Prūsijos Lietuvos kunigų 1660 m. vasario 26 d. laiškas dėl Danieliaus Kleino giesmyno

LT2009 m. mokslo žurnale Archivum Lithuanicum pasirodė žinomos Prūsijos Lietuvo raštijos ir kultūros tyrėjos dr. Liucijos Citavičiūtės straipsnis „Įsruties apskrities bažnyčių ir mokyklų vizitacijos potvarkio Recessus generalis (1639) reikšmė lietuvių raštijai ir jo vykdytojas Danielius Kleinas, kuriame publikuotas raštijos istorijai itin svarbus Tilžės kunigo Danieliaus Kleino (Daniel Klein, 1609–1666 laiškas, rašytas 1659 m. birželio 19 d. Prūsijos valdžiai ir šiuo metu saugomas Prūsijos kultūros paveldo Slaptajame valstybiniame archyve (vok. Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz) Berlyne. Drauge su šiuo Kleino laišku, teikiančiu duomenų apie jo veikalų – gramatikos, žodyno ir giesmyno – rengimo aplinkybes, paskelbti dar du toje pačioje archyvo byloje sudėti dokumentai – Prūsijos valdžios raštai (tiksliau – abiejų nuorašai). Vienas jų – 1659 m. birželio 20 d. potvarkis lietuvių kunigams dėl susitikimo su Kleinu Tilžėje aptarti lietuviško giesmyno rengimo reikalus. Šiame straipsnyje pristatomas Prūsijos kultūros paveldo Slaptajame valstybiniame archyve Berlyne rastas kelių Prūsijos Lietuvos kunigų atsakymas į minėtą potvarkį. Straipsnio tikslas – publikuojant šį archyvinį šaltinį atskleisti, kokiomis naujomis detalėmis jis papildo ligšiolinę Kleino giesmyno Naujos Giesmju Knygos (Karaliaučius, 1666, toliau – KlNG) rengimo istoriją. [...]. [Iš straipsnio, p. 9]

ENThe article introduces the letter from six Prussian Lithuanian priests dated 26 February 1660 regarding the manuscript of the new Lithuanian hymnal Naujos Giesmju Knygos (Königsberg, 1666) by Daniel Klein (1609–1666), a priest of Tilžė (Ger. Tilsit), sent to the local Prussian government, or rather the High Council in Königsberg. The document is currently kept at the Secret State Archives of Prussian Cultural Heritage (Ger. Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz) in Berlin (shelf mark: GStA PK: XX. HA Hist. StA Königsberg, EM 91 d, Nr. 3). This archival source adds new details to the history of Klein’s hymnal. The letter from Prussian Lithuanian priests featured in the article was a reply to the decree by the High Council dated 20 June 1659, which was published together with Klein’s letter of 19 June 1659 by Liucija Citavičiūtė in the science journal Archivum Lithuanicum, vol. 11 (2009). In his letter, Klein asked the High Council to appoint a new commission to assess the hymnal (it was for the first time approved in 1652); as a result, the decree obligated a handful of Prussian Lithuanian priests to meet with Klein and discuss the matter of hymnal production, as well as present some hymns that had been translated or created by them. The newly discovered document confirms that, acting in compliance with the obligation set forth in the decree, the Prussian Lithuanian priests several times did meet in Tilžė, where Klein, the maker of the new Lithuanian hymnal, lived and served as a priest. Even though the decree of 20 June 1659 had been addressed to four priests of Prussia Lithuania, the reply to the authorities regarding the hymnal was signed by six men of the cloth.The priests that were named in the decree, Johannes Hurtelius (Jonas Hurtelijus, ~1610-1667) of Ragainė (Ger. Ragnit), Friedrich Praetorius (Frydrichas Pretorijus, 1624–1695) Žiliai (Ger. Szillen), Wilhelm Johannes Lüdemann (Vilhelmas Jonas Liudemanas, ~1628-1661) of Nybudžiai (Ger. Niebudszen), and Melchior Schwabe (Melchioras Švoba, ~1624-1663) of Valtarkiemis (Ger. Walterkehmen), took the initiative to invite two more priests from the district of Klaipėda (Ger. Memel) to discuss the matter of the new Lithuanian hymnal: Wilhelm Martinius (Vilhelmas Martinis, ~1618–1670) of Verdainė (Ger. Werden) and Michael Gallus (Mykolas Gaidys, ~1632–1698) of Rusnė (Ger. Ruß). The letter also highlights the reason why this initiative was taken: that way, the clergy attempted to cover all dialects of Prussian Lithuania. Klein intended to produce an overarching collection of hymns that would serve all Lithuanian parishes of Prussian Lithuania, which made it vital that the discussion of the hymnal involved representatives from all the areas of Prussian Lithuanian dialects. These six priests are referred to in the foreword to the hymnal by Klein. Among them were two fierce opponents of Klein who were thinking of publishing a separate hymnal. All Prussian Lithuanian priests that signed the letter of 26 February 1660 were excellent scholars of the Lithuanian language just as they were skilled translators and even writers of hymns. At Klein’s request and under orders from the authorities, some of their hymns were submitted for inclusion in the new hymnal. In addition to Klein’s own hymns (38), it also featured a substantial number of hymns by Hurtelius (27) and Schwabe (18), with just a few hymns from other priests (8 by Lüdemann, 7 by Praetorius, 3 by Martinius, 1 by Gallus).This letter bears testimony to the fact that despite the serious disagreement that had previously flamed between Klein and some of the other priests, an agreement was eventually reached. Even though the hymnal was for the second time approved by six Prussia Lithuanian priests and recommended for print in early 1660 already, it was only six years later, at the end of 1666, that it saw the light of day. [From the publication]

• Įsruties apskrities bažnyčių ir mokyklų vizitacijos potvarkio "Recessus generalis" (1639) reikšmė lietuvių raštijai ir jo vykdytojas Danielius Kleinas / Liucija Citavičiūtė. Archivum Lithuanicum. 2009, t. 11, p. 9-62.
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• Mažosios Lietuvos knyga: lietuviškos knygos raida, 1547-1940 / Domas Kaunas. Vilnius : Baltos lankos, 1996. 764 p.