Vilnius university / Ugnius Bagdonavičius photo
To mark the 400th anniversary of the first publication of Matthias Casimirus Sarbievius's most famous collection of Latin poetry, Lyricorum libri tres, 2025 has been declared the Year of Baroque Literature in Lithuania. Sarbievius, a neo-Latin Jesuit poet from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, was known as the 'Christian or Sarmatian Horace'. His theoretical ideas on poetry and rhetoric are still valued, inspiring new research on Baroque literature and authors. This anniversary therefore provides an opportunity to explore the scope and diversity of Baroque literary culture, an area that has attracted considerable interest in recent decades, both academically and in popular culture. To mark this occasion, the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore and the Faculty of Philology at Vilnius University have organised an international scientific conference entitled 'Ratio, affectus, sensus: Literary Baroque Culture in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania'.
Vilnius university / Ugnius Bagdonavičius photo
After welcoming conference participants from around the world, Prof. Rimvydas Petrauskas, the rector of Vilnius University, noted that the prominent Baroque poet Matthias Casimirus Sarbievius was an alumnus, and professor of our University. In his presentation, he emphasised the spirit of internationalism that has prevailed at Vilnius University since its foundation.
'Vilnius University has been an international learning hub since the very outset of its founding. The first professors came from Bohemia, the first rector was Polish, a Portuguese scholar wrote the oldest surviving dissertation, the longest-serving rector was Spanish, the first law professors were from Germany, while the first professors of medicine hailed from France and Austria. Sarbievius also belonged to this international community of distinguished thinkers who shaped the identity of the university as a 'universitas magistrorum et scholarium,' emphasized Professor Rimvydas Petrauskas, Rector of Vilnius University.
Vilnius university / Ugnius Bagdonavičius photo
This multidisciplinary conference aims to stimulate discussion about the literary culture of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the 'long 17th century' (from the end of the 16th century to the mid-18th century). This historical period is associated with dramatic changes and a general cultural crisis and is often described as contradictory, characterised by constant tension between reason and emotion, strict structure and passion. Considering this, we invite you to examine Baroque literature through the lens of the dynamic interplay between reason (ratio), emotion (affectus) and the senses (sensus), evident in various genres of the period and their subsequent reception that preserved the Baroque spirit.