Vilniaus Šv. Jono bažnyčios 1611-1616 metų krikšto metrikų knyga

• Kaminskas-Krinčius, Algimantas, parengė [com]
• Klovas, Mindaugas, parengė [com]

LTVilniaus Šv. Jono bažnyčios 1611–1616 metų krikšto metrikų knyga yra viena iš seniausių Vilniaus miesto metrikų knygų. Ją sudaro 189 lapai su 5 092 krikšto įrašais, kuriuose užfiksuota apie 25 tūkst. asmenų paminėjimų. Krikšto metrikų knygoje galime rasti įvairių žinių fragmentų apie to meto sostinės gyventojų ir atvykėlių gyvenimą, jų asmenvardžius, vieną kitą vietovardį, susipažinti su kai kuriais kunigijos atstovais, bažnyčių tarnais, valdžios žmonėmis, pirkliais, amatininkais, prekiautojais, paslaugų teikėjais, medikais, muzikais, atvykėliais, jų tautybėmis, galų gale pamestinukais, nesantuokiniais vaikais, neofitais ir t. t. Vilniaus Šv. Jono bažnyčioje savo vaikus krikštijo ar buvo krikštatėviais ne tik vietos gyventojai, bet ir atvykėliai iš aplinkinių ar tolimesnių šalies vietovių bei svetimšaliai. Fiksuojami atvykėliai iš aplinkinių Vilniaus vietovių, taip pat iš kitų Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės ir Lenkijos karalystės miestų. Be lietuvių, šaltinyje minimi įvairių tautybių asmenys: lenkai, rusėnai, maskvėnai, čekai, vokiečiai, mazoviečiai, vengrai, valakai, čigonai, latviai, italai, totoriai, armėnai, kazokai ar čerkesai. [Anotacija knygoje]

ENThe Church of St John was built in Vilnius in the late 14th - early 15th centuries and was for a long time the only parish church in the capital ofthe Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Ever since the church’s founding, members of the Vilnius Magistrate and other influential city dwellers handled its economic and administrative matters, while the church was considered the most important Catholic religious centre for inhabitants of the city where they could marry and have their children baptised; a school was also opened nearby. A unique historical source from the early 17th century reflecting the lives of Catholics in the city has survived into our days - the 1611-1616 baptismal register, which constitutes one of the oldest extant church registry books overall in Lithuania, and is thus an indispensable source for learning about the history of the inhabitants of Vilnius. The register republished here consists of 189 pages with 5,092 baptism entries written in hand on both sides of each page, mentioning around 25,000 individuals. This particular baptismal register started being kept on August 21, 1611, however the entries are only legible from the feast day of St Bartholomew, i. e., August 24. It ends on April 30, 1616. The author of entries from the first two years cannot be identified, from December 3, 1613 to May 10, 1615 entries were made by the sacristan Kristoforas Kazimieras Blinstrubas (Krzysztof Kazimierz Blinstrub), while the register was completed by another unidentified individual noted for entering Lithuanian personal names in Lithuanian. The manuscript is kept at the Lithuanian State Historical Archives in Vilnius.The Baptismal Register offers fragments of various pieces of information about the population living in the capital at the time, as well as that of arrivals to the city, their names, some place names, we are introduced to certain representatives of the clergy, churchmen, people in positions of authority, merchants, craftspeople, traders, service providers, medical specialists, musicians, arrivals, their nationalities, and even abandoned infants, illegitimate children, neophytes, etc., in other words - a whole spectrum. The register includes parish priests, vicars, mansionarii (residents of the church / sacristry) or simply priests, and one or two canons. It was mostly the church vicars who were involved in baptising children, less commonly - priests, or even the Vilnius bishop. There is mention of several church servants: sacristans, a cantor, bell-ringers, organists and a church economist. The book contains a record of members of the secular authorities: city council members such as burgomeisters, councillors, clerks and benchers, a few flag-bearers, a lawyer, an elder, a headsman (executioner) and other individuals holding particular duties in the city or outside of its boundaries. Information in the source about the crafts, businesses and other activities of the inhabitants of Vilnius show the capital to have been a city of high material and religious culture. The number of activities listed that were required for survival and perhaps even wealth accumulation reaches over 200. We come across artists, chanters and musicians (violinists, trumpet-players, harpists, drummers and a trombone-player), who reveal the thriving religious culture in society in Vilnius at this time. Its hould be noted that a majority of the individuals entered in this register do not have their craft or other activity / occupation identified.Reference to earlier historiographical contributions however has meant we have been able to identify individuals holding certain professions - merchants, chiefmasters at various guilds, goldsmiths, etc. It was not only locals who would have their offspring baptised or were made godparents at the Church of St John in Vilnius, but also arrivals from places both closer and further away in the country, even foreigners. Arrivals were recorded as coming from Vokė, Paneriai, Rokantiškės, Lukiškės, Riešė, Kuprijoniškės, Buivydiškės and Jurgiškės. When this register is compared to the register of marriages, there are far fewer arrivals coming from cities or places further away to have their children baptised or to become godparents. People from Kaunas dominate exclusively, with much less from other cities or places, for example, from Kernavė, Sudervė and Rudamina. Separate mention should be made of arrivals from other lands and people of other nationalities. The name prefixes of individuals present at baptisms reveal the participation of Armenians, Czechs, Romani, Italians, Cossacks, Latvians, Poles, Muscovites, Masovians, Prussians (or arrivals from Konigsberg), Ruthenians, Tatars, Wallachs, Hungarians, Volhynians and Samogitians. [...]. [From the publication]