Jan Czeczot

Jan Czeczot
Born(1796-06-24)24 June 1796
Małušyčy, Lithuania Governorate, Russian Empire
Died26 November 1855(1855-11-26) (aged 56)
Druskininkai, Russian Empire
Resting placeRatnyčia, Druskininkai, Lithuania
Occupation
  • writer
  • folklorist
  • ethnographer
  • librarian
LanguagePolish, Belarusian
GenreRomanticism
Signature

Jan Czeczot of Ostoja (Belarusian: Ян Чачот, Jan Čačot, Lithuanian: Jonas Čečiotas, 1796–1847) was a Polish romantic poet and Belarusian folklorist and ethnographer. Fascinated by the folklore and the traditional folk songs of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a confederal part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, he recollected hundreds of them in his works. Inspired by them, he also wrote several poems in what could be considered a pre-modern Belarusian language. As such, he is often cited as one of the first Polish ethnographers and one of the predecessors of the Belarusian national revival.