Matthäus Prätorius


Matthäus Prätorius was a Protestant pastor, later a Roman Catholic priest, a historian and ethnographer.
Prätorius is thought to have been born in Memel. He probably grew up speaking both German and Lithuanian, which helped him when preaching to the ethnic Lithuanians in Ducal Prussia. His work about Prussia and its culture, Deliciae Prussicae, oder Preussische Schaubühne, resembles the work of Christoph Hartknoch, with whom he collaborated. Prätorius' work provides much more ethnographic information regarding local Lithuanians and Old Prussians. It was only published partially, in 1725, 1731 and 1871. A complete edition, in seven volumes, with original German text and Lithuanian translation, is under preparation in Lithuania.
In 1701, having converted from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism, he appealed against an ongoing case of witch-hunt. He died in Wejherowo.
In Orbis Gothicus and Mars Gothicus sustained that Prussia was the original land of Goths and that Goths can be identified as being "prussians, lithuanians, samogitians and curonians ".

Works

Tuba pacis, 1685, 1711, 1820
Scutum Regium, 1685
Orbis Gothicus, 1688-1689
Mars Gothicus, 1691
Deliciae Prussicae oder Preussische Schaubühne, 1689 manuscript
Matas Pretorijus / / Matthew Praetorius. Prūsijos įdomybės, arba Prūsijos regykla / / Deliciae Prussicae or Prussian theater. Edited by Inge Lukšaité and Vilija Gerulaitienė. Vilnius: Pradai. Vol 1, Vol 2, ed. Inge Lukšaité in collaboration with V. Gerulaitienė, M. Čiurinskas, I. Tumavičiūtė, Vilnius: Lietuvos istorijos instituto Leidykla,, Vol 3, hersg. Inge Lukšaité with the collaboration of M. Girdzijauskaitė, p Drevello, J. Kilius, Čiurinskas M., Vol 4, hersg. Inge Lukšaité in collaboration with V. Gerulaitienė, J. Kilius, T. Veteikis, Vilnius. Lietuvos istorijos instituto Leidykla, .