The Handwritten Litevský slovník [Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language] in the Context of the Czech Baltic Studies in the First Half of The Handwritten Litevský slovník [Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language] in the Context of the Czech Baltic Studies in the First Half of the 19th Century: The Conceptual Plan of the Dictionary and the Question of Authorship
Abstract
This study focuses on the manuscript Litevský slovník [Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language] (shelf mark IV A 11), kept at the Department of Manuscripts and Early Printed Books of the National Museum Library. This handwritten lexicographic relic is dated to the first half of the 19th century and contains 1,701 entries.
The nature of the Lithuanian Dictionary determines its significance. It is a comprehensive and complete philological study (organised alphabetically from A to Ž) that tries to answer crucial questions of Balto-Slavic relations.
This article places the Lithuanian Dictionary within the context of Czech Baltic studies, particularly focusing on the matter of its authorship. Concerning this question, the article builds on previous research, in which F.
L. Čelakovský was suggested as the likely author of the Dictionary. It updates previous research and adds new findings revealed by a professional handwriting analysis.
A separate chapter focuses on the nature of the work, demonstrating the character of the Lithuanian Dictionary on several examples.