# Talk:Adam Mickiewicz

Adam Bernard Mickiewicz ([mit͡sˈkʲɛvit͡ʂ] ; 24 December 1798 – 26 November 1855) was a Lithuanian poet,

How is he considered Polish - and not of Lithuanian or even Belorussian descent. He states that Lithuania is his homeland/country in Pan Tadeuz, he is from an old Lithuanian noble family in Navahrudak. He also spent his early life studying in Lithuania - studied in Vilnius university and later taught as a secondary school teacher in Kaunas.  He never even stepped foot in Krakow or Warsaw, most parts of modern day Poland.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Tadeusz
http://www.notablebiographies.com/supp/Supplement-Mi-So/Mickiewicz-Adam.html 78.58.214.50 (talk) 05:49, 24 January 2017 (UTC)

 Not done: The page's protection level has changed since this request was placed. You should now be able to edit the page yourself. If you still seem to be unable to, please reopen the request with further details. —MRD2014 (talk • contribs) 03:17, 31 January 2017 (UTC)

His Lithuania was the Great Dutchy, not the modern one. He wrote Polish, like Joseph Conrad wrote English. Xx236 (talk) 09:09, 28 November 2017 (UTC)
I would weigh into the discussion here specifically in response to:
> His Lithuania was the Great Dutchy, not the modern one.
While that is true, but the same can be said about the Poland of that time, it was the Kingdom of Poland which is not the modern one. So even if we could relate him to Poland back then, it would not be related to modern day Poland any more than relating him to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania would relate him to modern day Lithuania.
To that end I would suggest the most reasonable approach and revert to a previous edit I saw: he is regarded as a national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus and leave his nationality out of the picture as it is not relevant due to the complex history of the region at the time. It would suffice to leave it at his poetry works being in Polish just like the article clearly states that he was clearly not working exclusively with the Polish language.
So if it is impossible to have a clear agreement on calling him Polish, Lithuanian or Belorussian then there is no point to even try. This just leaves Wikipedia clashing with sources as some will claim one way, others another way depending on the region and outside those 3 countries it is best left at being disputed., which it is. HellDuke (talk) 14:04, 19 May 2024 (UTC)
Another note since I decided to look up Joseph Conrad, he is listed as Polish-British novelist, however by the same argument that say that Adomas Mickevičius was a Polish poet due to the language used for writing being Polish then the article on Joseph Conrad should specifically state "British novelist and story writer" since he wrote English and his notable works do not include works in the Polish language, just as it is in this specific disagreement. So by your own argument it would be better to write his name in all claimed languages and use "Lithuanian-Polish poet", though I would say that leaving it ambiguous is better due to it being impossible to pin him to one. HellDuke (talk) 14:12, 19 May 2024 (UTC)

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion:

Adam Mickiewicz monument in Vilnius.JPG
Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 14:07, 26 April 2019 (UTC)

The Ethnicity subheading falsely states that Mickiewicz wrote only in Polish. He wrote extensively in French: La Tribune des Peuples and several books ([1]). Mickiewicz was a great person, great enough he is shared between cultures and belongs to several (Belarusian, Lithuanian, Polish).--Ada's gaze (talk) 19:51, 24 August 2020 (UTC)

If you have a reference that he wrote in French, it can be added to the article, but this has nothing to do with his ethnicity. --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here 00:51, 25 August 2020 (UTC)
I posted a reference for French ([2]), and there are many more references for French already in the article. Saying he only wrote in Polish is a lie. And what does writing in Polish have to do with his ethnicity? And if it has something to do with his ethnicity, isn't the fact that in Warsaw he was criticised in his early career for his provincial Belarusian-tinged Polish relevant? ([3]).--Ada's gaze (talk) 06:07, 25 August 2020 (UTC)

In general, the portrayal of Adam Mickiewicz as a Pole is not only wrong but violates the basic pillars of WP:OR. Various sources say that he was Lithuanian, Belorussian, Polish. However, checking further, Cambridge assumes that he was Polish-Lithuanian, it cannot be maintained that he was Polish because most sources attribute to him another nationality. 
The nearest approach to it was achieved by the Union of Vilna, through which Poland and Lithuania became one country, with one king and one Parliament; but the internal administrations remained separate. However, a measure of real unity was later reflected in the fact that Poland’s greatest poet, Mickiewicz, as well as her great national hero Kosciuszko, was a Lithuanian. Source: [4] Ryś928 (talk) 18:03, 23 January 2025 (UTC)

What do you mean by "Cambridge assumes"? Did Cambridge University made any official statement on this matter? Marcelus (talk) 19:24, 24 January 2025 (UTC)
The original person is incorrect in their assertion that cambridge holds Adam to be polish Lithuanian. Instead I can solely find them referrirng them as Polish. Furthermore, britannica and most other dictionaries I can find refer to him as Polish, not Lithuanian nor Polish-Lithuanian Varjagen (talk) 14:09, 14 March 2025 (UTC)
In his works he referred to himself as Litvin - Lithuanian. Of course at that time Lithuanian as a term was still much more fluid, but I agree with few comments that it's worth a mention in the start of the article just like Polish one. 78.58.62.240 (talk) 21:55, 19 October 2025 (UTC)