Baltic Knowledge Pages

The dominant language spoken in the modern-day territory of Lithuania, changed according to the nationality of the rulers at the time, and where in the kingdom, duchy or commonwealth you resided.

With the crowning of King Mindaugas, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania began to form, and its’ administrative language was Ruthenian. Latin, German and Polish were also used to record laws and write documents, and it is not until the 16th century that the Lithuanian language was written down — a Southern Aukštaitijan translation of the Catechism.

With the union of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy in 1569, the nobility spoke Polish and Latin as a second language, and Lithuanian and Ruthenian were spoken by the peasantry.

Onomastics

• Origin and History of the Village Name Dainava [PDF]
• Feminine Names from the Gediminid Line of Lithuania by Walraven van Nijmegen (Brian R. Speer)
• Lithuanian Names by William R. Schmalstieg Lituanus 28(3) 1982
• Annotated Bibliography of Lithuanian and Latvian Given Names by Aryanhwy merch Catmael (Sara L. Friedemann)
• XVI–XVII a. Lietuvos totori? moter? ?vardijimo b?dai [Ways of Naming Lithuanian Tartar Women in the 16-17th Centuries] by J?rat? ?ir?nait?. Lituanistica Vol.3, 2004
• Didik? ?vardijimas Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštyst?s kariuomen?s dokumentuose [Naming of Nobility in the Military Documents of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania] by J?rat? ?ir?nait?. Lituanistica Vol.3 2003
• Academy of St. Gabriel Report 3164: ‘help constructing a name appropriate for a Lithuanian woman… between 1300 and 1500.’
• For place-name history, see the list of articles from Žiemgala.
• For the names of gods, Jan ?asicki (1534–1602) wrote De diis Samagitarum (first published 1615). A 19th century copy is available via GoogleBooks.

Lithuanian

• General

• Senieji Rastai Database of ‘old’ Lithuanian writings, digitised.
• Books, in the Lithuanian Language
• Postcards of 16th century Lithuanian books. From Year of the Lithuanian Book, 1547-1997.
• 16th century Lithuanian Books from the National Library of Lithuania
• The Lithuanian Classic Literature Anthology, by UNESCO
• Historical Collections of the Vilnius University Library, by UNESCO. Photo gallery.
• Lietuvi? kalbos žodynas (Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language) and here.“The Dictionary aims to give the words and illustrate their usage by quotations culled from all kinds of writings and dialect records from the period between the year 1547, i.e. the publication of the first Lithuanian book, and 2001.”

• Selected Pages from M. Mažvydas’ Catechismus and Other Publications
• Recordings of hymns from the catechismus.
• Year of the Lithuanian Book, 1547-1997: 450th anniversary of the first Lithuanian book by Martynas Mažvydas
• Alfonsas Šesplaukis The Martynas Mažvydas Catechism of 1547: The First Lithuanian Book in the Light of New Research Lituanus (19:3) 1973
• The Appeal of The Small Book Itself Unto Lithuanians and Samogitians. At the Classic Lithuanian Literature Anthology.
• About Martynas Mažvydas. At the Classic Lithuanian Literature Anthology.

• The Lithuanian Postilla from 1573 – A Critical Edition

• Wikipedia entry on Jonas Bretk?nas, including two pictures from the book.

• Translated from the Polish Postylla Katolicka by Jokubas Vujekas
• Mikalojus Daukša. Postilla catholicka.
• The Preface Unto Benevolent Reader at the Classic Lithuanian Literature Anthology.

Ruthenian

• Scan of a record of a tribunal in the Grand Duchy, 1586.
• Historical Documents of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania has photos of documents written in Ruthenian, Latin and Polish.
• Page from the Lithuanian Metrica, more information on Wikipedia.
• Metrics of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Polish

• Historical Documents of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania has photos of documents written in Ruthenian, Latin and Polish.
• Titles of Nobility and Rank, as translated by the Society for Creative Anachronism. So, probably not the most accurate source, but may still be useful.

Latin

• Historical Documents of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania has photos of documents written in Ruthenian, Latin and Polish.
• Mikalojus Husovianas The Song about Bison, Its Stature, Ferocity and Hunt 1523.