The first book in the Lithuanian language
Catechismusa prasty szadei…
Martynas Mažvydas
Königsberg, 1547
Catechismusa prasty szadei…
Martynas Mažvydas
Königsberg, 1547
Cardboard cover, covered in parchment, rebound in the 19th century. 80 pages. The title page in an ornamental frame, with musical notes and vignettes.
Height 16 cm, width 10.5 cm.
Height 16 cm, width 10.5 cm.
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Martynas Mažvydas’ Catechism (Königsberg, 1547), the first book written in Lithuanian, marked many first times: the first original work of Lithuanian poetic literature, the first hymns with musical notations in the Lithuanian language, and the first Lithuanian textbook.
In Catechism, we also find the first Lithuanian encrypted text—an acrostic—which identifies Martynas Mažvydas as the book’s author. The acrostic was discovered in 1938 by Polish researcher Jan Safarewicz, but it was fully deciphered only in 2019 by Baltic scholar Ilja Lemeškinas. The scholar determined that the first lines of the Lithuanian preface in verse are also significant, and the entire acrostic reads as follows: “B[accalaureus] J[uris] MARTJNVS MASVJDJVS” (Martynas Mažvydas, Bachelor of Laws).
And at the end of Catechism, just before the hymnal section (p. C4), Lemeškinas discovers yet another acrostic—
a continuation of the preface’s acrostic in the four-line invocation “Skaititaiap”: “BJ TP” (Baccalaureus Juris Titulum Posuit, Eng. Bachelor of Laws placed the sign of the cross).
a continuation of the preface’s acrostic in the four-line invocation “Skaititaiap”: “BJ TP” (Baccalaureus Juris Titulum Posuit, Eng. Bachelor of Laws placed the sign of the cross).
Only two known surviving copies of the first Lithuanian book currently exist in the world, and they are held in the libraries of Vilnius University and the University of Toruń (Poland). It is believed that approximately 200 copies were printed.
The copy held by Vilnius University Library was received from Maxim Gorky Scientific Library in Odessa (Ukraine) in 1957, in exchange for Abraham Ortelius’ atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum*, published in Antwerp in 1570, and the Third Statute of Lithuania**, printed in Vilnius in 1588.
The copy held by Vilnius University Library was received from Maxim Gorky Scientific Library in Odessa (Ukraine) in 1957, in exchange for Abraham Ortelius’ atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum*, published in Antwerp in 1570, and the Third Statute of Lithuania**, printed in Vilnius in 1588.
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The Lithuanian National Commission for UNESCO recognized Martynas Mažvydas’ Catechism as a documentary heritage item of regional significance and included it in the Lithuanian National Register of the UNESCO “Memory of the World” Program as the first entry.
* A copy of the atlas held at Vilnius University Library can be viewed in Digital Collections.
** A copy of the Third Statute of Lithuania held at Vilnius University Library can be viewed in Digital Collections
.** A copy of the Third Statute of Lithuania held at Vilnius University Library can be viewed in Digital Collections