What Prussian Lithuanian Lutheran pastor and poet wrote "The Seasons" a masterpiece of early Lithuanian literature thatdepicts everyday life of Lithuanian peasants, their struggle with serfdom, and the annual cycle of life?
Kristijonas Donelaitis Kristijonas Donelaitis (1 January 1714 – 18 February 1780; Latin: "Christian Donalitius" ) was a Prussian Lithuanian Lutheran pastor and poet. He lived and worked in Lithuania Minor, a territory in the Kingdom of Prussia, that had a sizable minority of ethnic Lithuanians. He wrote the first classic Lithuanian language poem, "The Seasons" (Lithuanian: "Metai" ), which became one of the principal works of Lithuanian poetry. The poem, a classic work of Lithuanian literature, depicts everyday life of Lithuanian peasants, their struggle with serfdom, and the annual cycle of life.
Lithuania proper Lithuania proper (Latin: "Lithuania propria" , literally: "Genuine Lithuania"; Lithuanian: "Didžioji Lietuva" ; Yiddish: ליטע‎ , "Lite") refers to a region which existed within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and where the Lithuanian language was spoken. The primary meaning is identical to the Duchy of Lithuania, a land around which the Grand Duchy of Lithuania evolved. The territory can be traced by Catholic Christian parishes established in pagan Baltic lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania subsequent to the Christianization of Lithuania in 1387. They were quite distinguishable, since Ruthenian parts of the Duchy have been already baptised in an orthodox manner. The term in Latin was widely used during the Middle Ages and can be found in numerous historical maps until World War I.