Vintsent Dunin-Marcinkievič (; ; February 8, 1808 – December 21, 1884) was a Polish- Belarusian writer, poet, dramatist and social activist and is considered one of the founders of the modern Belarusian literary tradition and national school theatre.Дунін-Марцінкевіч Вінцэнт
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Мысліцелі і асветнікі Беларусі: Энцыклапедычны даведнік. Менск: Беларуская Энцыклапедыя, 1995.

Biography

Vintsent Dunin-Marcinkievič was born in a Belarusian part of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

, in a noble family (

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

Łabędź coat of arms Łabędź ( Polish for "Swan") is a Polish coat of arms. It was used by many noble families known as ''szlachta'' in Polish in medieval Poland and later under the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, branches of the original medieval Duninowie ( ...

) in the region of

Babruysk Babruysk (, ) or Bobruysk (, ; , ) is a city in Mogilev Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Babruysk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. It is situated on the Berezina, Berezina River. Bab ...

. He graduated from the medical faculty of the

University of St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...

. He wrote both in contemporary Belarusian and Polish languages. Writing in the modern Belarusian language he faced the problem of it not being standardized, as the written tradition of the Old Belarusian (Ruthenian) language had been largely extinct by that time. From 1827 Dunin-Marcinkievič lived and worked in

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

as a bureaucrat. In 1840 he acquired a mansion near Ivyanets and went there to write most of his works. In 1859 he translated

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

's epic poem ''

Pan Tadeusz ''Pan Tadeusz'' (full title: ''Sir Thaddeus, or the Last Foray in Lithuania: A Nobility's Tale of the Years 1811–1812, in Twelve Books of Verse'') is an epic poem by the Polish people, Polish poet, writer, translator and philosopher Adam Micki ...

'' into the

Belarusian language Belarusian (, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language. It is one of the two Languages of Belarus, official languages in Belarus, the other being Russian language, Russian. It is also spoken in parts of Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Polan ...

and published it in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

. Under the pressure of

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

authorities he succeeded in publishing only the first two chapters of the poem. This was the first translation of the poem into another

Slavic language The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic, spoken during the Ear ...

. Dunin-Marcinkievič was accused by the police in separatist propaganda during the

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

. He was arrested but later set free. However, he was kept under supervision by the police. His daughter, Kamila Marcinkievič, participated in the uprising and was sentenced to the psychiatric hospital for her political activity.Silitski, Vitali and Zaprudnik, Jan. ''Historical Dictionary of Belarus''. 2nd Edition. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, 2007. 309. The writer was buried in Tupalshchyna, now

Valozhyn Valozhyn or Volozhin (, ; ; ; ; ) is a town in Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Valozhyn District. It is located northwest of the capital Minsk, on the Valozhynka River in the Neman, Neman River basin, and the begi ...

raion.

Most notable works

* Opera ''Sielanka'' (, "Idyll"; 1846) — the first play, written partly in contemporary Belarusian language. * Poem "Hapon" (; 1855) — the first poem, written completely in contemporary Belarusian. * Plays and poetry, some of them in contemporary Belarusian (1855–1861), some of them being: ** "Wieczernice i Opętany" (1856); ** "Interested? Read it! Three tales and brief verse" (; 1857); ** "Belarusian piper" (); ** "Bylicy, raskazy Nawuma" (; not published); ** "Chalimon na karanacji" (; not published); ** "Lucynka czyli Szwedzi na Litwie" (1861). * Play '' Pinskaja šliachta'' (, "Pinsk nobility", ; 1866). * The first Belarusian translation of A. Mickiewicz's ''

'' (1859; published only partly, the circulation confiscated almost immediately). Note: proper names and place names are rendered in

BGN/PCGN BGN/PCGN romanization are the systems for romanization and Roman-script spelling conventions adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) and the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use (PCGN). The system ...

References

External links

Virtual guide to Belarus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunin-Martsinkyevich, Vintsent 1808 births 1884 deaths People from Babruysk district People from Bobruysky Uyezd Vintsent Belarusian male writers Belarusian male poets Belarusian translators 19th-century Belarusian writers 19th-century translators 19th-century Belarusian poets 19th-century Polish male writers 19th-century Polish poets Polish writers in Belarusian Belarusian writers in Polish Belarusian nobility