BA_11 The Old Literature of Lithuania

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2023
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Taught in person.
Teacher(s)
doc. Mag. Vaidas Šeferis, Dr. phil. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mag. Vaidas Šeferis, Dr. phil.
Department of Linguistics and Baltic Languages – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Linguistics and Baltic Languages – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Fri 14:00–15:40 D33
Prerequisites
The course is primarily designed for students of full-time Baltic studies, but as an optional subject is open to anyone interested.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 21 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
This course provides an overview of Lithuanian literature and the wider cultural context from the Middle Ages to the 19th century. The aim of the course is to introduce students to the most important texts of Lithuanian literature, to provide an expert interpretation of them, and to illuminate the cultural processes that generated these texts.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course students should be able to:
- understand and explain the religious diversity of the Lithuanian culture;
- understand and explain multi-lingual character of the Lithuanian literature
- characterize main historical periods of Lithuanian literature (such as reformation, renaissance, baroque, romanticism)
- understand the most-important text of Lithuanian literature from the middle ages to the 19th century.
Syllabus
  • The oral culture in Lithuania and its historical significance, examples of Lithuanian folk-songs.
  • The beginning of the written word in Lithuania: the Latin letters of the King Mindaugas and the Grand Duke Gediminas.
  • First handwritten monuments in the Lithuanian language.
  • First Lithuanian printed book. A detailed analysis of Mažvydas's "Catechism" of 1547.
  • The religious concurrence of Reformation and Catholicism, and its influence on the development of Lithuanian literature.
  • Jesuits and their publishing activities. A detailed analysis of Daukša's 'Postilla" of 1599.
  • The Ruthenian language and its significance in the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: Lithuanian statutes, Lithuanian Metricks (i.e. the archive of the Grand Duke court), Skaryna and his publishing activities.
  • Masterpieces of the old Lithuanian literature: Donelaitis and his epos "Metai" (The Seasons)
  • Masterpieces of the old Lithuanian literature: Baranauskas and his "Anykščių šilelis" (The forest of Anykščiai).
  • Prominent personalities and texts of the Lithuanian national revival.
Literature
    required literature
  • Kristijonas Donelaitis, Roční doby, Praha 1960
  • Martynas Mažvydas and Old Lithuania (collection of papers), Vilnius 1998
  • Antanas Baranauskas, "Anykščių šilelis" (přeložila Eva Křivánková, rukopis na vyžádání)
  • ŠEFERIS, Vaidas and Petra HEBEDOVÁ. Středověké písemnictví v Pobaltí (Medieval Literature in the Baltic). In Jan, Libor; Kostrhun Petr; Nerudová, Zdeňka. Svět tajemných Baltů. The World of the Mysterious Balts. 1st ed. Brno: Moravské zemské muzeum. p. 201-213. ISBN 978-80-7028-414-8. 2013. info
  • ŠEFERIS, Vaidas. Jonas Basanavičius v Praze 1882-1884 - Jonas Basanavičius Prahoje 1882-1884 (Jonas Basanavičius in Prague 1882-1884). Studia territorialia. Praha: Karolinum, roč. II, č. 1, p. 43-64. ISSN 1804-4247. 2012. URL info
  • ŠEFERIS, Vaidas. Recepce díla Kristijonase Donelaitise v českých zemích (The Reception of Donelaitis' Work in Czech Lands). In Baltské jazyky v proměnách metod. 1. vyd. Brno: Masarykova univerzita. p. 63-77. ISBN 978-80-210-4623-8. 2008. info
  • ŠEFERIS, Vaidas and Vaida KNABIKAITE. Z dějin litevské stylistiky (A Survey of the History of the Lithuanian Stylistics). Slovo a slovesnost. Praha: Akademie věd ČR, ÚJČ, vol. 2006, No 67, p. 120-145, 25 pp. ISSN 0037-7031. 2004. info
    recommended literature
  • BERESNEVIČIŪTĖ-NOSÁLOVÁ, Halina. Litva. 1. vyd. Praha: Libri. 190 s. ISBN 8072773003. 2006. info
  • ŠVEC, Luboš, Vladimír MACURA and Pavel ŠTOL. Dějiny pobaltských zemí. Praha: Lidové noviny. 423 s. ISBN 80-7106-154-9. 1996. info
  • Z. Kiaupa, The History of Lithuania, Vilnius 2002
  • ŠEFERIS, Vaidas. The Borderland between Conflicting Canons : Kristijonas Donelaitis. In Kučinskiené, Aisté; Šeina, Viktorija; Speičyté, Brigita. Literary Canon Formation as Nation-Building in Central Europe and the Baltics : 19th to Early 20th Century. Leiden: Brill. p. 230-255. ISBN 978-90-04-39839-9. doi:10.1163/9789004457713_015. 2021. Conference Paper Abstracts info
  • ŠEFERIS, Vaidas. Kristijonas Donelaitis a jeho "Metai" : hledání koheze (Kristijonas Donelaitis a jeho "Metai" : in the search of cohesion). In Videopřednáška. 2020. Kompletní záznam videopřednášky info
  • ŠEFERIS, Vaidas. Kristijono Donelaičio metų rišlumas : monografija. Vilnius: Lietuvių literatūros ir tautosakos institutas. 338 s. ISBN 9786094251344. 2014. info
  • ŠEFERIS, Vaidas. Karel Janáček. Přízvukování u Donalitia : Donelaičio kirčiavimas (Karel Janáček. Donalitius' Accentuation). 1st ed. Brno: Neuveden. 248 pp. ISBN 978-80-7399-896-7. 2009. info
  • SLABIHOUDOVÁ, Naděžda, Alena VLČKOVÁ and Pavel ŠTOLL. Slovník pobaltských spisovatelů : estonská, litevská a lotyšská literatura. 1. vyd. Praha: Libri. 293 s. ISBN 8072771817. 2003. info
  • WANDYCZ, Piotr S. Střední Evropa v dějinách : od středověku do současnosti : cena svobody. Translated by Jaroslav Valenta. Vydání 1. Praha: Academia. 301 stran. ISBN 8020006575. 1998. info
Teaching methods
Lectures, reading and interpretation; presentations
Assessment methods
Participation in the lectures is a prerequisite for successful completion of the course. The course ends with a written exam.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2021.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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