who had lived in Telšiai before or at the beginning of the Second World War. Most of the articles are written in Hebrew or Yiddish, but the Museum was determined to unlock the information that the book contained. Without any external prompting, the Museum embarked upon an ambitious project to create a Lithuanian version of The Telshe Book. As part of that project, the Museum organized this conference to discuss The Telshe Book and the Jewish community of Telšiai. This project is of great importance to Lithuania. Since Jews constituted about half of the population of most towns in provincial Lithuania in the 19th Century, a Lithuanian translation of the book will not only give Lithuanian readers a view of Jewish life in Telšiai but also a better knowledge of the town’s history, which is our common heritage. The first part of this article discusses my grandfather, Dov Ber Shapiro, who was born in 1883 in Kamajai, in the Rokiškis region, and attended the Telshe Yeshiva before emigrating in 1903 to the United States, where he was known as “Benjamin” Shapiro. -
NONVIOLENT RESISTANCE in LITHUANIA a Story of Peaceful Liberation
NONVIOLENT RESISTANCE IN LITHUANIA A Story of Peaceful Liberation Grazina Miniotaite The Albert Einstein Institution www.aeinstein.org 2 CONTENTS Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1: Nonviolent Resistance Against Russification in the Nineteenth Century The Goals of Tsarism in Lithuania The Failure of Colonization The Struggle for the Freedom of Religion The Struggle for Lithuanian Press and Education Chapter 2: Resistance to Soviet Rule, 1940–1987 An Overview Postwar Resistance The Struggle for the Freedom of Faith The Struggle for Human and National Rights The Role of Lithuanian Exiles Chapter 3: The Rebirth From Perestroika to the Independence Movement Test of Fortitude The Triumph of Sajudis Chapter 4: Towards Independence The Struggle for Constitutional Change Civil Disobedience Step by Step The Rise of Reactionary Opposition Chapter 5: The Struggle for International Recognition The Declaration of Independence Independence Buttressed: the Battle of Laws First Signs of International Recognition The Economic Blockade The January Events Nonviolent Action in the January Events International Reaction 3 Chapter 6: Towards Civilian-Based Defense Resistance to the “Creeping Occupation” Elements of Civilian-Based Defense From Nonviolent Resistance to Organized Civilian-Based Defense The Development of Security and Defense Policy in Lithuania since 1992 Concluding Remarks Appendix I Appeal to Lithuanian Youth by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania Appendix II Republic in Danger! Appendix III Appeal by the Government of the Republic -
The Clash Between Pagans and Christians: the Baltic Crusades from 1147-1309
The Clash between Pagans and Christians: The Baltic Crusades from 1147-1309 Honors Research Thesis Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation with honors research distinction in History in the undergraduate colleges of The Ohio State University by Donald R. Shumaker The Ohio State University May 2014 Project Advisor: Professor Heather J. Tanner, Department of History 1 The Baltic Crusades started during the Second Crusade (1147-1149), but continued into the fifteenth century. Unlike the crusades in the Holy Lands, the Baltic Crusades were implemented in order to combat the pagan tribes in the Baltic. These crusades were generally conducted by German and Danish nobles (with occasional assistance from Sweden) instead of contingents from England and France. Although the Baltic Crusades occurred in many different countries and over several centuries, they occurred as a result of common root causes. For the purpose of this study, I will be focusing on the northern crusades between 1147 and 1309. In 1309 the Teutonic Order, the monastic order that led these crusades, moved their headquarters from Venice, where the Order focused on reclaiming the Holy Lands, to Marienberg, which was on the frontier of the Baltic Crusades. This signified a change in the importance of the Baltic Crusades and the motivations of the crusaders. The Baltic Crusades became the main theater of the Teutonic Order and local crusaders, and many of the causes for going on a crusade changed at this time due to this new focus. Prior to the year 1310 the Baltic Crusades occurred for several reasons. A changing knightly ethos combined with heightened religious zeal and the evolution of institutional and ideological changes in just warfare and forced conversions were crucial in the development of the Baltic Crusades. -
The Publication Has Been Organized Under Initiative of Šilutė District
The publication has been organized under initiative of Šilutė District Municipality and Tourism Information Centre, in order to provide information for easy access of the area, rich in its culture and nature. Šilutė district is in the western part of the Republic of Lithuania, with the Curonian Lagoon and Spit reaching the Baltic Sea. Šilutė district’s cultural heritage is different from the ones of other regions of Lithuania. Šilutė, Rusnė, Mingė, Kintai and Ventė are the settlements along the Lagoon, famous for many reconstructed buildings of earlier German architecture, and for its country homesteads. The publication is aimed for the cyclists, who choose to travel on the interval of the Nemunas Bicycle Route, which includes Usėnai – Šilininkai – Šilutė – Rusnė (Kintai). Part of the route goes on polders. Please take a notice, that this area is a borderland with the Kaliningrad Region of the Federation of Russia. Therefore you need to have your identification documents. Lithuania and especially the area along the Lagoon offer quite good conditions for cycling trips. The scenery is not too hilly, the roads are quite slow. The cyclists are suggested to choose the slowtrafffic, and some of the pedestrian tourist routes. Usėnai Usėnai is the municipal centre located 15 km south of Žemaičių Naumiestis at the railway “Klaipėda Pagėgiai”. The Veižas is the river of the village. The assembly of folk – sculptures, created by folk painters of the Samogitia (Lower Lithuania) region was built in Usėnai in 1976 m. It was dedicated to the soldiers of the 16th Lithuanian Division, who fought as a part of the Red Army in the war between the USSR and Germany.