Res Humanitariae

The article analyses the fishing and related occupations in the Curonian Lagoon region in the 19th – first half of the 20th centuries. A brief history of fishing in the Curonian Lagoon from ancient times is presented, thus providing historical context which might provide a better understanding of the processes that took place during the period analysed in the article. Available information from historical sources shows that besides fishing the lagoon fishermen were forced to engage in other occupations. The main reason for this was hard natural conditions of the region. Auxiliary fishing occupation soften were related to the fishermen’s skills acquired in fishing, such as boat building and management. Material of archaeological excavations carried out in 2012 at the site of former Kopgalis village is presented in the article. The material shows an important turning-point that took place in the 19 than 20th centuries in the region of the Curonian Lagoon – the transition from traditional fishing to a new activity – resort business. For the first time memoir material of Henrikas Cyrulis – native resident of Kintai village is presented in the study.

The practice of translating government decrees into Lithuanian and publishing them for Lithuanian speakers living in Prussia has been known since the late 16th century. It stemmed from the policy of multi-lingualism which emerged under Duke Albert, and the establishment of the Reformation in Prussia. Most Lithuanian translations of Prussian government decrees known today date from the 18th century. At that time, the best experts in the Lithuanian language were engaged in their translation and publication. After the potential of Königsberg in Lithuanian studies declined in the second half of the 18th century, efforts to concentrate these activities in the area of Prussia that was still densely inhabited by Lithuanian speakers and called Lithuania at that time, became more active. The article analyses how this change was exploited by the Mielcke family, who were active in Prussian Lithuania. Christian Gottlieb Mielcke, who held a humble cantor’s position in the remote parish of Pillkallen, initiated a discussion on the principles of the edition of Lithuanian hymnals in 1781. His brother Daniel Friedrich, the priest at Ragnit, wrote a complaint about the quality of translations of government decrees into Lithuanian in 1788. This was the beginning of a dispute that eventually involved the Mielcke family in the translation of government decrees.

The article explores the changes in the gathering, processing and use of amber on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea at the end of the Viking Age and in the 12th to 16th century. In the pagan sacral space, works in amber reflected mythological elements, and later they were transformed and adapted to Christian practice, at the same time as maintaining the commercial value of amber as a material. Archaeological material from the above-mentioned period illustrates the gradual diffusion of Christian elements in the pagan territories. Their expression is visible in new forms of amber works.

The paper presents the general conditions in which the pastoral work of mendicant orders was conducted in the domains of the Teutonic Order and particular bishoprics in Prussia and Livonia, at the same time indicating similarities and differences in the situations in which friars had to work in these areas. The research focuses exclusively on pastoral work conducted among the urban population. The network of mendicant friaries in Prussia and Livonia was a reflection of the demographic potential and the degree of urbanisation of both parts of the domains of the Teutonic Order. The scale of effectiveness of the friars is authenticated by numerous references to prayer agreements concluded with members of religious orders and guilds of craftsmen, burials in friary churches (tombstones), and bequests of townspeople. The degree of success of mendicant orders and the support of the townspeople is confirmed in the partially preserved great hall-type churches erected by mendicants in the main towns (Gdańsk, Toruń, Tallinn, Riga).

Authors present problems connected with horse sacrifices in Early Middle Ages in Prussia. Discoveries nearby Poganowo site IV hill-fort, create new possibilities to discuss about Prussian religion in Early Middle Ages. Stone statue, cairns, hearths and remains of sacrificed horses have similarities to numerous cult places in Europe and in Asia.