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Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to be here this morning in Herzog August Bibliothek of Wolfenbüttel. Since it is my first time to come to this part of Germany, before coming here I googled Wikipedia to find out more about the place. To my surprise, there are 172 towns in northern Germany whose names end in büttel. And Wolfenbüttel is the southernmost of them.

In my language, ‘butelis’ refers to ‘a bottle.’ If there are 172 towns in this part of Germany, which somehow relate to butelis, this country must be a nice place to live, I guess…

But my poor knowledge of German allows me to speculate that linguistically, Wolfenbüttel has more to do with the ‘seat of wolves.’ This is odd in the sense that Wolfenbüttel has for many years been famous as the centre of arts and culture in Northern Germany. This library, which dates back to the 16th century, is the most vivid surviving monument of those times.

In Lithuania, we might never get known of Wolfenbüttel, had Professor Schmidt-Wartenberg of Chicago University overlooked the dusty manuscript when he visited the library in the summer of 1896. This manuscript, later branded as the Postil of Wolfenbüttel, still represents a mystery and a well of inspiration for the researchers of Lithuanian language and history.

The significance of the Postil of Wolfenbüttel is manifold. First, it represents the earliest available source of hand-written Lithuanian. By traversing almost 300 pages of this manuscript we can learn a lot about the manner our ancestors spoke, wrote, and prayed. We can also wonder how dialects from eastern, predominately-Catholic Lithuania had actually appeared in the Lutheran texts of the Postil. These ‘irregularities,’ which correspond to the twists and turns of Lithuania’s complicated history, today serve as a great source of learning. By reading the manuscript we can both admire the beauty of the Lithuanian language and discover, quite unexpectedly, that the most archaic language in Europe used to have even more archaic forms in the past...

Second, the Postil of Wolfenbüttel includes the first Lithuanian translations of the Antique and Medieval texts. It connects the Lithuanian-speakers of the time with the context and the legacy of European history. From this perspective, the Postil is an important milestone in the building of Lithuania’s European identity, which had been so important during the times when Lithuania, as a country, was erased from the European map. Back at home, we still have to learn to appreciate the value of the Postil of Wolfenbüttel, alongside with such historical publications as the Catechism by Martynas Mažvydas (1547) or the Postil by Jonas Bretkūnas (1591).

Third, the Postil operates an extensive apparatus of references to the greatest names of the Reformation: Martin Luther, Niels Hemmingsen, Antonius Corvino, Johannes Spangenberg, Johannes Brenz, Daniel Greser, Leonhard Culmann, and many others. It means that the Postil is an organic piece of its time. As many things had arrived to Lithuania with a delay -- in many areas we had to catch up with the rest of Europe -- the Postil signifies the symbolic moment when this gap was finally closed. In later years, Lithuania was already contributing to European arts and culture through its Statute Books, its Baroque, and its success in merging the Catholic and Orthodox churches on the parts of its vast territory.

Last but not least, the Postil of Wolfenbüttel is a symbol of the Lithuanian culture that existed in Eastern Prussia, also known by many as Lithuania Minor. The vestiges of this predominately Lutheran culture can be distinguished in small details, such as the binding of the manuscript, the ornaments, or the quality of the paper.  They tell us a lot about the high quality of life and the technological progress that prevailed in the area in the 16th century.  But they also remind us that Lithuania and Germany used to be close neighbors in the past -- a memory which today is often forgotten. 800 years of fighting, oppression, and assimilation come along with 800 years of continuous intensive social and cultural exchange. I believe, this kind of memory is important in today’s Europe, so we need to protect it and make it better known in our region.

Therefore, the work carried out by Dr. Jolanta Gelumbeckaitė deserves our highest commends and appreciation. Dear Jolanta, you brought the Postil of Wolfenbüttel back to the focus of public attention. And as I look at the members of the distinguished audience today, I realize that you brought the Postil outside the narrow borders of the linguistic community. This is a great accomplishment.

I truly hope that back in Lithuania, this event will also receive the broadest possible coverage. Symbols are important. And the Postil of Wolfenbüttel is an important symbol which still needs to find its place on the Olympus of our modern mythology. We need to work together towards this goal: linguists, diplomats, friends of Lithuania abroad.

Before I close, I would like to say my special thanks to the Government of the Bundesrepublik Deutschland, for its support and the funds which have allowed to accomplish this important research.

People like Jolanta usually do their job without asking too much from us. All they ask is to believe that the job they are doing is necessary and right. So my thank-you also goes to Dr. Gelumbeckaite’s collaborators, and the publishers, for believing in Jolanta’s idea and for supporting her all the way to this moment.

And thank you, Jolanta, for this great book.

Thank you.