Herder’s ‘Frieden Frau’ and Simonas Daukantas’s Concept of the ‘Lithuanian Wife’

the first Lithuanian national historian, conceptualised the paradigm of the 'Lithuanian Wife' in his work on the history of the Lithuanian national culture by following the construct of the 'Indische Frau' / 'Frieden Frau' ('Indian Woman' / 'Peace-Woman'), created by Johann Gotfried Herder.The article first demonstrates that Daukantas, while living in Riga, had the opportunity to get acquainted with Herder's works, which he read and summarised and/or quoted in his notebooks.It is believed that Daukantas, mainly adhering to Herder's ideas and his own mother's example, conceptualised the 'Lithuanian Wife' as assiduous, fair, wise, courageous, freedom-loving and responsible for instilling humanity in children, the family and the community.A woman's close kinship with the environment, according to Daukantas, determines common sense, creativity and the ability to orientate oneself in life.This article postulates that Herder's metaphor of the 'Indische Frau' / 'Frieden Frau', which he utilised to examine the question of eternal peace (pax sempiterna) and outline seven principles of intellectual, moral and legal development, influenced Daukantas when conceptualising the paradigm of the 'Lithuanian Wife'. Kopsavilkums