In 1767 Jurij Mjeń published the first secular prose book in one of the Sorbian languages. Sorbian communities in Lusatia lived under strong German cultural and political pressure. The publication marked an important step beyond religious writing into broader vernacular prose.

Sorbian print culture gave a minority Slavic language new literary visibility. It helped connect oral storytelling, local identity and written education, widening the possibilities for later poetry and cultural preservation.