Martynas Mažvydas

Martynas Mažvydas (also Martin Mosvid , Martinus Masvidius ; * after 1510 in Žemaičių Naumiestis near Heydekrug in Prussia, (today Šilutė ) in Lithuania; † May 21, 1563 in Königsberg ) was a Lutheran pastor in the Duchy of Prussia and author of the first book in Lithuania Language - a Protestant catechism - and other religious writings.

life and work

Mažvydas came from Shemaites , but spent his youth in Vilnius . When Evangelical Reformation ideas reached Lithuania in the second third of the 16th century , he turned to them, but experienced rejection and persecution. Duke Albrecht of Prussia became aware of him and invited him to Königsberg . In 1546 he moved to the university there and received his baccalaureate in 1548. Because of the short length of stay, it can be assumed that he had previously attended another university, probably Krakow.

While still a student in Königsberg, he wrote his first book - based on the Polish version of Luther's little catechism - the Catechismusa Prasty Szadei (German: Catechism in simple words ), printed in Königsberg in 1547 . It is the first book in the Lithuanian language. The catechism begins with a Latin dedication - not to a person who may support the spreading, but to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania itself. Mažvydas' great wish was that his entire homeland, like Prussian Lithuania, would accept the Reformation. This is followed by a Latin foreword in prose and a rhyming foreword in Lithuanian, then a book of hours with prayers and biblical readings, the actual catechism and a collection of songs. About 200 copies have been printed, only two have survived the centuries: in the University Library of Vilnius (which has had his name since 1997) and in that of Thorn in Prussia (now Poland).

In 1549 Mažvydas took over a parish position at the parish church in Ragnit (now Russian: Neman) near Tilsit on the Memel and became archdeacon there in 1554. He translated several works into Lithuanian: in addition to Luther's Small Catechism, a baptismal register based on the Prussian divine service agenda and the Ambrosian hymn of praise . He also prepared song books with his own and other people's hymns in his mother tongue. When he died in 1563, he could not only look back on the book that Lithuanian had created as a written language, but also on a considerable body of books for religious service. What had not come out during his lifetime, his cousin Baltramiejus Vilentas (German: Baltramäus Willent), pastor in Königsberg, posthumously printed.

The fact that his work was only used in the neighboring Duchy of Prussia was due to the rejection of the Reformation in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the appearance of the Jesuits there from 1570, the reason for the flight of Protestant Lithuanians to the neighboring Protestant country.

Works

• Catechismvsa prasty szadei, makslas skaitima raschta yr giesmes . H. Weinreich, Königsberg 1547. (Catechism)
• Giesme s. Ambraseijaus bey s. Augustina . H. Weinreich, Königsberg 1549. (Ambrosian and Augustinian hymns of praise)
• Forma chrikštima . J.Daubman, Königsberg 1559. (The form of baptism)
• Gesmes chrikščoniškas, gedomas bažniczosu per adventa ir kaledas ik gramniču . Edited by B. Vilentas. J. Daubman, Königsberg 1566. (Christian songs, volume 1)
• Gesmes chrikščoniškas, gedomas bažniczosu per velikas ir sekminias ik adventa . Edited by B. Vilentas. J. Daubman, Königsberg 1570. (Christian songs, Volume 2)
• Lietuviškos maldos . Königsberg 1574. (Lithuanian prayer)
• Trumpas klausimas ir prieprovimas // M. Liuteris Enchiridion: Katechismas mažas . Osterberger, Königsberg 1579. (short questions // M. Luther's Small Catechism, in Prussian)
• Parafrasis permanitina poteraus malda . G. Osterberger, Königsberg 1589. (Paraphrasis, how the Our Father is understood)

literature

• Annaberger Annalen 4 (1996), therein: Part I. Mažvydas, his time and his legacy, therein:
  • Inge Lukšaitė: The first phase of the Reformation in Lithuania ( PDF file ).
  • Albinas Jovaišas: Martynas Mažvydas, the author of the first Lithuanian book ( PDF file ).
  • Saulius Žukas: The first Lithuanian book and its historical context ( PDF file ).
  • Gertrud Bense: On the environment of the earlier Prussian-Lithuanian literature ( PDF file ).
  • Dainora Pociūtė: The Lithuanian Protestant Hymn of the 16th-17th Century ( PDF file ).
  • Darius Kuolys: The Visions of the Social Development in the Literature of Lithuania in the 16th Century ( PDF file ).
  • Vacis Vaivada: About the relations between Žemaitija and the Duchy of Prussia in the 16th century ( PDF file ).

Web links

Commons : Martynas Mažvydas  - collection of images, videos and audio files