Постилла (1591) Йонаса Бреткунаса и книжная культура XVI-XXI вв.

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Jonas Bretkūnas; Karaliaučius; Knygos kultūra; Knygų sklaida; Lietuviškų knygų leidyba, XVI a.; Lietuvos bibliotekos; Postilė; Rytų Prūsija [East Prussia]; Book culture; Book spread; East Prussia; Jonas Bretkūnas; Koenigsberg; Konigsberg; Lithuanian book publishing, 16th century; Lithuanian libraries; Postil.

ENThe article sets out to examine Jonas Bretkunas's Postil (1591) from the point of view of book culture. On the basis of its copies (there are 10 of them) nowadays held at Lithuanian libraries and museums as well as historical sources it is analysed how this collection of Evangelical Lutheran homilies was functioning in society: what society groups were interested in it, when and under what circumstances its copies found their way to Lithuania. The analysis has showed that there could be two initial spawns of Postil: Bretkunas's own library and the library of Königsberg Castle where books printed under the sponsorship of the Duke of Prussia used to be stored. During the first hundred years 2/3 of the print run of the book held at the library of the Castle were spread in society. The 18th century witnessed a forced spread, i.e., priests and precentors were told to buy a copy of Postil. A forced spread resulted in giving a hundred copies of Postil to scrap paper. Thus, at the end of the 18th century Postil as a collection of homilies that was intended for liturgical practice lost its relevance. In the middle of the 19th century philologists, historians, specialists of regional studies, bibliophiles became interested in Postil. The main reason for their interest was the rise of comparative linguistics thanks to which archaic forms of the Lithuanian language were detected This provided a stimulus not only to research Lithuanian dialects and folklore, but also to analyse old writings and publish them for science purposes.The copies of Postil known at present came to Lithuanian libraries and museums in the 20th century. Six out of ten copies were received from private collections, i.e., they arrived in Lithuania on the initiative of scientists, specialists of regional studies, and bibliophiles. Only two copies have no defects: one is held at the Vrublevskiai Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, the other is kept at the Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis National Art Museum. These copies were held for a long time in libraries of Königsberg. The condition of the rest of the copies is worse, however, they have handwritten marginal inscriptions in Lithuanian, German, and Latin. The inscriptions reveal the relationship between the book and society and present a valuable material for researches into the history of its impact and development of the language. Pages containing passages from the Bible and Passio are the most worn out ones; they attest to the fact that Postil served as a partial substitute for the Bible and was a significant source for getting aquainted with it. [From the publication]

• Komunikacija / Communication
• Literatūrologija / Literary Studies