The Sudavian book ( lit. Sūduvių knygelė , German: Sudauer Büchlein ) is an anonymous work about the customs, religion and everyday life of the Baltic people of the Prussians , who in the 9th-18th centuries inhabited the territory of the present Kaliningrad region of Russia, the southern part of Klaipeda county of Lithuania and the Warmian-Masurian province of Poland [1] [2] . The title of the work in handwritten and printed versions vary greatly. Name of the printed version: Warhafftige Beschreibung der Sudawen auf Samlandt sambt jhren Bockheyligen vnd Ceremonien (True description of the sacrifice of the goat and the rites of the Baltic people of the Prussians ...). Handwritten versions are called Der Vnglaubigen Sudauen ihrer Bockheiligung mit sambt andern Ceremonien (Goat sacrifice by pagans - Prussians and their other rites).
The manuscript was written in German in the 16th century. The original has not been preserved. The contents of the book are known from later lists and prints. Modern scholars disagree about the origin and significance of the book. However, the book has become popular and often cited in other historical works. Most of Prussian mythology is reconstructed on the basis of this work or its derivatives [1] .
Content
Authorship
According to the Polish historian Alexander Bruckner , the book arose from letters written around 1545 by the Protestant priest Jerome Malecki using information from the book Constitutiones Synodales published in 1530. Their content was supplemented by the son of Maletsky and published by him in 1561 under the name Sudovian Book. [3] As a secondary source, the book does not contain new information and cannot be regarded as an independent source of Prussian mythology.
The German folklorist Wilhelm Manhardt believes that Maletsky only prepared previously written anonymous manuscripts for publication. In his view, the Sudanese book was written a long time ago and was the source for Constitutiones Synodales. He claimed that the book was written by Lutheran priests: Georg von Polenz, Bishop of Sambia ; Erhard von Queis, Bishop of Pomerania ; and Paulus Speratus (Paulus Speratus), confessor of the Duke Albrecht of Prussia , later Bishop of Pomezanii [4] . In the 1520s, they visited different parishes of the region, collected information about pagan beliefs and recorded it.
Contents
The book includes a list of Prussian gods listed in descending order from heaven to earth and to the underworld: Ockopirmus (the main god of heaven and stars), Swayxtix (bright light), Auschauts (god of the sick), Autrimpus (god of the sea), Potrimpus (god water), Bardoayts (god of boats), Pergrubrius (god of plants), Pilnitis (god of plenty), Parkuns (god of thunder and rain), Peckols (god of hell and darkness), Pockols (flying spirit or devil), Puschkayts (god of the earth) and his servants Barstucke (little people) and Markopole [1] .
The book also details local customs: weddings, funerals, veneration of the dead [4] . So, the ritual of sacrificing goats to the priest by the priest (the so-called Wourschaity ) is described in great detail. The book also describes the life and customs of the Prussians who once lived on the ( Kaliningrad Peninsula ). In the XIII century, the Prussians were still pagans worshiping their gods [1] .
Literature
- Sūduvių knygelė. Small Lithuanian Encyclopedia. Vilnius: Ed. “Science and Encyclopedias”, 2009. pp. 355–356. ISBN 5-420-01470-X .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Schmalstieg, William R. (2003).
- ↑ Eidintas A. et al. History of Lithuania. - Vilnius, 2013 .-- S. 23.
- ↑ Bojtár, Endre (1999).
- ↑ 1 2 “Sūduvių knygelė”.