Maciej Stryjkowski (also referred to as Strykowski and Strycovius; ca. 1547 — ca. 1593) was a Polish-Lithuanian historian, writer and a poet, notable as the author of Chronicle of Poland, Lithuania, Samogitia and all of Ruthenia (1582), considered the first printed book on the history of Lithuania^[1]. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, officially the Commonwealth of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania also known as the Most Serene Republic This article discusses the history of Lithuania and of the Lithuanians.

Maciej Stryjkowski was born around 1547 in Stryków, a small town in the Polish region of Masovia. Stryków is a town in central Poland, in Łódź Voivodeship, in Zgierz County. Masovia or Mazovia (Mazowsze is a geographic and historic region situated in eastern Poland 's Masovian Plain. He graduated from a local school in Brzeziny, after which he joined the army of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and served in the forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, though it is not certain whether he actually took part in any war. Brzeziny (Löwenstadt is a town in Poland, in Łódź Voivodeship, about 20 km east of Łódź. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, officially the Commonwealth of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania also known as the Most Serene Republic The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė old literary Lithuanian Didi Kunigiste Letuvos, Ruthenian: Wialikaje Kniastwa Litowskaje Despite being a Masovian, he spent most of his life in the Grand Duchy^[1], initially as a soldier. Around 1573, at the age of roughly 25, he retired from active service and became a protégé of Melchioras Giedraitis, the bishop of Samogitia. Samogitia ( Samogitian: Žemaitėjė, Žemaitija literally lowlands) is one of the five Ethnographic Regions of Lithuania. Eventually Stryjkowski became a Catholic priest and settled in the parish of Georgenburg, a small village in the Lithuanian-Prussian borderland. Jurbarkas ( is a city in Tauragė County, Lithuania. It is on the right-hand shore of the Neman River at its confluence with There he devoted his life to writing a monumental chronicle of the lands of Poland-Lithuania, eventually published in Königsberg in 1582. Königsberg (Karaliaučius Low German: Königsbarg; Królewiec see also other names) was until 1946 the name of Kaliningrad. The book, published under the title of Chronicle of Poland, Lithuania, Samogitia, and all of Ruthenia of Kiev, Moscow, Novgorod. . . ^[2][3] is a classic piece of literature written in the Polish language and detailed much of the history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and its parts from their legendary roots up to 1581. Polish ( język polski, polszczyzna) is the Official language of Poland. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, officially the Commonwealth of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania also known as the Most Serene Republic Some fragments of his work are written in Lithuanian language. Lithuanian ( lietuvių kalba) is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognised as one of the official languages of the European Union. ^[4]. He did also encouraged Lithuanian nobility to use Lithuanian language. The Lithuanian nobility was historically a legally privileged class in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania consisting of Lithuanian (from historical ^[4]

The chronicle was a successful compilation of earlier chronicles by Jan Długosz and Maciej Miechowita, but did also include Ruthenian letopises, folk tales and legends^[5]. Jan Długosz ( December 1 1415 - May 19, 1480) also known as Joannes Ioannes or Johannes Longinus or Dlugossius Maciej Miechowita (also known as Maciej z Miechowa Maciej of Miechów Maciej Karpiga Matthias de Miechow) (1457 &ndash 8 September 1523) was a It instantly gained much fame among the szlachta 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^[6][7][5]. Szlachta ( refers to the noble class in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (since 1569 semi-federal semi-confederal Until 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^[8]. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė old literary Lithuanian Didi Kunigiste Letuvos, Ruthenian: Wialikaje Kniastwa Litowskaje It was not until the advent of modern historiography that his chronicle started to be criticised and disputed, mainly due to his favour of the magnates, lack of distinction between legends and historic accounts and his theory on the Roman origin of the Lithuanian ruling families. Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man itself from Latin magnus 'great' designates a noble or other man in a high social position The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial

In 1577 Stryjkowski also authored a large epic poem On the beginnings of the famed nation of Lithuania (. An epic is a lengthy Narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation . . )^[9][10], which however was not published until after Stryjkowski's death. He died around the year 1593, though the exact date and place remain unknown.

See also

• Alexander Guagnini

Notes and references

External links

• Front page of Strykowski's chronicle and his contemporary portrait

Gintaras Beresnevičius ( July 8, 1961, Kaunas — August 6, 2006, Vilnius) was a Lithuanian historian of religions

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