Kristijonas donelaitis biography of william

Lesson 6: Lithuanian

Virginija Vasiliauskiene and Jonathan Slocum

The foundations for the flourishing of Lithuanian culture of the 18th century were laid in the previous two centuries. In the 16th and 17th centuries, a collective tradition for the production of religious and linguistic works had been created, and in Daniel Klein's grammar, norms for the written language had been codified. The distinguished literary historian Jùrgis Lebedỹs has emphasized that, without Jõnas Bretkū́nas, the greatest producer of religious literature at the end of the 16th century and the translator of the Bible, Kristijõnas Doneláitis () would never have become famous.

Kristijõnas Doneláitis as a poet was nurtured by the cultural milieu of 18th century East Prussia. At the age of 29 he was appointed pastor of the small East Prussian parish Tolminkiemis, where he lived until his death. He loved the simple and unhurried life. He had not only poetic talent, but also golden hands: he ma

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