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Historic dates sometimes
coincide in a strange way… In 1547 the first Lithuanian book was published
in Königsberg, and in the same year Motiejus Stryjkovskis (Maciej
Stryjkowski), the future author of the first printed historical book on
the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, was born in Poland. Kronika Polska,
Litewska, Żmudzka i wszystkiey Rusi, written by this man of letters and
poet, was published in 1582, also in Königsberg. Of course, this work can
hardly be called scholarly, but it served as a useful reference source for
many later authors, including Albertas Vijūkas-Kojelavičius (1609-1677),
the author of the first history of Lithuania. This professor at Vilnius
Academy wrote his two-volume Historia Litvaniae in Latin. The first volume
came out in 1650, the second – in 1669. Even this work, however, was not
a scholarly study, although it became one of the most important sources of
information about Lithuania in the whole of Europe.
Scholarly research into the history of Lithuania began in the 19th
century. Because of complicated historical circumstances, it was done by
Russian and Polish researchers. The origins of Lithuanian historiography
must be sought in the historical works of Simonas Daukantas and Motiejus
Valančius. Daukantas’ Būdas senovės lietuvių kalnėnų ir žemaičių (1845;
The Ways of the Ancient Lithuanian Highlanders and Samogitians) and
Valančius’ Žemaičių vyskupystė (1848; The Bishopric of Samogitia)
instilled pride in the past of one’s country and provided a wealth of
historical knowledge. Daukantas’ books paint a vivid and romantic mythical
picture of valiant Lithuanians in ancient times. The role of the
Samogitian Bishop Valančius, with his sober assessment of history, in
awakening Lithuanian national consciousness is not just a thing of the
past; his legacy may be relevant even today. The synthesis of national
spirit and Catholicism characteristic of Valančius embodies both an
attachment to one’s native community, one’s nation, and fidelity to
universal values.
Only after the Lithuanian state was re-established on February 16, 1918,
could Lithuanian historiography develop normally. History was taught at
the faculties of theology-philosophy, the humanities, and law of Vytautas
the Great University in Kaunas. A new generation of professional
Lithuanian historians was trained in this way, and at that time the need
arose for historiographical reflection, for a better understanding of the
work methods of historians, in a word, for what could be called a theory
of historiography. The historiography of the interwar period and, to some
extent, of Lithuanian émigrés is best represented by such names as Jonas
Totoraitis, Ignas Jonynas, Juozas Jakštas, Zenonas Ivinskis, Adolfas
Šapoka, Paulius Šležas, Simas Sužiedėlis, and others.
The occupation of Lithuania after World War II distorted the natural
development of our historiography once again. Lithuanian historians found
themselves on different sides of a barricade: on one side were those who
lived abroad, sometimes against their own will, and on the other – those
who had stayed in Lithuania and those who had been formed by the Soviet
system. Although the writings of the latter can by no means be written off
as worthless and nowadays nobody doubts the need for historiographical
reflection, this sphere of our historiography, despite the efforts of
individual enthusiasts, is still one of the most neglected. This situation
further complicates our task of presenting a conceptual view of the
present state of Lithuanian historiography. Therefore, we will confine
ourselves here to a presentation of the main research institutions for
Lithuanian history and the most important academic periodicals.
The Faculty of History at Vilnius University and the Lithuanian Institute
of History, which until 1990 belonged to the Academy of Sciences, were,
during the long years of Soviet occupation, the only Lithuanian
institutions engaged in historical research. After the restoration of
independence, new and no less active historical research institutions were
set up. The science of history became decentralized.
The Faculty of History at Vilnius University remains the main centre for
training historians (as well as archaeologists, ethnologists,
museologists, and archivists). Scholarly papers, reviews, and articles on
various topical issues contributed by instructors and students at the
Faculty and by other Lithuanian and foreign researchers appear in Lietuvos
istorijos studijos (Studies in Lithuanian History;
http://www.if.vu.lt/)
.
The Lithuanian Institute of History should probably be considered the only
institution in the world whose first and foremost priority is research
into Lithuanian history. The Institute is also actively involved in the
dissemination of knowledge about Lithuanian history in our country and
abroad. Lietuvos istorijos metraštis (The Annals of Lithuanian History),
perhaps the main periodical on this subject, with papers by Lithuanian and
foreign researchers, information about current scholarly events, reviews,
conference reports, etc., is also published by the Institute (http://www.istorija.lt/).
Among the institutions that expanded research into Lithuanian history
after the restoration of independence, the Department of History at the
Faculty of Humanities at Vytautas the Great University in Kaunas and its
Center for Lithuanian Diaspora Studies are especially noteworthy. The
University has two periodicals that publish papers on history: Kauno
istorijos metraštis (Kaunas History Annals), Darbai ir dienos (Works and
Days) (http://www.vdu.lt/).
Also, one should not overlook the historians of the Faculty of History at
Vilnius Pedagogical University who have become more active in recent
years. The VPU has its own periodical Istorija (History) (http://www.vpu.lt/lt.php).
The Center for Research into the History of Western Lithuania (established
in 1992) and the Department of History (established in 1993) at the
Faculty of Social Sciences of Klaipėda University have created an
excellent niche for themselves by concentrating on research into Western
Lithuania, Lithuania Minor, and the countries of the Baltic region. Their
main periodical is Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis (http://www.ku.lt/).
The Department of History at the Faculty of Humanities at Šiauliai
University and its Center for Research into the History of Northern
Lithuania are seeking to become another serious center for historical
research (http://www.su.lt/).
The Genocide and Resistance Research Center of Lithuania carries out
important work in the area of research into complex postwar history, the
restoration of historical justice, and the assessment of the Soviet
period. The latest research findings are published in monographs and in
the periodical Genocidas ir rezistencija (Genocide and Resistance)
(http://www.genocid.lt/).
The Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts (VAFA) and the Institute of Lithuanian
Literature and Folklore (ILLF) have made significant contributions to
research into the history of Lithuanian culture. The periodicals Acta
Academiae Artium Vilnensis, Dailė (Art), and Žemaičių praeitis (The
Samogitian Past) are of the greatest interest to the historians at the
VAFA (http://www.vda.lt/). The ILLF is
successfully expanding research into the literature of the Grand Duchy of
Lithuania and has already published over a dozen excellent books dealing
with this heritage.
In view of the radically changing role of museums in our society, one
should not pass over in silence the Lithuanian Art Museum (LAM) and the
National Museum of Lithuania (NML). In recent years the LAM has been
especially active in encouraging our society to take a greater interest in
its past and in its cultural heritage. This work is done not only through
exhibitions but also through numerous publications (http://ldmuziejus.mch.mii.lt/).
The same is also true of the NML (http://www.lnm.lt/index.asp).
Finally, we would also like to mention two publishing houses, Aidai (http://www.aidai.lt/)
and Baltos Lankos (http://www.baltoslankos.lt/),
which are interested not only in publishing original historical writings
but also in exploring wider issues of modern culture and the humanities.
This bird’s eye view of some of the aspects of Lithuanian history attests
to the vitality of research into Lithuanian culture and, more
specifically, history. For its part, this existing diversity assures
favourable conditions for the development of creative thought. If it were
not for the ever-fiercer struggle for financial resources, which makes
research institutions dependent on politicians, Lithuanian historians
could probably tackle more efficiently the problem of institutional
isolation that exists in some parts of the country and find new ways of
cooperation that would enable them to better utilize their talents for the
public good.
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