Francysk Skaryna was a Belarusian thinker, writer, publicist and translator, artist and printing pioneer, the founder of the Belarusian and East Slavonic book-printing, enlightener-humanist, Doctor of Medicine. He left his footprint in the history as the "father" of Eastern European book printing. He was the first to print the Bible in the Old Belarusian language in 1517.
Background
Frantsysk Skaryna was born on March 6, 1486 into the merchants’ family in Polatsk (now Polotsk, Vitebsk region, Belarus), one of the largest economic, political and cultural centers of Belarus of that time. In the forewords and afterwords to his books he mentioned his origin from "the glorious city of Polatsk" with honour and dignity. His father Luka and his elder brother Ivan were leather wholesale merchants (their family name is supposed to originate from the word skora, skura, i.e. "leather").
Education
Francysk Skaryna learned to read and write at home, and later studied Latin at a school run by the Polotsk Bernardine Monastery founded on the initiative of Alexander I Jagiellon in 1498. He may have got his elementary education in Vilna (Vilnius). In 1504 Francysk Skaryna entered the Liberal Arts (Philosophy) Faculty of Krakow University, one of the oldest and the most reputable universities of Europe, where he was awarded a Bachelor degree on December 14, 1506.
In his student years, Francysk Skaryna also showed an interest in medicine. His biographers note that he received a Master’s degree in Medicine from his alma mater, and graduated as a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Padua in 1512.
Career
In Krakow, which by c.1490 Francysk Skaryna realized the educational and scientific possibilities of a printed book. No one knows now where he was and what he was doing between the years 1507 and 1511. Most probably, Francysk Skaryna continued his education in one of the European universities (in Krakow, Prague, Copenhagen or, possibly, somewhere in Germany), extended his knowledge of philosophy, history, law, nature, medicine. At that time he got the Doctor’s degree in Liberal Arts (Philosophy).
In autumn of 1512, being a secretary to the king of Denmark Francysk Skaryna arrived in Italy, a cradle of Renaissance, in Padua, where the board of 14 scholars of the famous Padua University examined him publicly on November 6 and 9 "in the strictest manner" before awarding him the degree of the Doctor of Medicine. Then "in the order established" Skaryna was proclaimed Doctor of Medicine and the insignias of Doctorship were handed in to him.
There is again a blank space in the knowledge of Skaryna’s activities in 1513-1516 because of the absence of historical sources. Having achieved the highest European education level, he did not become an armchair scholar, but chose the path of great deed - educating his people in their native language. It was then that he decided to devote himself to book printing, enlisted the financial support of his prosperous compatriots in Vilna (from Bahdan Onkau, Yakub Babich and Yury Advernik) and in Polatsk (from Frantsysk’s brother Ivan).
In the late 1519 or the early 1520 Francysk Skaryna decided to move his printing house to the east of Europe – to Vilna (Vilnius), the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He established it in the house of Vilna’s burgomaster Yakub Babich. In 1522 he published there A Small Travel Book and in 1525 The Apostle, with his own forewords and afterwords. Since the mid-l520s Skaryna served as secretary of Vilna bishop Jan and was engaged in medical activities.
As for Skaryna’s further life and activities there exist both exact facts and hypotheses: that about 1522 he made a trip to Wittenberg, where he met the initiators of Reformation movement Luther and Melanchthon; that after 1525 he went to Moscow together with Bahdan Onkau, where he evidently had the intention to found a new printing house. But the books brought by him to Moscow, were confiscated and burnt as having been published by the representative of Roman Catholic Church.
In 1529, Skaryna’s wife passed away, having left him their two sons, and then his brother Ivan died. His wife’s relatives demanded through the court of justice that he should return her realty, invested into the publishing business. His brother’s creditors, in whose trade operations Skaryna participated, began to demand his brother’s debts repay. Probably, the financial difficulties forced Skaryna to ask for help from the Prussian King Albert in Konigsberg who ennobled him. However, the claimants to his wife’s heritage and his brother’s creditors managed to get Skaryna arrested. From March to June of 1532 he was imprisoned in Poznan. He was rescued by his nephew Raman, who managed to get an audience with the Polish King and the Grand Prince of Lithuania Sigismund II and to prove to him that Skaryna was not to be responsible for his brother’s debts. The king liberated Skaryna and rewarded him the privilege to be subjected only to the royal court jurisdiction.
The life troubles which fell upon Francysk Skaryna made him take the decision in 1535 to leave the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, his homeland, for Prague - this time forever. He was employed by the Czech King Ferdinand II Habsburg as a gardener and a botanist in the newly founded garden in Hradcany. There he spent the last period of his life.
Francysk Skaryna died at the end of 1551 or at the beginning of 1552. His burial ground is still unknown.
Achievements
Religion
It is not known for sure whether Francysk Skaryna was Catholic or Orthodox. His name is Catholic, but it is often suggested that he changed it before entering the university. A single copy of a document in which he is called Georgius Franciscus instead of just Franciscus gave birth to a theory that Georgius was his original name; today, however, it is mostly accepted to be a scribe's error (the presumed correct reading being egregius Franciscus, venerable Francysk). In any case the once popular theory that he changed his name from Georgius to Franciscus to be able to enter the university is without ground: the name Georgius was equally popular among the Catholic and the Orthodox in the region, and in fact in Skaryna's year there were more students named Georgius than Franciscus in Kraków.
Views
Francysk Skaryna understood the importance of the mother tongue as the factor, which promotes the integrity of a nation, its unity and national identity. That is why he consolidated the role of his native language in the literature of world significance - in the Bible - as equal, "given by God", alongside with the classical, generally accepted as canonic, languages - Latin, Greek, Old Jewish. He proved its right to "sacredness". And that was his great public service to his people and the entire Slavic World.
Personality
Francysk Skaryna was a great patriot and a devoted son of his people. In spite of the fact that he studied and worked in Western Europe, he did not break up with his homeland and devoted all his ability and energy to serving "common people" for the extension of education in his country. The knowledge he got at the universities of Poland and Italy were transmitted to his own people.
Connections
In Vilna, Francysk Skaryna married the widow of Yury Advernik, his maecenas, a member of Vilna City Council. They had a son Simeon Rus Skaryna.
Father:
Luka Skaryna
Spouse:
Margarita
Brother:
Ivan Skaryna
Son:
Simeon Rus Skaryna
References
Francisk Skorina
Francsk Skorina (also Francysk Skaryna) was a Belarusian humanist, physician, translator and one of the first book printers in Eastern Europe, laying groundwork for the development of the Belarusian language.