Where and when was Francis Skaryna born. Francysk Skaryna: interesting facts. Educational activities of F. Skaryna

Francis Skorina is the most famous Russian (Western Russian) scientist and printer of the 16th century.

In modern Belarus, he is considered one of the most prominent personalities in the history of mankind, his name was given to the university, medals and orders. Monuments to Skaryna have been erected in several Belarusian cities.

Perhaps, in reality, Skaryna's personality was not as outstanding as Belarusian propagandists believe, but his merits are quite great.

Francysk Skaryna was known as a doctor of medicine, but he became more famous as a book printer, humanist and public figure.

Biography

Francysk Lukich Skaryna was born around 1490, was the son of a merchant Luka or Lukyan Skaryna. It is curious that this Luka was known as a swindler - together with another merchant, a certain Prokofiev, he stole forty-two rubles from a visitor from Velikie Luki.

The future first printer was born in Polotsk, an ancient Russian city, which was then part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. For some time, researchers believed that the real name of the scientist was George.

The name Francis, indeed, seems unusual for a Russian person. But later it was found that the entry of Georgii in one of the documents is just a misprint instead of egregium, which means "outstanding", as Skorina was characterized in the privilege (letter) of King Sigismund.

Skorina received his initial education in his native Polotsk, in the Bernardine monastery founded shortly after his birth. There he, among other things, studied Latin. Subsequently, Skaryna studied at the University of Krakow for a long time.

It is curious that Ivan Fedorov, the Moscow printing pioneer, also studied there. He studied "free arts", as well as medicine. As a medical student, he passed the exam at the University of Padua, which he passed brilliantly.

First published books

His first East Slavic book, The Psalter, was published by Francysk Skaryna in 1517 in Prague. It is considered the first printed book in the Belarusian language. Actually, the Belarusian language as such did not exist at that time, and the language of Skaryna's books is called the Western Russian version of Church Slavonic.

This language contains a certain number of dialectisms, Polish and Czech words. For several years after this, Skorina published 23 more biblical books. In 1520 he moved to Vilna and continued his work there; the printing house opened by him became the very first in Lithuania. Here he publishes the "Small road book" and "Apostle".

Francysk Skaryna had many sponsors and patrons; among them is the famous Prince Konstantin Ostrozhsky, who in every possible way supported the spread of enlightenment in the Western Russian lands. Another well-known patron of Skaryna was Yakub Babich, the mayor of Vilna, in whose house the printing house was located.

"Small Road Book" is one of the very first natural science works in the East Slavic language. It outlines some of the ideas of Ptolemaic astronomy and, in addition, publishes accurate forecasts of lunar and solar eclipses until 1530. The content of the book sharply contradicted church dogma, which declared eclipses beyond the control of human reason.

It is important that the book was accessible to a relatively wide circle of ordinary readers. For the first time in Russia, enlightenment became widespread. Skaryna also published the Russian Bible. However, it was not approved by either the Catholic or Orthodox Church due to improper design: the cover was decorated with the coat of arms of the printer and symbols of knowledge and enlightenment, a preface from the publisher was placed in front of the biblical text, as well as engravings with his image. He violated church canons and an independent translation of the Bible, carried out by Skaryna.

Religion

Diversely educated, lively and active scientist Francysk Skaryna left us one riddle that has not yet been solved. What religion did Skaryna belong to? There are very numerous data, some of which confirm his Orthodox faith, others - adherence to Catholicism or Uniatism, and still others - connection with Protestantism.

Arguments in favor of Catholicism:

Skaryna went to Moscow, from where he was expelled as a "Catholic" and "heretic", and his books were burned.
The activities of Skaryna were criticized by the Orthodox Prince Kurbsky, and even after he fled from Moscow to Lithuania.
Some documents also testify that the Skorin family was Catholic, and some of its members were even priests.
The name Francis is clearly not Orthodox.

Other facts speak in favor of Orthodoxy:

Until 1498, there was no Catholic mission in Polotsk (and Francis was born in 1490 or earlier), so it is unlikely that he was baptized in the Latin rite as a child.
His "Psalter" is divided into 20 kathismas, as required by the Orthodox tradition.
The "Small Road Book" contains calendars based on the Orthodox calendar; they mention Orthodox saints - Russian and some Serbian, but not a single Catholic one (including St. Francis of Assisi, after whom, apparently, he was named).
In the Creed, there is no "filioque" in his books.
Supporting the activities of Skaryna, Prince Konstantin Ostrozhsky was a zealot of Orthodoxy.

The non-Orthodox name Francisk (Frantishek) was very popular in Poland and Lithuania and could be a civil, non-church name of Skaryna.

The diploma of successful passing of exams at the University of Padua Skaryna was not issued in the church of Padua, as tradition required, in this church it was customary to award diplomas only to Catholic graduates, and everyone else received it in another agreed place.

There are, however, documents in which Skaryna is called a "Hussite heretic", as well as a Protestant - a supporter of Martin Luther. There are records that he allegedly met with Luther in person, but quarreled with him and even got into a fight. One way or another, the religion of Francysk Skaryna remains the subject of heated debate.

Skorina died around 1551.

(Fransysk (Francishak) Lukich Skaryna) - Belarusian scientist, philosopher, physician (doctor of medical sciences), pioneer printer and educator, founder of East Slavic book printing, translator of the Bible into the Belarusian edition (revision) of the Church Slavonic language.

It is believed that Francysk Skaryna was born April 24, 1490 (520 years ago) in Polotsk (Grand Duchy of Lithuania) in the family of a merchant Luka. There are many opinions about the exact date, and even the year of his birth. Researcher Gennady Lebedev, relying on the works of Polish and Czech scientists, believed that Skorina was born around 1482.

He received his primary education in Polotsk. Presumably, in 1504 he becomes a student at the University of Krakow - the exact date is unknown, since the record, which is traditionally referred to - “In [the period] of the rectorship of the venerable father Mr. Jan Amitsin from Krakow, doctor of arts and canon law, by the grace of God and the apostolic throne of the Bishop of Laodicene and the suffragan of Krakow, as well as the pleban [church] of St. Nicholas outside the walls of Krakow, in the winter semester in the summer of the Lord 1504, the following [persons] are inscribed [...] Francis son of Luke from P[o]lotsk, 2 grosz, "can also refer to any Francis from the Polish city of Plock, especially since the amount of 2 grosz contributed by the "applicant" Francis, at that time was small even for a merchant's son.

Francysk Lukich Skaryna. USSR stamp, 1988

In 1506, Skaryna graduated from the faculty of "seven free arts" (grammar, rhetoric, dialectics, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music) with a bachelor's degree, later received the title of licentiate of medicine and a doctorate in "free arts", as evidenced by a clear act record: "Francis of Polotsk, Litvin".

After that, for another five years, Skaryna studied in Krakow at the Faculty of Medicine, and defended the degree of Doctor of Medicine on November 9, 1512, having successfully passed the exams at the University of Padua in Italy, where there were enough specialists to confirm this defense. Contrary to popular belief, Skaryna did not study at the University of Padua, but arrived there precisely to pass the exam for a scientific degree, as evidenced by the university record dated November 5, 1512: “... a very learned, poor young man arrived, a doctor of arts, originally from very remote countries, perhaps four thousand miles or more from this glorious city, in order to increase the glory and splendor of Padua, and also the flourishing assembly of philosophers of the gymnasium and our holy College. He turned to the College with a request to allow him, as a gift and a special favor, to undergo the grace of God for trials in the field of medicine at this holy College. If, Your Excellencies, if you permit, I will introduce him himself. The young man and the aforementioned doctor bears the name of Mr. Francis, the son of the late Luka Skaryna from Polotsk, Rusyns ... ”On November 6, 1512, Skaryna passed trial tests, and on November 9 he brilliantly passed a special exam and received medical dignity.

In 1517, he founded a printing house in Prague and published the Psalter, the first printed Belarusian book, in Cyrillic. In total, during the years 1517-1519, he translated and published 23 books of the Bible. Skaryna's patrons were Bogdan Onkov, Yakub Babich, as well as the prince, voivode of Trok and the Grand Hetman of Lithuania Konstantin Ostrozhsky.

In 1520 he moved to Vilnius and founded the first printing house on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL). In it, Skaryna publishes the Small Travel Book (1522) and The Apostle (1525).

In 1525, one of the sponsors of the Vilna printing house, Yuri Odvernik, died, and Skaryna's publishing activity stopped. He marries Odvernik's widow Margarita (she died in 1529, leaving a small child). A few years later, other patrons of Skaryna died one by one - Vilna steward Yakub Babich (in whose house there was a printing house), then Bogdan Onkov, and in 1530 the governor of Trok Konstantin Ostrozhsky.

In 1525 the last Master of the Teutonic Order Albrecht of Brandenburg carried out the secularization of the Order and proclaimed instead a secular Duchy of Prussia, vassal to the king of Poland. The master was fascinated by reformist changes, which primarily concerned the church and school. For book publishing Albrecht in 1529 or 1530 invited Francysk Skaryna to Königsberg. The duke himself writes: “Not so long ago we received the glorious husband Francysk Skaryna from Polotsk, doctor of medicine, the most respected of your citizens, who arrived in our possession and the Principality of Prussia, as our subject, nobleman and beloved faithful servant. Further, since the affairs, property, wife, children whom he left with you are his name from here, then, leaving there, he humbly asked us to entrust your guardianship by our letter ... ".

In 1529, the elder brother of Francysk Skaryna, Ivan, dies, whose creditors put forward property claims to Francis himself (apparently, hence the hasty departure with a letter of recommendation from Duke Albrecht). So, Skorina did not stay in Königsberg and after a few months returned to Vilnius, taking with him a printer and a Jewish doctor. The purpose of the act is unknown, but Duke Albrecht was offended by the “stealing” of specialists and already on May 26, 1530, in a letter to the Vilna governor Albert Gostold, he demanded that these people be returned to the duchy.

On February 5, 1532, the creditors of the late Ivan Skaryna, having filed a complaint with the Grand Duke and King Sigismund I, sought the arrest of Francis for his brother’s debts under the pretext that Skorina supposedly hides the property inherited from the deceased and constantly moves from place to place (although in fact in fact, Ivan's son Roman was the heir, but the creditors, most likely, did not lie about the frequent relocations). Francysk Skaryna spent several months in a Poznan prison until his nephew Roman got a meeting with the king, to whom he explained the matter. May 24, 1532 Sigismund I issues a decree on the release of Francysk Skaryna from prison. On June 17, the Poznan court finally decided the case in favor of Skaryna. And on November 21 and 25, King Sigismund, having sorted out the case with the help of Bishop Jan, issues two privileged charters (privileges), according to which Francysk Skaryna is not only declared innocent and receives freedom, but also all kinds of benefits - protection from any prosecution (except for royal decree), protection from arrests and complete inviolability of property, exemption from duties and city services, as well as "from the jurisdiction and power of each and every one - governor, castellan, elders and other dignitaries, judges and all sorts of judges."

In 1534, Francysk Skorina made a trip to the Principality of Moscow, from where he was expelled as a Catholic, and his books were burned (see the letter of 1552 from the King of the Commonwealth, Zhygimont II August, to Albert Krichka, his ambassador in Rome under Pope Julius III).

Around 1535, Skaryna moved to Prague, where, most likely, she worked as a doctor or, unlikely, as a gardener at the royal court. The widespread version that Skaryna held the position of royal gardener at the invitation of King Ferdinand I and founded the famous garden on Gradchany has no serious grounds. Czech researchers, and after them foreign historians of architecture, adhere to the canonical theory that the "garden on the Castle" (see Prague Castle) was founded in 1534 by invited Italians Giovanni Spazio and Francesco Bonaforde. The proximity of the names Francesco - Francis gave rise to a version of Skorina's gardening activities, especially since the correspondence between Ferdinand I and the Bohemian Chamber clearly states: "master Francis", "Italian gardener", who received a payment and left Prague around 1539. However, in the letter of 1552 of Ferdinand I to the son of the then deceased Francysk Skaryna Simeon, there is the phrase "our gardener."

Belarusian scientist, philosopher, physician

For some time it was believed that the second estate of Francysk Skaryna was the name George. For the first time, they began to talk about this in the second half of the 19th century, after in 1858 copies of two letters of the king and Grand Duke Sigismund I were published in Latin. In one of them, the name of the first printer was preceded by the Latin adjective egregium meaning "excellent, famous", while in the second, the meaning of the word egregium was given as georgii. This single form served as a basis for some researchers to believe that Skaryna's real name was George. And only in 1995, the Belarusian historian and bibliologist Georgy Golenchenko found the original text of Sigismund's privilege, in which the well-known fragment "with George" was stated as follows: "... egregium Francisci Scorina de Poloczko artium et medicine doctoris". The scribal error caused a controversy over the name of the first printer, which lasted for more than 100 years.

Biography

Francysk Skaryna was born at the end of the 15th century in Polotsk, one of the largest cities in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, in the family of a merchant Luka. Researcher Gennady Lebedev, relying on the works of Polish and Czech scientists, believed that Skorina was born around 1482, Grigory Golenchenko - around 1490 or in the second half of the 1480s.

He received his primary education in Polotsk. Latin language studied at the school of Bernardine monks, which worked at the monastery.

Presumably, in 1504 he became a student at the Krakow Academy (University), but the exact date of admission to the university is unknown. In 1506, Skaryna graduated from the Faculty of Free Arts with a bachelor's degree, later received the title of licentiate of medicine and the degree of Doctor of Free Arts.

And Van Fedorov is revered in Russia as the first printer. But Francis Skorina "from the glorious city of Polotsk" published his "Russian Bible" fifty years before Ivan Fedorov. And in it he clearly indicated that this book was "written for all Russian people." Francysk Skaryna is a Belarusian and East Slavonic first printer, translator, publisher and artist. The son of a people living on the European border, he brilliantly combined in his work the traditions of the Byzantine East and the Latin West. Thanks to Skaryna, Belarusians received a printed Bible in their native language before Russians and Ukrainians, Poles and Lithuanians, Serbs and Bulgarians, French and British...

In general, the first books in Church Slavonic were published by Schweipolt Fiol in Krakow in 1491. These were: “Oktoih” (“Osmoglasnik”) and “Hourist”, as well as “Lenten Triode” and “Color Triode”. It is assumed that the triodie (without a designated year of publication) was issued by Fiol before 1491.

In 1494, in the town of Obod on Lake Skadar in the Principality of Zeta (now Montenegro), the monk Macarius in a printing house under the auspices of Georgy Chernoevich printed the first book in the Slavic language among the southern Slavs, “Oktoih the First Voice”. This book can be seen in the sacristy of the monastery in Cetinje. In 1512, Macarius printed the Gospel in the Ugro-Wallachia (the territory of modern Romania and Moldavia).

In 1517-1519, in Prague, Francysk Skorina printed in Cyrillic in the Belarusian version of the Church Slavonic language "Psalter" and 23 more books of the Bible translated by him. In 1522, in Vilna (now Vilnius), Skaryna published the Small Travel Book. This book is considered the first book printed on the territory that was part of the USSR. In the same place in Vilna in 1525, Francysk Skaryna printed "The Apostle". Fedorov's assistant and colleague, Pyotr Mstislavets, studied with Skaryna.

Francysk Skaryna - Belarusian humanist of the first half of the 16th century, medical scientist, writer, translator, artist, educator, first printer of the Eastern Slavs.

Far from all the details of Skaryna's biography have survived to this day, there are still many "white spots" in the life of the work of the great enlightener. Even the exact dates of his birth and death are unknown. It is believed that he was born between 1485 and 1490 in Polotsk, in the family of a wealthy Polotsk merchant Luka Skaryna, who traded with the Czech Republic, with Moscow Russia, with Polish and German lands. From his parents, the son adopted love for his native Polotsk, whose name he later always used with the epithet “glorious”. Francis received his primary education at his parents' house - he learned to read the Psalms and write in Cyrillic. It is assumed that he learned Latin (Francis knew it brilliantly) at school at one of the Catholic churches in Polotsk or Vilna.

My first higher education Skaryna, the son of a Polotsk merchant, received in Krakow. There he took a course in "free sciences" and was awarded degree bachelor. Skaryna also received a master's degree in arts, which then gave the right to enter the most prestigious faculties (medical and theological) of European universities. Scientists suggest that after the University of Krakow, during the years 1506-1512, Skaryna served as a secretary to the Danish king. But in 1512, he left this position and went to the Italian city of Padua, at the university of which “a young man from very distant countries” (as the documents of that time say about him) received the degree of “Doctor of Medicine”, which was a significant event not only in the life of young Francis, but also in the history of the culture of Belarus. Until now, in one of the halls of this educational institution, where there are portraits of famous men of European science who came out of its walls, there is a portrait of an outstanding Belarusian by an Italian master.

About the period 1512-1516 centuries. F. Skaryna's life is unknown to us yet. Modern scientists have suggested that at that time Skorina traveled around Europe, got acquainted with printing and the first printed books, and also met with his brilliant contemporaries - Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael. The reason for this is the following fact - one of Raphael's frescoes depicts a man who is very similar to Skaryna's self-portrait in the Bible he later published. Interestingly, Raphael wrote it next to his own image.

From 1517 Skaryna lived in Prague. Here he began his publishing business and began printing Bible books.

The first printed book was the Slavic "Psalter", in the preface to which it is reported: "I, Francis Skorina, the son of the glorious Polotsk, a doctor in medicinal sciences, ordered the Psalter to be embossed in Russian words, and in Slovenian." At that time, the Belarusian language was called “Russian language”, in contrast to Church Slavonic, called “Slovenian”. The Psalter was published on August 6, 1517.

Then, almost every month, more and more new volumes of the Bible were published: the Book of Job, the Parables of Solomon, Ecclesiastes ... In two years in Prague, Francysk Skaryna published 23 illustrated Bible books, translated by him into a language understandable to the general reader. The publisher supplied each of the books with a preface and an afterword, and included almost fifty illustrations in the Bible.

Around 1520 or a little later, the first printer returned to his homeland and founded the first East Slavic printing house in Vilna. Here the “Small Road Book” was published, which is considered the first book published in the Belarusian lands (there is no exact release date for the book). Here, in 1525, "The Apostle" was printed, which turned out to be the last book of the first printer - during the fire in Vilna, the printing house of Francis died. It was with this book that 40 years later Ivan Fedorov and Pyotr Mstislavets, both natives of Belarus, began Russian book printing in Moscow.

The last fifteen years of Francysk Skaryna's life are full of hardships and hardships: for some time he serves with the Prussian Duke Albrecht the Elder in Koenigsberg, then returns to Vilna, where his family lives. For the debts of her deceased brother, Skaryna is imprisoned in Poznań. Polish king Sigismund I releases him from trial with a special letter. Around 1535, Francysk Skaryna moved to Prague, where he became the personal doctor and horticulturist of King Ferdinand I of Habsburg, who would later become Holy Roman Emperor. 1540 is considered the year of the death of the great enlightener.

Before the appearance of the well-known Ostroh Bible, Skaryna's editions were the only printed translations of the Holy Scriptures made in the territories of the Eastern and Southern Slavs. These translations became the subject of inheritance and alterations - all East Slavic publishing activity in the field of biblical texts was somehow oriented towards Skaryna. This is not surprising - in many respects his Bible was ahead of similar publications in other countries: before the German Martin Luther, not to mention Polish and Russian publishers. It is noteworthy that the Bible was published in the Old Belarusian language, which largely determined the development of the Belarusian press. The famous "Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania" were printed in the language of Belarus.

A noticeable increase in attention to the heritage of antiquity is also associated with the name of Skaryna. He was perhaps the first in our area to attempt to synthesize antiquity and Christianity, and also proposed educational program, developed in Ancient Greece- the system of "Seven Free Sciences". Later, it was adopted by the fraternal schools of Ukraine and Belarus, developed and improved by the professors of the Kiev-Mohyla Academy and contributed a lot to the convergence of national culture with the culture of the West.

Only four hundred copies of Skaryna's books have survived to this day. All editions are very rare, especially the ones from Vilna. Rarities are stored in libraries and book depositories in Minsk, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Vilnius, Lvov, London, Prague, Copenhagen, Krakow.

Francysk Skaryna has long been revered in Belarus. The life and work of F. Skorina is studied by a complex scientific discipline - scoring studies. His biography is studied in schools. Streets in Minsk, Polotsk, Vitebsk, Nesvizh, Orsha, Slutsk and many other cities of Belarus are named after him. The name of F. Skaryna is Gomel State University. Monuments to the outstanding scientist were erected in Polotsk, Minsk, Lida, Vilnius. The last of the monuments was recently installed in the capital of Belarus, next to the entrance to the new National Library.

All schools in Polotsk introduced a special subject - Polotsk studies, in which F. Skorina occupies a worthy place. Events dedicated to the memory of the pioneer printer are held in the city according to a separately drawn up plan.

Special awards have been introduced in Belarus - the Skaryna medal (1989) and the Order of Skaryna (1995).

Biography

Francysk Skaryna was born in the second half of the 1480s in Polotsk (Grand Duchy of Lithuania) in the family of a merchant Luka. Researcher Gennady Lebedev, relying on the works of Polish and Czech scientists, believed that Skorina was born around 1482.

In 1520 he moved to Vilnius and founded the first printing house on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL). In it, Skaryna publishes the Small Travel Book (1522) and The Apostle (1525).

In 1525, one of the sponsors of the Vilna printing house, Yuri Odvernik, died, and Skaryna's publishing activity stopped. He marries Odvernik's widow Margarita (she died in 1529, leaving a small child). A few years later, other patrons of Skaryna died one by one - the Vilna steward Yakub Babich (in whose house there was a printing house), then Bogdan Onkov, and in 1530 the governor of Trok Konstantin Ostrozhsky.

In 1525, the last master of the Teutonic Order, Albrecht of Brandenburg, secularized the Order and proclaimed instead a secular Prussian duchy, vassal to the king of Poland. The master was fascinated by reformist changes, which primarily concerned the church and school. For book publishing Albrecht in 1529 or 1530 invited Francysk Skaryna to Königsberg. The duke himself writes: “Not so long ago we received the glorious husband Francysk Skaryna from Polotsk, doctor of medicine, the most respected of your citizens, who arrived in our possession and the Principality of Prussia, as our subject, nobleman and beloved faithful servant. Further, since the affairs, property, wife, children whom he left with you are his name from here, then, leaving there, he humbly asked us to entrust your guardianship by our letter ... ".

What did Francysk Skaryna really do in Prague? last years life is unknown. Most likely, he practiced as a doctor.

The exact date of his death has not been established, most scholars suggest that Skaryna died around 1551, since in 1552 his son Simeon came to Prague for an inheritance.

Fonts and engraved headpieces from the Vilna printing house Skaryna were used by book publishers for another hundred years.

The language in which Francysk Skaryna printed his books was based on Church Slavonic, but with big amount Belarusian words, and therefore was most understandable to the inhabitants of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. For a long time, there was a heated scientific dispute among Belarusian linguists about which language, out of two options, Skaryn translated the books into: the Belarusian edition (excerpt) of the Church Slavonic language or, under another version, the church style of the Old Belarusian language. At present, Belarusian linguists agree that the language of the translations of the Bible by Francysk Skaryna is the Belarusian edition (excerpt) of the Church Slavonic language. At the same time, the influence of the Czech and Polish languages was noticed in the works of Skaryna.

Skaryna's Bible violated the rules that existed when rewriting church books: it contained texts from the publisher and even engravings with his image. This is the only such case in the history of Bible publishing in Eastern Europe. Because of the ban on self-translation of the Bible, Catholic and Orthodox Church did not recognize Skaryna's books.

Sourced from the Internet

04.05.2016

Any resident of Belarus knows who Francysk Skaryna is. Moreover, this name once thundered throughout Europe, and today it is highly respected far beyond the borders of Belarus, because Francis Skorina founded the first printing house in Eastern Europe. And what other interesting facts from the life of Francysk Skaryna can we learn from history books?

Until now, many secrets are kept by the biography of this amazing person. In particular, it is not known exactly when he was born and when he died. Among historians, it is customary to consider the date of birth of the first printer to be 1490, and the date of farewell to the earthly vale - 1551.
Francysk Skaryna was born into a relatively wealthy family. His father was engaged in trade, actively engaged in buying and selling with German lands, with Poland, as well as with Muscovite Russia. At the same time, when for education more high level than the knowledge generally accepted during the Middle Ages, Skaryna needed to enter a higher educational institution, he managed to make only the most modest contribution. However, the young man was accepted.
Francis was born into a family that professed Orthodoxy. However, then he had to change his religion to Catholicism - this is how he made his way into science easier: it was easier for a Catholic to get into the then Eastern European university and graduate without interference.
The first printer was engaged not only in the publication of books. He showed remarkable talent in painting, botany, and medicine. In Padua, Skaryna was awarded the degree of Doctor of Medicine.
Francysk Skaryna knew several languages and traveled extensively in Europe.
It was Skaryna who published the first printed Bible, the style of presentation in which was as close as possible to a simple folk language. He wanted to make knowledge accessible to "simple, common people" (that is, poor, modest people).
Skorina supplied each of his editions with illustrations, as well as a preface, which made it possible to better understand the content of the book.
In his travels around the world, Francysk Skaryna met with the most famous people that time. So, some publications claim that evidence of his conversations with Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo has been preserved. In addition, he may have seen Rafael.
An interesting story is connected with the name of Raphael. The researchers, studying the legacy of the great artist, found that one of his frescoes depicts a man very similar to Francysk Skaryna. Moreover, Rafael painted Skaryna next to his own image.
A number of historians express the opinion that Skaryna also visited Russia. He brought books there. But their fate, unfortunately, turned out to be sad: the gloomy and deaf Middle Ages had not yet let the world out of its paws. The books were declared heretical and burned.
There is a version (although it is rather doubtful) that calls Skaryna the founder of the heliocentric concept of the world. Perhaps the scientist really did draw some conclusions regarding this issue, but still, if we follow the historical truth, then Copernicus should be given primacy here.
Francis and his brother were in common financial affairs, jointly engaged in book publishing. When the brother passed away, many debts remained. The then justice was not used to sorting out for a long time, and Francysk Skaryna was thrown into prison for the debts of a relative. The scientist had to spend 10 weeks there. Who knows how the matter would have ended if it were not for the intervention of King Sigismund, who rescued Skaryna.
In our time, about 4 hundred books published by the publishing house of Francysk Skaryna have been preserved. Some of them are stored in his homeland, some - in London, and several copies "settled" in the museums of Moscow and St. Petersburg. These are truly rare and unique editions.

At Belarusian people there is every right to be proud of his outstanding countryman. Even an order named after him was established there. Only the most worthy receive this award - only those who give their talent for the benefit of their people, selflessly work in the field of education and culture.