First author of a printed book from Kaunas

Straipsnyje analizuojama 1561 m. Martyno Gradovskio iš Kauno paskelbta giesmė, skirta Jėzaus Kristaus mirčiai ir prisikėlimui pagerbti. Pristatoma spaudinio bibliografijos istorija, išlikęs vienintelis knygos egzempliorius (unikatas), aptariamas knygos autorius, kontekstas ir literatūriniai šaltiniai, priede pateikiama tekstų palyginimo lentelė. Straipsnį lydi publikacijų skyriuje skelbiamas kūrinio tekstas originalo (lotynų) kalba, prozinis vertimas į lietuvių kalbą, komentarai lotynų kalba.Very little is known about the contribution of the burghers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to old Lithuanian literature. The burghers were always pushed into shadow by the representatives of the nobility. In this respect, the sixteenth century is especially poor and each new fact that adds to our knowledge about the intellectual and creative potential of the townspeople of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the sixteenth century is significant. The aim of this paper is to introduce and analyse a work written and published by one burgher of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the mid-sixteenth century. The object of research is a little-known rare publication the accurate full title of which is the following: Elegia de Re|surrectione Domini no|stri Iesu Christi, continens | descriptionem pugnae Ipsius apud inferos, |et simul triumphi Eius ascenden|tis ad Patrem, | scripta | ad illustrissimum prin|cipem et dominum, dominum Nicolaum Radziuil, | ducem in Olika et Niesuisz, palatinum Vilnensem, can|cellarium et marschalcum magni ducatus Lithuuaniae, | generalem Brestensem, Schanlensem, et | Borisoniensem capita|neum, etc. | autore Martino Grado| uuio Caunensi. L. | Anno 1561 [VD16 ZV 6919]. Only two copies of the Elegia are known to bibliographers during the 450 years that have passed since its publication. The fate of the copy described by Jan Daniel Janocki is unknown. In all likelihood it perished in the hardships of history that befell the Zaluski library. The only known copy, the so-called unicate, is currently kept in Germany, at the Gotha Research Library (Forschungsbibliothek Gotha). The shelfmark of the book: Phil. 4o 00203/05. It is a small eight-leaf publication in quarto, in a binding consisting of as many as 170 similar occasional works. The objectives of the article are the following: (1) to determine where precisely Elegia was printed, (2) to prove that the author of Elegia Martynas Gradovskis (Martinus Gradovius, Marcin Gradowski) was indeed a burgher of Kaunas, (3) to introduce his person and his family, and (4) to reveal a broader cultural and literary context of this small book. Since the place of publication is not given on the title page, all bibliographic sources claim that it is unknown. Although it is not given on the title page, it is not hard to identify from the dedication by Martynas Gradovskis, the author of Elegia, to Mikalojus Radvila the Black (Mikołaj Radziwiłł Czarny), the voivode of Vilnius. It turns out that the book was printed at the printing house of Johann Eichorn in Frankfurt (Oder). Not having seen the work itself and resorting to the reiterated title, the majority of those who wrote about Elegia had doubts as to whether Martynas Gradovskis was a burgher of Kaunas or possibly a noble. The above-mentioned dedication to Mikalojus Radvila the Black is a proof that Martynas Gradovskis, the author of Elegia, came from the burghers of Kaunas. So far only four undeniable facts are known about Martynas Gradovskis. First of all, his father Simonas Gradovskis was a burgher of Kaunas, a lay judge, member of Council, and eventually a burgomaster. Martynas must have been born in Kaunas. The exact year is unknown, but one can guess that he must have been born between 1540 and 1543. The second true fact is that in 1559 we see him at the University of Frankfurt (Oder): he enrolled during the spring term, after 23 April. The third fact is that Marcin stayed in Frankfurt (Oder) until 1561 (with or without intervals), and early in 1561 he wrote and published his Elegia here. On the title page, the author’s name is followed by the abbreviation L, which very likely means Licenciatus (-o), that is, the degree achieved. The fourth known fact is the date of his death. We know that he died early in 1569 in Gdansk. It becomes clear from the ascertained facts that Martynas Gradovskis died when he was 25–30 years old at the most; there was not enough time for self-realisation or an outstanding career, which explains why information about him in extant sources is scarce. More can be said about the family into which Martynas was born. His father, Simonas Gradovskis, was a burgher of Kaunas, a lay judge, member of Council, and eventually a burgomaster; his mother, Barbora Barčiūtė, was a townswoman. Simonas Gradovskis, a long-standing burgomaster of Kaunas, was one of the prominent personalities of Kaunas in the middle and the second half of the sixteenth century. He was born between 1510 and 1515, was a lay judge from at least 1544, later became member of Council, and a burgomaster in 1550. He died in the 1570s. [...