The God Perkūnas (Re)Introduced

A Lithuanian scholarly work on folklore published in English always feels like a shared victory for the research community, especially when it becomes part of the legendary series Folklore Fellows’ Communications (FFC),1 which has been publishing important works on folklore since 1910. Being No. 327 in the series, the book The God Perkūnas of the Ancient Lithuanians in Language, Folklore, and Historical Sources by Nijolė Laurinkienė is merely the second title by a Lithuanian author released under the FFC flag, the first being The Structural-Semantic Types of Lithuanian Folk Tales by Prof. Bronislava Kerbelytė (in two volumes, Nos. 308–309 in the FFC series, Kerbelytė 2015). N. Laurinkienė’s book is the first monograph by a Lithuanian author in the series as Prof. Bronislava Kerbelytė’s works are a published catalogue. Although the book on Perkūnas is based on the Lithuanian version published in 1996, the English version is considerably updated and offers an in-depth analysis of the thunder god in the Baltic region. It is useful for the folklore and mythology scholars both abroad and in Lithuania. The illustrations for the monograph, which add a visual dimension to otherwise strictly structured scholarly narrative, were provided by the archaeologist Prof. Vykintas Vaitkevičius. 

Nuoroda į pilną tekstą: Tautosakos darbai T. 67 (2024)

Kaip cituoti: Skujytė-Razmienė, A. (2024) “The God Perkūnas (Re)Introduced”, Tautosakos darbai, 67, pp. 152–161. doi:10.51554/TD.24.67.09. 

______________________________________

(1) “Folklore Fellows” was established in 1907 by Professor Kaarle Krohn and Axel Olrik, the first

international publication was released in 1910 under the name of FF Communications series.

Currently, the goal of the “Folklore Fellows” as a global network of folklorists is to connect

researchers, to continue publishing work, and to engage in research training. More about the

history of the organization and its list of publications can be found on their website: https://www.

folklorefellows.fi/.