Venceslaus Agrippa Lituanus

Venceslaus Agrippa Lituanus
Great Scribe of Lithuania
Reign1575-1585
PredecessorŁawryn Woyna
SuccessorEmmanuel Brzostowski
Castellan of Minsk
Reign1586–1597
PredecessorMichał Haraburda
SuccessorMarcin Strawiński
Castellan of Smolensk
Reign1590–1597
PredecessorOstafi Wasylewicz Tyszkiewicz
SuccessorWacław Szemiot
Marshal of the Sejm
Reign22 February 1574 – 02 April 1574
PredecessorJan Firlej
SuccessorStanisław Szafraniec
Bornc. 1525
Diedc. 1597
SpousesMagdalena Pelgrimovskaya, Regina Dorogastaiskovna
HouseAgryppa
FatherMichalo Lituanus
MotherKotryna Stanislovaitė
ReligionLutheran

Venceslaus Agrippa Lituanus (Lithuanian: Venclovas Venclovaitis Agripa, Polish: Wacław Wencławowicz Agryppa; c. 1525c. 1597) was a Lithuanian writer and diplomat from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Possibly a son of Michalo Lituanus, throughout his life he held various offices such as the Great Scribe of Lithuania (1575–1585) and castellan of Minsk (1586–1597) and Smolensk (1590–1597). A Lutheran who openly raised confessional issues in his stories, Agrippa is considered one of the first writers of Lithuanian fiction. Besides being a member of both the Reformation and the Renaissance humanism movements, Agrippa also claimed that ancient Lithuanians spoke Latin because many Lithuanian words retained some elements of the language.