On the genesis of the 1701 Lithuanian New Testament
ENThe Lithuanian New Testament that appeared in Königsberg in 1701 was the first complete Lithuanian translation of the New Testament to appear in print. Until then it had been translated into Lithuanian at least three times: it had been part of the complete Bible translations undertaken by Johannes Bretke (Jonas Bretkūnas) and Samuel Boguslaus Chylinski (neither of these translations was printed but both are extant in manuscript form), and a third version, by Jan Borzymowski the Elder, is mentioned in the records of the Lithuanian Evangelical Reformed Synod. The so-called Bythner New Testament came into readers’ hands in the early years of the 18th century. It was long in the making, and its changing fortunes reflect shifts in the view which the Reformed Protestants took of the importance of the Lithuanian language and its use in printing. Compiled in Kėdainiai and printed in Königsberg, the so-called Bythner version of the New Testament is special in that it was intended for readers both in the Grand Duchy and in Lithuania Minor. The Soviet Lithuanian Bibliography lists two impressions from the same typeset, differing only by their title pages and by the preface by Bernhard von Sanden prefixed to the second.Both impressions are extant in a sizeable number of copies held by libraries in Lithuania, Poland, Latvia and Germany (LTSR bibliografija: 1969, 50-53). Interestingly, most copies of the second impression listed in the Soviet Lithuanian Bibliography as being in Lithuanian collections are defective, with the title page lacking. In his History of the Lithuanian Bible (1816,29-30) Ludwig Rhesa also mentions a third version with a preface by Samuel Bythner. In Rhesas opinion this preface, consisting of a number of congratulatory formulae in solemn Latin, contributes nothing relevant to the history of the Lithuanian Bible. The only thing of interest to us here is that it was allegedly written by Samuel Bythnerus, Superattendens ecclesiarum Evangelicarum Lithuanicarum, hinc inde dispersarum. This preface is said to have been contained only in some copies, and none of them seems to have survived. [Extract, p. 141]
- Apie pirmųjų protestantiškų Biblijos vertimų į lietuvių ir lenkų kalbas vertimo metodus : (remiantis Brastos, Gdansko, Bretkūno ir Chylinskio Biblijos vertimais) / Gina Kavaliūnaitė. Senoji Lietuvos literatūra. 2014, 38, p. 13-64.
- Krikščionybės Lietuvoje istorija / sudarytojas Vytautas Ališauskas. Vilnius : Aidai, 2006. 595 p.
- Mažosios Lietuvos giesmynai iki 1705 m / Guido Michelini. Res humanitariae. 2012, t. 11, p. 27-53.
- Prielaidos lietuviškos knygos plėtotei Karaliaučiuje pirmajame XVIII amžiaus dešimtmetyje: sekant Johano Jakobo Kvanto biografijos pėdsakais / Liucija Citavičiūtė. Senoji Lietuvos literatūra. 2006, 22, p. 239-267.
- Raštai / Martynas Liudvikas Rėza. T. 1, Filologija: lietuviškos Biblijos rengimas / sudarytoja ir vertėja Liucija Citavičiūtė. Vilnius : Lietuvių literatūros ir tautosakos institutas, 2011. XXIX, 552 p.
- Samuelio Boguslavo Chylinskio Biblija. T. 1, Senasis Testamentas : lietuviško vertimo ir olandiško originalo faksimilės / [parengė Gina Kavaliūnaitė ; vertėjas į anglų kalbą Axel Holvoet]. Vilnius : Lietuvių kalbos institutas, 2008. CXLIV, 761 p.
- Samuelio Boguslavo Chylinskio Biblija. T. 2, Naujasis Testamentas Viešpaties mūsų Jėzaus Kristaus, lietuvių kalba duotas Samuelio Boguslavo Chylinskio : lietuviško vertimo rankraščio faksimilė / [parengė Gina Kavaliūnaitė ; vertėjas į anglų kalbą Axel Holvoet, vertėja iš lotynų į lietuvių kalbą Eugenija Ulčinaitė]. Vilnius : Vilniaus universiteto leidykla, 2019. CXC, 430 p.
- Samuelio Boguslavo Chylinskio Biblija. T. 3, Samuelio Boguslavo Chylinskio Biblijos istorijos šaltiniai / [parengė Gina Kavaliūnaitė ; vertėjai. Vilnius : Vilniaus universiteto leidykla, 2015. LXIII, 561 p.
- The Scottish community in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, 1630-1750 / Michael Broun Ayre. Kaunas : Humanitas, 2019. 385 p.
