Kristupo Ernsto Tydkės 1747 m. gruodžio 12 d. prašymas: nauji faktai apie Halės universiteto Lietuvių kalbos seminarą

BIRUTĖ TRIŠKAITĖ Institute of the Lithuanian Language ORCID id: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2286-4080 Research interests: sixteenth- to eighteenth-century writings of Lithuania Minor, history of bilingual Lithuanian lexicography. DOI: doi.org/10.35321/all83-03 CHRISTOPH ERNST TIEDTKE’S PETITION OF 12 DECEMBER 1747: NEW FACTS ABOUT THE LITHUANIAN LANGUAGE SEMINAR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HALLE Christoph Ernst Tiedtke’s Appeal of December 12, 1747: New Facts about the Lithuanian Language Seminar at the University of Halle ABSTRACT The article analyzes and publishes a document found in the Secret State Archives of the Prussian Cultural Heritage (German: Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz) in Berlin, revealing new facts about the Lithuanian Language Seminar established at the University of Halle in 1727. It is the petition of Christoph Ernst Tiedtke (Christoph Ernst Tiedtke, 1722–after 1772), a graduate of this university’s Faculty of Theology, stepson of Peter Gottlieb Mielcke (Peter Gottlieb Mielcke, 1695–1753), and half-brother of Christian Gottlieb Mielcke (Christian Gottlieb Mielcke, 1733–1807), written on December 12, 1747, and addressed to the Secret Council (German: Geheimer Rat) in Berlin. This archival source is significant for the history of the Lithuanian Language Seminar at the University of Halle because it provides data on the seminar’s scarcely documented final period of activity. Based on the information recorded in K. E. Tiedtke’s petition, the article reveals that after 1740, conventionally regarded in historiography as the year the Lithuanian Language Seminar at the University of Halle was closed, there were nevertheless efforts to continue the seminar’s activities. KEYWORDS: eighteenth century, Lithuanian Language Seminar at the University of Halle, Christoph Ernst Tiedtke, Gotthilf August Francke, Franz Albert Schultz. Straipsniai / Articles 55 BIRUTĖ TRIŠKAITĖ ANNOTATION The article analyses and publishes the archival document found at the Secret State Archives Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (German: Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz) in Berlin, which reveals new facts about the Lithuanian Language Seminar established at the University of Halle in 1727. It is an appeal of Christoph Ernst Tiedtke (1722–after 1772), a graduate of the University’s Faculty of Theology, stepson of Peter Gottlieb Mielcke (1695–1753) and half-brother of Christian Gottlieb Mielcke (1733–1807), which was written on December 12, 1747 and was addressed to the Privy Council (German: Geheimer Rat) in Berlin. This archival source is important for the history of the Lithuanian Language Seminar at the University of Halle, as it provides evidence about a nearly undocumented final period of existence of the seminar. Based on the information recorded in Tiedtke’s appeal, the article reveals that efforts were actually made to continue the activities of the seminar after 1740, which is usually considered the year of closure of the Lithuanian Language Seminar at the University of Halle in historiography. KEYWORDS: 18ᵗʰ century, Lithuanian Language Seminar at the University of Halle, Christoph Ernst Tiedtke, Gotthilf August Francke, Franz Albert Schultz. Established in 1694, the University of Halle was the second institution of higher education in the Kingdom of Prussia at which, by order of King Friedrich Wilhelm I (1688–1740, reigned 1713–1740), non-Lithuanian theology students began to be taught the Lithuanian language. At the University of Halle, regarded as a center of Pietist ideas and then only in its fourth decade of activity, the purpose of the Lithuanian Language Seminar, opened in 1727, was to train Pietist-oriented pastors and teachers who knew Lithuanian for work in the Lithuanian parishes of the Kingdom of Prussia. Unlike the University of Königsberg, however, where a Lithuanian Language Seminar was begun in 1718 for essentially the same purpose and functioned for more than two centuries—until 1944 (Citavičiūtė 2004: 11, 12)—the seminar at the University of Halle existed for a much shorter period. On the basis of a newly discovered archival source, this article asks whether the seminar definitively ceased to exist in 1740, the year established in German and Lithuanian historiography as the year of its closure, and reveals that there were nevertheless efforts to continue its activities after 1740. 56 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXXIII Kristupo Ernsto Tydkės 1747 m. gruodžio 12 d. prašymas: nauji faktai apie Halės universiteto Lietuvių kalbos seminarą 1. DATING THE ACTIVITIES OF THE LITHUANIAN LANGUAGE SEMINAR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HALLE IN HISTORIOGRAPHY The author of the first more detailed studies devoted specifically to the history of the Lithuanian Language Seminar at the University of Halle, Das Litauische Seminar an der Universität Halle, published in 1935 in the journal Archivum Philologicum, Franz Specht (1888–1949), claimed that the seminar operated from 1727 to 1740 (Specht 1935: 36–38), in other words, that its activities lasted thirteen years. In indicating the beginning of the seminar’s activities, he relied on two primary sources: 1) a notice published in the September 1, 1729, issue of the newspaper Neue Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen No. 70, which mentioned that in October 1727 a Lithuanian Language Seminar had been established in Halle by order of the King of Prussia for theology students: After, by the most gracious high command of His Royal Majesty, im October 1727 a Seminarium Lithuanicum was established here for Studiosis Theologiæ, in which they would be instructed in the Lithuanian language by a Studioso Theologiæ who was a native Lithuanian, so that they could subsequently be employed as preachers in Royal Prussian Lithuania ([Anonimas] 1729: 639; cf. Specht 1935: 36); 2) the statement by Gotthilf August Francke (1696–1769), professor of theology at the University of Halle and head of the Lithuanian Language Seminar, in the preface to the dictionary Vocabularium Litthanico–Germanicum, et Germanico–Litthanicum (Halle, 1730), prepared by Friedrich Wilhelm Haack (1707–1754), then a lecturer at the seminar, that the seminar had already been operating for three years: It is now drey Jahr / since, by Royal command most gracious, a Seminarium Litthuanicum, in which some Studïosi Theologiæ are instructed in the Lithuanian language customary in a certain region of Prussia / was established here (Francke 1730: [2r]; cf. Specht 1935: 37). In claiming that the Lithuanian Language Seminar ceased operating in 1740, F. Specht relied solely on an archival source quoted in Johann Christoph Hoffbauer’s (1766–1827) book devoted to the history of the University of Halle, Geschichte der Universität zu Halle bis zum Jahre 1805 (Halle, 1805)—an undated report by the head of the seminar, G. A. Francke: As for the Lithuanian Seminar, it was an privatim im Jahre 1727 angerichtetes institution Institutum established by me, maintained without any royal expense until 1740, for whose establishment nothing moved me other than Straipsniai / Articles 57 BIRUTĖ TRIŠKAITĖ the highest Royal Intention and repeated most gracious commands that capable people should be educated for Prussian Lithuania (Hoffbauer 1805: 281; cf. Specht 1936: 37). This report by G. A. Francke, once again confirming the year of the establishment of the Lithuanian Language Seminar at the University of Halle attested by other sources (1727), remains the only known primary source to date stating that the seminar operated until 1740. The concise overview of the seminar by G. A. Francke’s contemporary, the historian Johann Christoph von Dreyhaupt (1699–1768), suggests a somewhat different conclusion: in the second volume of his book Ausführliche diplomatisch-historische Beschreibung des [...] Saal-Creyses, published in 1750 (Halle, 1750), he wrote about the Lithuanian Language Seminar at the University of Halle as an institution that was still operating at that time (Dreyhaupt 1750: 33). J. Ch. Hoffbauer explained the contradiction between the two sources by suggesting that J. Ch. von Dreyhaupt could have written the section about the seminar considerably earlier than the book was published, that is, before 1740, when the seminar was indeed operating (Hoffbauer 1805: 282). Whatever the case, later German historiography, when mentioning the Lithuanian Language Seminar at the University of Halle, essentially relied on J. Ch. Hoffbauer; that is, the end of the seminar’s activities was dated to 1740 (e.g., Schrader 1894: 239–240; Reinhold 1895: 106–107). It is true that prewar Lithuanian scholarship tended to date the seminar up to 1765 (e.g., Vileišis 2008 [1935]: 146; Šapoka 1989 [1936]: 615), perhaps associating this with the granting of free meals (German: Preußischer Freitisch or Preußisch-Litauischer Freitisch) to theology students even after the 1740s (cf. Schiller 1994: 195). This benefit was established in January 1728 by King Friedrich Wilhelm I for Prussian young men studying in Halle, especially those learning Lithuanian in the seminar; for this purpose, 400 thalers were sent annually from Königsberg, but this support, and the benefit together with it, was discontinued much earlier—in 1758, when the Russian army occupied Königsberg during the Seven Years’ War (Hoffbauer 1805: 279–280; Specht 1935: 38; Winter 1954: 57). Nevertheless, the aforementioned study by F. Specht, whose sole subject was the history of this seminar, contributed significantly to the establishment of 1740 as the year of the seminar’s closure in both German and Lithuanian historiography (Winter 1954: 56; LLI I 214; Bense 1974: 295; Bense 1994: 81; Schiller 1994: 195, 199; Citavičiūtė 2004: 78 et al.). Although F. Specht emphasized the scarcity of archival sources, the statement by the seminar’s own head, G. A. Francke, which he quoted, ¹ To be sure, some of these researchers believed that the seminar began operating in 1724 or 1725 (Winter 1954: 47; Bense 1974: 295; Bense 1994: 81), but there is now no doubt that it was in fact opened in 1727 (see above). 58 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXXIII Kristupo Ernsto Tydkės 1747 m. gruodžio 12 d. prašymas: nauji faktai apie Halės universiteto Lietuvių kalbos seminarą although undated and without context, appeared unquestionable and entirely sufficient, and therefore the subject of dating was not subsequently developed in studies devoted to the history of the seminar. The question of the duration of the Halle University Lithuanian Language Seminar’s activity and its second chronological boundary has been revisited because of a newly discovered archival source—a petition by Christoph Ernst Tydt[c]ke, Tiedtcke, Tiedke, 1722–after 1772, preserved in Berlin at the Prussian Cultural Heritage Secret State Archives (German Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz, hereafter GStA PK), written on December 12, 1747, and addressed to the Secret Council (German Geheimer Rat) in Berlin (GStA PK: I. HA, Rep. 7, Nr. 90 h, Pkt. 1239, [1r–2v]; see the facsimile, transcription, and translation of the document at the end of the article). 2. CHRISTOPH ERNST TIEDTKE K. E. Tiedtke has only recently entered the field of vision of researchers of the written culture of Prussian Lithuania as a member of the Mielcke family, which was active in the Lithuanian cultural sphere of the eighteenth century. In reconstructing the composition of this family, it was established that K. E. Tiedtke was the stepson of Peter Gottlieb Mielcke (Peter Gottlieb Mielcke, 1695–1753) and the eldest half-brother of Christian Gottlieb Mielcke (Christian Gottlieb Mielcke, 1733–1807) (Triškaitė 2019: 81–82, 105–110). He was born in Lapynai (German: Lappienen) and was the firstborn child of the local pastor Tobias Tiedtke (Tobias Tiedtke, 1688–1725) and Regina Louisa Schimmelpfennig (Regina Louisa Schimmelpfennig, 1702–1776) (LapKK 61v, No. 62). The baptismal register of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lapynai testifies that he had a brother, Gottfried Tiedtke (Gottfried Tiedtke, 1723–1791), a year and a half younger (LapKK 67r, No. 122), who later became a pastor and was mentioned in Gottfried Oster meyer’s (Gottfried Oster meyer, 1716–1800) polemical treatise Bedenken über einen Entwurf zu einem Neuen Littauischen Gesangbuch (Königsberg, 1786) (for more on the brother, see Triškaitė 2019: 81–82, 110–111). Their mother came from the large Schimmelpfennig family, several of whose members belonged to the clergy and participated in Lithuanian studies. For example, K. E. Tiedtke’s maternal grandfather, Martin Schimmelpfennig (Martin Schimmelpfennig, 1668–1735), who served as a pastor in Piktupėnai (German: Piktupönen) throughout his life, reviewed and approved, together with other pastors of Prussian Lithuania, the translation of Martin Luther’s Mažojo katekizmo prepared for printing in 1719 on the initiative of Heinrich Lysius (Heinrich Lysius, 1670–1731), while his maternal grandfather’s younger brother, Adam Friedrich Schimmelpfennig (Adam Friedrich Schimmelpfennig, 1677–1740), pastor of Skaisgiriai (German: Skaisgirren), was one of the translators of the first printed Lithuanian translation of the Bible, published in Königsberg in 1735. Three of K. E. Tiedtke’s uncles, that is, his mother’s brothers, were also well-known clergymen of Prussian Lithuania: they were the pastor of Popelken (German: Popelken) Adam Friedrich Schimmelpfennig (Adam Straipsniai / Articles 59 BIRUTĖ TRIŠKAITĖ Friedrich Schimmelpfennig, 1699–1763), translator of hymns and the aforementioned Bible, compiler of a hymnal, and editor of the second edition of the Bible; the pastor of Ragnit (German: Ragnit), Ernst Gottfried Schimmelpfennig (Ernst Gottfried Schimmelpfennig, 1704–1768); and Martin Schimmelpfennig (Martin Schimmelpfennig, 1706–1778), who lectured at the Lithuanian Language Seminar at the University of Halle and later served as a pastor in Kinten (German: Kinten) and Prökuls (German: Prökuls). After his father’s early death, his mother married in 1726 the pastor of Jurbarkas (German: Georgenburg), P. G. Mielcke, who is known in the history of Lithuanian writing as the first lecturer of the Lithuanian Language Seminar at the University of Königsberg, reestablished in 1723, proofreader of the New Testament (1727), and one of the translators of the Bible (1735), as well as a translator of hymns and edicts of the Prussian authorities. Thus, K. E. Tiedtke grew up in a family that fostered strong Lithuanian studies traditions and probably learned the Lithuanian language in childhood (for more on the kinship of the Tiedtke, Schimmelpfennig, and Mielcke families, see Triškaitė 2019: 73–126). At nearly nineteen, K. E. Tiedtke was matriculated at the University of Königsberg on April 5, 1741: “[1741.] 5. Aprilis. Tiedke Christoph. Ernest., Lapenen. Pruss.” (Erler 1911–1912: 386), but, in his own words, did not study there (Tiedtke 1747–12–12: [1v]), and in fact probably studied for only one semester (see below). Soon afterward, he departed to pursue his studies at the University of Halle, famous for Pietist ideas, about one thousand kilometers away; thus, Pietism was not foreign to K. E. Tiedtke, who had grown up in the family of the orthodox Lutheran P. G. Mielcke. It is likely that his maternal uncle M. Schimmelpfennig encouraged him in one way or another to go to Halle; he had taught at the local Lithuanian Language Seminar and returned to Prussian Lithuania the previous year. Like his two older brothers, Adam Friedrich and Ernst Gottfried, he had previously studied theology at the University of Königsberg (Erler 1911–1912: 318) and attended the Lithuanian Language Seminar at the University of Königsberg, headed by Professor Johann Jacob Quandt (1686–1772), precisely when his future brother-in-law P. G. Mielcke was teaching there (Triškaitė 2018: 63, 67–68). M. Schimmelpfennig was recommended as a candidate to teach Lithuanian in Halle to the theology professor and head of the Lithuanian Language Seminar there, G. A. Francke, by two former students of the latter: in a letter of April 14, 1734, by the first lecturer of this seminar and then pastor of Katyčiai (German: Coadjuthen), Johann Richter (1705–1754)², and in a letter of May 14, 1734, by the professor of theology at the University of Königsberg and head of the Lithuanian Language Seminar there, Franz ² Cf. “meines Nachbah ren Sohn Monſ. Schim[m]elpfennig ſich entſchloſen || in Gottes Nahmen als Docens im Halliſchen Seminario ſich dorthin || zu begeben” (Richter 1734–04–14: 28r; cf. Winter 1954: 56). 60 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXXIII Kristupo Ernsto Tydkės 1747 m. gruodžio 12 d. prašymas: nauji faktai apie Halės universiteto Lietuvių kalbos seminarą Albert Schultz (1692–1763).³ Incidentally, F. A. Schultz noted that M. Schimpelpenigis was a genuine Lithuanian (that is, he had been born and raised in Lithuania Minor) and spoke the most beautiful dialect. According to J. J. Quandt, he taught in the Lithuanian Language Seminar at the University of Halle for six years, from 1734 to 1740 (QPP IV 108r), and was therefore the lecturer who taught in the seminar for the longest period. There is no information as to whether M. Schimmelpfennig, once himself recommended to G. A. Francke by the former lecturer J. Richter, could later have recommended his nephew to the head of the seminar. It is certain only that K. E. Tiedtke went to Halle with F. A. Schultz’s recommendation—this is attested by the latter’s letter to G. A. Francke of 16 October 1741 (Schultz 1741–10–16⁴; incidentally, this recommendation itself indicates that K. E. Tiedtke must have studied at the University of Königsberg for several months). In the matriculation registers of the University of Halle, K. E. Tiedtke’s name is entered under November 16, 1741: “Tiedtcke, Christophorus Ernestus; Lithv. Prussus [...] 16.11.1741 theol.” (Preuß 1994: 228)⁵. Here he studied theology for four years. As a student, K. E. Tiedtke taught for a time at the local Lithuanian Language Seminar (Tiedtke 1747–12–12: [1r]; see also section 3 and the appendix). In addition, he was one of the students from Prussia who received free meals (on this benefit, see section 1). That K. E. Tiedtke did in fact receive this benefit is attested by the alumni book Album alumnorum Mensae Regiae Borussicae provincialis, which contains his entry: “Christophorus Ernestus || Tiedtcke Lappino=Bo=||rus[s]us; natus A[nn]o 1722 || die 3. Maj.” (Tiedtke 1741: [14r]). In August 1745, apparently because of debts, he was forced to leave Halle—at least this is suggested by a note in the alumni book next to the cited entry: “Gieng heimlich feiner Schulden wegen || von Halle, a[nn]o 1745. m. August[i]” (Tiedtke 1741: [14r]). ³ Cf. “Morgen, wo Gott will, gehen unterschiedliche Studioſi von hier mit einem Schiff über Stettin nach Halle ab: [...]; b) Studioſus Schimmelpfennig, Informator am Seminar. Von ſeinem Chriſtentume kann nichts ſagen. Er iſt aber ſtill und wird ſich hoffentlich nicht widrig bezeugen, und der fertigte Litauer, der nur ſein kann, und hat den allervſchönsten Dialekt” (Schultz 1734–05–14; cited from Wotschke 1929–1930: 24). ⁴ The letter was published fragmentarily in Theodor Wotschke’s book Der Pietismus in Königsberg nach Rogalls Tode in Briefen (Wotschke 1929–1930: 73–76, No. 30), but without the sentence about K. E. Tiedtke. That K. E. Tiedtke was recommended in this letter as a Lithuanian-language teacher at the seminar is attested by information provided in the database devoted to the manuscript legacy of August Hermann Francke (1663–1727) (http://fas.francke-halle.de/cgi-bin/nachlass.pl?x=u&t_show=x&wertre­g=PER&wert=tiedtke%20%20%5Bsonstiger%5D&rec­check=16530). ⁵ I thank Dr. habil. Christiane Schiller for the information from these books: Matrikel der Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg – 1730–1741 (Halle, 1994) and Evangelisches Pfarrerbuch für die Mark Brandenburg (Berlin, 1941). Straipsniai / Articles 61 BIRUTĖ TRIŠKAITĖ Two years later, K. E. Tiedtke intended to return to Prussian Lithuania, as evidenced by his efforts in 1747 to obtain the position of pastor in Balėtai (German: Ballethen) (see section 3). Having failed to secure an appointment to a Lithuanian parish, in 1748 he began working as a teacher in Spandau (German: Spandau), and in 1750 as a military chaplain in the infantry regiment of the Prussian prince in Potsdam (Fischer 1941: 892; see also: Schimmelpfenning–Mielcke [1753–06–??]: 27v; Schimmelpfenning–Mielcke [1753–08–??]: 519v; Triškaitė, Sidabraitė 2019: 158–159, 166–167). On September 15, 1750, in Bernau, K. E. Tiedtke married Regenite Christiane, daughter of the by-then deceased pastor Matthäus Deilicke (1694–1736)6 (Fischer 1941: 892), and remained living near Berlin: from 1756 he served in Nauen, initially as a deacon and from 1769 to 1772 as superintendent (Fischer 1941: 892). K. E. Tiedtke’s Lithuanian-related activities, having grown up in the Mielcke family, which made a significant contribution to Lithuanian culture, apparently encompassed only one area—the teaching of Lithuanian at the Lithuanian Language Seminar of the University of Halle. An objective circumstance most likely prevented him from making a greater contribution to Lithuanian culture: after failing to obtain a pastorate in Ballethen at the end of 1747, K. E. Tiedtke did not return to Lithuania Minor and spent the rest of his life serving in Brandenburg. 3. CHRISTOPH ERNST TIEDTKE ON THE LITHUANIAN LANGUAGE SEMINAR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HALLE Important for the history of the Lithuanian Language Seminar at the University of Halle is K. E. Tiedtke’s petition of December 12, 1747, officially addressed to the Prussian King Friedrich II, or Frederick the Great (Friedrich II., Friedrich der Große, 1712–1786, reigned 1740–1786), but in fact sent to the Secret Council in Berlin, which made decisions in the king’s name. K. E. Tiedtke, a twenty-five-year-old graduate of the University of Halle and candidate in theology, having learned from his stepfather’s parish in Mielkiemis (German: Mehlkeh­men) pastor P. G. Mielcke that a pastorate in Balėtai, in the church district of Įsrutis (German: Insterburg), had become vacant, asked to be appointed to this parish of Prussian Lithuania. The pastorate there became vacant when George Abraham Baltzer died on September 22, 1747 (QPP IV 8r; Arnoldt 1777: 88; ŽM I 61). Seeking to obtain service in the Balėtai parish, K. E. Tiedtke wrote to the Secret Council ⁶ The Archives of the Francke Foundations (German: Archiv der Franckeschen Stiftungen, hereafter AFSt) preserves a letter by M. Deilicke dated November 3, 1719, addressed to the professor at the University of Halle, A. H. Francke (1663–1727), the father of the aforementioned G. A. Francke. It is likely that M. Deilicke, who studied at this university, was a pupil of A. H. Francke. 62 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXXIII Kristupo Ernsto Tydkės 1747 m. gruodžio 12 d. prašymas: nauji faktai apie Halės universiteto Lietuvių kalbos seminarą he wrote three times: on November 29, 1747⁷, December 5⁸, and December 12, so the latter petition was the third. Nevertheless, his efforts produced no desired result: on December 28, 1747, in Berlin, State Minister von Brand and Consistory President von Reichenbach signed a decree informing K. E. Tiedtke that the position requested had already been filled, and at the same time instructing him in future to apply first to the Faculty of Theology at the University of Königsberg and obtain a certificate from there (Brand, Reichenbach 1747–12–28: [1r]). On that occasion, Christian Friedrich Stimehr (Christian Friedrich Stimehr, Stimer, 1725–1765), who had until then served as pastor in Gerviškėnai (German: Gerwischkeh­men) and before that as rector in Stalupėnai (German: Stallupönen), was appointed pastor of Balėtai and inducted on January 21, 1748 (QPP IV 8r, 15r; Arnoldt 1777: 88, 118; ZM VI 1774)⁹. He was the younger son of the pastor of Želva (German: Saalau), Christian Stimehr (1676–1750), and brother of Erdmann Gottlieb Stimehr (1715–1737), a former attendee of the Lithuanian Language Seminar at the University of Halle (Schiller 1994: 201; ZM VI 1773). K. E. Tiedtke’s petition of 12 December 1747 provides not only information for reconstructing his own biography, but also new knowledge about the Lithuanian Language Seminar at the University of Halle. In setting out the most important facts of his life, he also revealed previously unknown details significant for the seminar’s least-documented final period of activity. Relating that he was born and raised in Lithuania Minor, studied at the University of Halle, and after his studies served as a preacher in Potsdam and nearby, K. E. Tiedtke also mentioned that he knew Lithuanian and had taught it at the local university’s Lithuanian Language Seminar: I was born and raised in Lithuania=|| and am proficient in that language, just as I also Halle im Seminario || taught the Lithuanian language (Tiedtke 1747–12–12: [1r]). K. E. Tiedtke’s assertion that he taught Lithuanian at the Lithuanian Language Seminar of the University of Halle makes it possible to add one more name to the now-known list of indisputable lecturers of this seminar: in addition to J. Richter (lecturer 1727–1728), F. W. Haack (1728–1732), and M. Schimmelpfennig (1734–1740), ⁷ K. E. Tiedtke’s petition written on 29 November 1747 is preserved in the same place as the aforementioned petition of 12 December (GStA PK: I. HA, Rep. 7, Nr. 90 h, Pkt. 1239, [1r–1v]). ⁸ This petition by K. E. Tiedtke is not present in the aforementioned archival file, but it is mentioned in the petition of 12 December (Tiedtke 1747–12–12: [1r]). ⁹ K. F. Stimehr is known as one of the owners of the manuscript dictionary Clavis Germanico–Lithvana (turn of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; LMAVB: F 137–13–14), which was supplemented in the third decade of the eighteenth century by K. E. Tiedtke’s stepfather, P. G. Mielcke (on P. G. Mielcke’s identified additions in the manuscript of the dictionary, see Triškaitė 2013: 44–64). Straipsniai / Articles 63 BIRUTĖ TRIŠKAITĖ whose work in the seminar is attested by reliable primary sources, K. E. Tiedtke himself was also a lecturer10. More importantly, this statement by K. E. Tiedtke implies that the seminar there operated longer than until the 1740s, as is commonly believed (see section 1), since he enrolled at the University of Halle only in November 1741 (see section 2). Here it is appropriate to return to G. A. Francke’s report on the Lithuanian Language Seminar quoted at the beginning of the article (see section 1). The question arises how to interpret statements recorded in archival sources that apparently contradict one another. On the one hand, there is no reason to doubt the assertion of the head of the Lithuanian Language Seminar himself, G. A. Francke, that the seminar operated until 1740. On the other hand, K. E. Tiedtke, too, in an official petition addressed to the Secret Council, could have mentioned only true facts; that is, he really must have taught at the Lithuanian Language Seminar of Halle University, but after 1740. This is also confirmed by the aforementioned letter of F. A. Schultz to G. A. Francke, dated 16 October 1741, in which he recommended that the student K. E. Tiedtke teach at the Lithuanian Language Seminar of Halle University. Thus, K. E. Tiedtke’s statement does not contradict G. A. Francke’s words but supplements them. J. Ch. Hoffbauer did not provide the data necessary for a correct interpretation of G. A. Francke’s statement: when and under what circumstances the report by G. A. Francke that he quoted was written. Moreover, he merely said that he had discovered that archival document among the university records (Hoffbauer 1805: 280), without indicating more precisely where it was kept; therefore, today one can only speculate about the time and context in which the report originated. In formulating hypotheses, attention should be drawn to the two reasons J. Ch. Hoffbauer gave for the seminar’s closure in 1740—lack of a teacher of the Lithuanian language and lack of funds: the Lithuanian Seminary had already dissolved in 1740 for lack of a teacher of the Lithuanian language and for lack of funds (Hoffbauer 1805: 280). And indeed, it was precisely in the spring of 1740 that the previous lecturer M. Schimmelpfennig left Halle. According to J. J. Quandt, he returned to Königsberg in May of that year, and on 7 June he was ordained a pastor in Königsberg’s Castle Church (QPP IV 108r). Thus, from the spring of 1740 there was probably no one for some time who could replace M. Schimmelpfennig at the seminar. K. E. Tiedtke arrived in Halle almost a year and a half later—in the autumn of 1741 (see section 2). Theoretically, he could have taught at the Lithuanian Language Seminar between mid-November 1741, when he enrolled at Halle University, and August 1745, when he left there (see section 2). Perhaps 10 It is likely that two other theology students at the local university also taught Lithuanian at the Lithuanian Language Seminar of Halle University: Johann Friedrich Wengorovius (1709/1711–1769), from Kętrzyn (German Rastenburg), and the Königsberg native Gottfried Friedrich Schoeffner (1718–after 1738) (Schiller 1994: 198; see also Specht 1935: 41). 64 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXXIII Kristupo Ernsto Tydkės 1747 m. gruodžio 12 d. prašymas: nauji faktai apie Halės universiteto Lietuvių kalbos seminarą The note “Inform. 1742–1744” accompanying K. E. Tiedtke’s matriculation entry in the publication of the Halle University matriculation registers (Preuß 1994: 228), meaning that he had been a teacher, points precisely to teaching at the Lithuanian Language Seminar. If this conjecture is confirmed, it would follow that K. E. Tiedtke taught Lithuanian at the seminar for two or three years, that is, from 1742 to 1744.11 Based on the data currently available, it is likely that G. A. Francke wrote his report after the previous seminar lecturer M. Schimmelpfennig had already left Halle but before K. E. Tiedtke arrived, that is, between May 1740 and November 1741; consequently, the later efforts to continue the teaching process at the seminar are not reflected in it. It may be assumed that although the seminar’s activity in fact ceased in 1740, it was revived somewhat later, perhaps only after K. E. Tiedtke’s arrival. Both G. A. Francke and F. A. Schultz were concerned with restoring the seminar, but their efforts were no longer as fruitful as those of the Halle and Königsberg Pietists several decades earlier, when the King of Prussia himself was highly interested in the seminar’s continued existence. At the end of the fourth decade of the eighteenth century, another circumstance became important for the further fate of the Lithuanian Language Seminar of Halle University: on 31 May 1740, its founder and patron of the Pietists, Friedrich Wilhelm I, died, and his son Friedrich II, who inherited the throne of the Kingdom of Prussia, admired the ideas of the Enlightenment and was not favorably disposed toward Pietism. Thus, the Pietists then lost royal protection and support and at the same time lost their long-standing influence (cf. Winter 1954: 56; Citavičiūtė 2004: 78).12 K. E. Tiedtke’s petition, indicating that the Lithuanian Language Seminar of Halle University operated beyond 1740, prompts another question: when did the seminar finally cease to exist? Only new archival sources could answer it. It is likely that the activity of this seminar, which gained momentum at the very beginning under J. Richter, reached its apogee during F. W. Haack’s years as lecturer and was supported by M. Schimmelpfennig and others, nevertheless, after an interruption—though revived by K. E. Tiedtke—continued to decline and soon faded away, as it was no longer of concern to the king. 11 At that time, Gottlieb Funck (1722–1776), Reinhold Ortlieb (1723–1786), and Carl Gustav Voss (1719–1767) may have attended the seminar; in other words, they may have been K. E. Tiedtke’s students. The data presented by Ch. Schiller allows this conjecture (Schiller 1994: 218–219). Unlike K. E. Tiedtke, all three received appointments in Prussian Lithuania. 12 If it were nevertheless discovered that the report had been written several decades or even a number of years later, that is, after K. E. Tiedtke had already left Halle, it would have to be stated that the activity of the seminar revived sometime after 1740 did not fully live up to G. A. Francke’s expectations and, viewed from a considerable distance in time, had not appeared to him to constitute genuine activity. Straipsniai / Articles 65 BIRUTĖ TRIŠKAITĖ 4. CONCLUSIONS 1. The article analyzes and publishes the petition of Christoph Ernst Tiedtke (1722–after 1772), preserved in the Secret State Archives of Prussian Cultural Heritage in Berlin (GStA PK: I. HA, Rep. 7, Nr. 90 h, Pkt. 1239, [1r–2v]), dated 12 December 1747 and addressed to the Secret Council in Berlin; it reveals new facts about the Lithuanian Language Seminar of Halle University, that is, it provides data on the seminar’s final period of activity, which is scarcely documented. 2. This archival source attests to the name of another lecturer at the Lithuanian Language Seminar of Halle University—the author of the petition himself, K. E. Tiedtke, who grew up in the Mielcke family, which fostered Lithuanian studies traditions, and through his mother’s line belonged to the Schimmelpfennig family. Thus, K. E. Tiedtke is one of the four unquestionably known lecturers of this seminar. Theoretically, he could have taught Lithuanian at the seminar between the end of November 1741, when he matriculated at Halle University, and the beginning of August 1745, when he left there. 3. The assertion by K. E. Tiedtke, who entered Halle University only in the autumn of 1741, that he taught Lithuanian at the local Lithuanian Language Seminar requires a new interpretation of the statement by the head of the seminar, Gotthilf August Francke, quoted without sufficient context in Johann Christoph Hoffbauer’s book Geschichte der Universität zu Halle bis zum Jahre 1805 (Halle, 1805), that the seminar operated until 1740. Because of the lack of primary sources, this dating of the seminar’s activity was not subsequently questioned. K. E. Tiedtke’s petition of 12 December 1747 is so far the only authentic source indicating that the Lithuanian Language Seminar of Halle University in fact existed longer than the year established in historiography. This petition allows us to state that in the 1740 mentioned by G. A. Francke the seminar’s activity merely broke off and was soon revived; however, only new archival sources could reveal how long the seminar continued to operate. 66 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXXIII Kristupo Ernsto Tydkės 1747 m. gruodžio 12 d. prašymas: nauji faktai apie Halės universiteto Lietuvių kalbos seminarą SOURCES AND LITERATURE Album Alumnorum Mensæ Regiæ Borussicæ provincialis ex regia liberalitate adparatæ inde a Cal. Ian. MDCCXXVIII. – Order and Album of the Royal Prussian Provincial Free Table, Halle; AFSt: W XX/III/5, [6r–36v]. [Anonymous] 1729: Halle. – New Newspapers of Scholarly Matters. For the Year 1729. Leipzig, 1 September, No. LXX, 639–640. Arnoldt Daniel Heinrich 1777: D. Daniel Heinrich Arnoldt’s, Royal Prussian Senior Court Preacher’s and Consistorial Councillor’s, Concise Notices of All Preachers Who Have Served in the Lutheran Churches of East Prussia Since the Reformation. Edited by Friedrich Wilhelm Benefeldt, Pastor in Arnau, Königsberg: printed and published by Gottlieb Lebrecht Hartung. Bense Gertrud 1974: Lithuanica in Halle. – Journal of Slavic Studies 19(2), 295–297. Bense Gertrud 1994: The Lithuanian Studies Tradition in Halle. – Gertrud Bense (ed.), Diachrony – Continuity – Impulses. Linguistic Colloquium Halle 1992, Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, New York, Paris, Vienna: Peter Lang. Brand von, Reichenbach von 1747-12-28: Decree to Christoph Ernst Tiedtke concerning a pastorate in the parish of Baletai, Berlin; GStA PK: I. HA, Rep. 7, Nr. 90 h, Pkt. 1239, [1r–1v]. Citavičiūtė Liucija 2004: The Lithuanian Language Seminar of the University of Königsberg. History and Significance for Lithuanian Culture, Vilnius: Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore. Dreyhaupt Johann Christoph von 1750: Pagus neletici et nvdzici, Or a detailed diplomatic=historical description of the Saale=district belonging to the former primacy and archbishopric, now secularized by the Peace of Westphalia=Treaty, of the Duchy of Magdeburg=. And of all the cities, castles, offices, knightly estates, noble families, churches, monasteries, parishes, and villages located therein, especially the cities of Halle, Neumarkt, Glaucha, Wettin, Löbegün, Cönnern, and Alsleben; diligently compiled from public records and credible reports, supported by many unpublished documents, adorned with copperplate engravings and illustrations, and provided with the necessary indexes, by Johann Christoph von Dreyhaupt, Royal Prussian Privy=Government=, War=, and Domain=Councillor, Fiscal Advocate of the Duchy of Magdeburg, Senior of the Schöppen=stuhl, magistrate and salt count of Halle. Part Two, Halle: printed and published by Emanuel Schneider. Erler Georg 1911–1912: The Matriculation and Graduation Registers of the Albertus University of Königsberg in Prussia. 2. The Matriculations of 1657–1829, Leipzig: Verlag von Duncker & Humblot. Straipsniai / Articles 67 BIRUTĖ TRIŠKAITĖ Fischer Otto 1941: Evangelical Pastors’ Book for the Mark Brandenburg Since the Reformation. Directory of Clergymen in Alphabetical Order 2. Malacrida to Zythenius, Berlin: Verlag von E. S. Mittler & Sohn. F[rancke] G[otthilf] A[ugust] [1730]: Preface. – Friedrich Wilhelm Haack, VOCABVLARIVM LITTHVANICO-GERMANICVM, ET GERMANICO-LITTHVANICVM. Containing, in alphabetical order, all the words found in the New Testament and Psalter Wörter nach dem Alphabet enthalten find; Along with an appendix containing a concise Lithuanian GRAMMAR, prepared by Friederich Wilhelm Haack / S.S. Theol. Cultore, at the time Lecturer at the Lithuanian Seminary in Halle, HALLE: Printed by Stephanus Orban, University Printer. [1730], [2r–3v]. (Critical edition: Friedrich Wilhelm Haack, VOCABVLARIVM LITTHVANICO-GERMANICVM, ET GERMANICO-LITTHVANICVM... Along with an appendix containing a concise Lithuanian GRAMMAR (1730) 1. Critical edition, prepared by Vilma Zubaitienė, Vilnius: Vilnius University Press, 2012.) Hoffbauer Johann Christoph 1805: History of the University of Halle up to the Year 1805 by Johann Christoph Hoffbauer, Ordinary Professor of Philosophy, Halle: By Schimmelpfennig and Company. LapKK – Register of baptisms of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lapynai, 1703–1725; SächsStA, StA-L: 21962, Family-Historical Collections of the Reich Office for Kinship Research, KBfilm B 0343 (microfilm). LLI I – History of Lithuanian Literature 1, Vilnius: State Publishing House of Political and Scholarly Literature, 1957. Preuss Charlotte Lydia 1994: Matriculation Register of Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg – 1730–1741 2, Halle: University and State Library of Saxony-Anhalt. QPP I–V – [Johann Jacob Quandt, Prussian Presbyterology 1–5, Königsberg, before 1772]; GStA PK: XX. HA Hist. StA Königsberg, Hs, Nr. 2 (manuscript, autograph with later additions by other persons). Reinhold Heinrich 1895: The So-Called Chylinski Bible Translation. – Communications of the Lithuanian Literary Society 20(4/2), 105–163. Richter Johann 1734-04-14: Letter to the professor of theology at Halle University and head of the Lithuanian Language Seminar, Gotthilf August Francke, Katyčiai; AFSt: H C 416: 28. Schiller Christiane 1994: The Lithuanian Seminar in Halle (1727–1740) and Its Members. In Search of Traces. – Acta Baltica 32, 195–223. Schimmelpfennig-Mielcke Regina Louisa [1753–06-??]: Petition to the Prussian government in Königsberg concerning the appointment of her son Theodor Gabriel Mielcke as pastor in 68 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXXIII Kristupo Ernsto Tydkės 1747 m. gruodžio 12 d. prašymas: nauji faktai apie Halės universiteto Lietuvių kalbos seminarą the parish of Mehlkehmen, Mehlkehmen; GStA PK: XX. HA Hist. StA Königsberg, EM 55 d, Nr. 569, 27r–28r (copy). Schimmelpfenning-Mielcke [Regina Louisa] Dorothea Maria [1753–08–??]: Petition to the mayor of Tilsit, Daniel Boltz, concerning an Engelbrecht scholarship for her son Christian Gottlieb Mielcke, Mehlkehmen (?); GStA PK: XX. HA Hist. StA Königsberg, Rep. 150, Nr. 268, Bd. 4, 519r–520v (copy). Schrader Wilhelm 1894: History of the Friedrichs University of Halle by D. Dr. Wilhelm Schrader, Privy Senior Government Councillor and University Curator. First Part, Berlin: Ferd. Dümmler’s Publishing Bookshop. Schultz Albert Franz 1741–10–16: Letter to Gotthilf August Francke, Königsberg; SBB PK: Francke-Nachlass 19,1/17: 1 (based on a summary of the letter’s content: http://fas.francke-halle.de/cgi-bin/nachlass.pl?x=u&t_show=x&wertreg=PER&wert=tiedke%20%20%5BSonstiger%5D&reccheck=16530). Specht Franz 1935: The Lithuanian Seminar at Halle University. – Archivum Philologicum 5, 36–53. Šapoka Adolfas 1989 [¹1936]: History of Lithuania, Vilnius: Mokslas. [Tiedtke Christoph Ernst] 1741: Entry in the alumni book Album Alumnorum Mensae Regiae Borusicae provincialis ex regia liberalitate adparatae inde a Cal. Ian. MDCCXXVIII. – Ordnung und Album des königlich preußischen Provinzial-Freitischs, Halle; AFSt: W XX/III/5, [14r–14v]. Tiedtke Christoph Ernst 1747–11–29: Petition to the Secret Council in Berlin concerning appointment as pastor in Baletai, Potsdam; GStA PK: I. HA, Rep. 7, Nr. 90 h, Pkt. 1239, [1r–1v]. Tiedtke Christoph Ernst 1747–12–12: Renewed petition to the Secret Council in Berlin concerning appointment as pastor in Baletai, Berlin; GStA PK: I. HA, Rep. 7, Nr. 90 h, Pkt. 1239, [1r–2v]. Triškaitė Birutė 2013: Additions by Peter Gottlieb Mielcke in the Manuscript Dictionary Clavis Germanico-Lithvana. – Archivum Lithuanicum 15, 39–86. Triškaitė Birutė 2018: Several New Data on the Lithuanian Language Seminar of Königsberg University in 1723. – Senoji Lietuvos literatūra 46, 56–103. Triškaitė Birutė 2019: The Mielcke Family in Prussian Lithuania in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries: Reconstruction of a Genealogy. – Archivum Lithuanicum 21, 73–126. Triškaitė Birutė, Sidabraitė Žavinta, eds., 2019: Revelations of the Lithuanian Studies Movement in Eighteenth-Century Prussia 2. The Documentary Legacy of the Mielcke Family = The Background Straipsniai / Articles 69 BIRUTĖ TRIŠKAITĖ of the Lithuanian Studies Movement in the Eighteenth Century in Prussia 2. The Documentary Legacy of the Mielcke Family, Vilnius: Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore. Vileišis Vincas 2008 [1935]: National Relations in Lithuania Minor in the Light of the History and Statistics of the Period before the Great War, Vilnius: Versus aureus. Winter Eduard 1954: The Cultivation of West and South Slavic Languages in Halle in the Eighteenth Century. Contributions to the History of the Bourgeois Formation of the West and South Slavic Peoples, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag. Wotschke Theodor 1929–1930: Pietism in Königsberg after Rogall’s Death in Letters, Königsberg i. Pr.: Commission Publishing House Ferd. Beyer’s Bookshop Thomas & Oppermann. ZM I–VII – The “Intermediate Manuscript” for the Old Prussian Evangelical Pastors’ Book 1–7. Edited on the basis of the collections of Friedwald Moeller by Walther Müller-Dultz, Reinhold Heling, and Wilhelm Kranz, Hamburg: Self-published by the Association [for Family Research in East and West Prussia e. V. Sources, Materials, and Collections for Old Prussian Family Research (QMS)], 2012–2014. 70 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXXIII Kristupo Ernsto Tydkės 1747 m. gruodžio 12 d. prašymas: nauji faktai apie Halės universiteto Lietuvių kalbos seminarą APPENDIX EDITORIAL PRINCIPLES. A facsimile of the document13, a transcription, and a translation are published. The transcription is documentary and diplomatic. In the transcription, abbreviations, except contractions, are not expanded. In the German text written in the Gothic script of the modern period, Latin insertions—words and morphemes—written in the Latin script are distinguished in italics1. Comments are provided in footnotes: textual comments accompany the transcription, and substantive comments accompany the translation. RENEWED PETITION OF CHRISTOPH ERN具ST TIEDTKE TO THE SECRET COUNCIL IN BERLIN, DATED 12 DECEMBER 1747, CONCERNING APPOINTMENT AS PASTOR IN BALETAI, Berlin; GStA PK: I. HA, Rep. 7, Nr. 90 h, Pkt. 1239, [1r–2v]14 [1r] Γ d. 12tʰ Dec[em] b[.] 174715 ΓPf. d[en] 12. Dec. 47.16 Most Serene, Most Powerful King, Most Gracious King and Lord! ΓTo be communicated to the Lords Provosts Brand17 ΓReichenbach D[en] 13 Dec[.] [174]7. a18 Your Majestaet did indeed receive on the 5th hui: aller= my most humble Vorstellung, and I most submissively petitioned for the division of the =Ballethischen parish in the Inferburgiſchen district in Prussia = ſubmisſe. Since my =Documenta were not enclosed therein, I now submit them, ſub petito redtraditionis in originalibus, most humbly aller= 13Facsimiles of the two document pages are published as illustrations; Triškaitė 2019: 107–108. 14 The document has no archival foliation. 15 The date of receipt of the petition was entered later by another (second) person. 16 The date of receipt of the petition was entered later by another (third) person. 17 The resolution was entered and signed later by another (third) person. 18 The resolution was signed later by another (fourth) person. Straipsniai / Articles 71 BIRUTĖ TRIŠKAITĖ 72 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXXIII Kristupo Ernsto Tydkės 1747 m. gruodžio 12 d. prašymas: nauji faktai apie Halės universiteto Lietuvių kalbos seminarą Straipsniai / Articles 73 BIRUTĖ TRIŠKAITĖ 74 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXXIII Kristupo Ernsto Tydkės 1747 m. gruodžio 12 d. prašymas: nauji faktai apie Halės universiteto Lietuvių kalbos seminarą I was born and raised in Lithuania= and am acquainted with its language, as I also Seminario Lithuanico taught the said language dociret in Halle. Furthermore, I Univerſitaet studied at the University of Halle ſtudiret and made myself qualified for such an office, as the enclosed Testimonium from the theol: Facult aet attests. After completing my abſolvirte[n] ſtudiis, I conditioniret in and near Potsdam, and also diligently practiced preaching, for which an Attestat is likewise enclosed=; [1v] enclosed. Since the aforementioned Balet parish, as my father has informed me, has certainly become vacant, but I am not known to the Königsberg Faculty because I did not study there bekannt bin, weil ich daſelbſt nicht ſtudieret, folglich auch von dort aus kein Testimonium fordern kan̈; So habe Ew. Majestaet nochmals aller=unterthänigſt anflehen wollen wolle[n] mir dieſe Pfarre Allergnädigſt zu conferire[n], und des Endes die Vocation expedire[n] zu laßen. Ich erſterbe Your Majesty’s Most humble servant, Christoph Ernst Tiedtke Berlin, D[en] 12tʰ¹⁹ [Decem]br: 1747. [2v] Der Candidatus Theol: Christoph Ernst Tiedtke thut wegen der vacanten Ballethiſchen Pfarre aller=unterthänigſte nähere Vor=ſtellung. ¹⁹ Corrected from 6. Straipsniai / Articles 75 BIRUTĖ TRIŠKAITĖ Translation [1r] ┌12 December 1747.²⁰ ┌Received 12 December 1747.²¹ Most Serene, Most Powerful King, Most Gracious King and Lord!²² ┌To be communicated to the Lords Provosts. Brand⁷²³ ┌Reichenbach 13 December [174]7.⁷²⁴ I already addressed Your Royal Majesty most humbly on the 5th [of this month] and most submissively petitioned for the appointment of a pastor in Baletai²⁵, in the Insterburg district, Prussia. Since at that time I did not submit my documents, I now humbly enclose them, requesting that the originals be returned. I was born and raised in Lithuania²⁶ and know its language; in this language I also taught at the Lithuanian [Language] Seminar in Halle²⁷. In addition, I studied at Halle University²⁸ and am diligently prepared for such a position, as the enclosed certificate from the Faculty of Theology²⁹ attests. ²⁰ The date of receipt of the petition was entered later by another (second) person. ²¹ The date of receipt of the petition was entered later by another (third) person. ²² The addressee is the then King of Prussia, Friedrich II, also known as Frederick the Great (Friedrich II., Friedrich der Große, 1712–1786, reigned 1740–1786); in fact, however, the petition was submitted to the Secret Council in Berlin, which made decisions in the king’s name. ²³ The resolution was entered and signed by the Minister of State von Brand. ²⁴ The resolution was signed by the president of the consistory, von Reichenbach. ²⁵ Baletai (German Ballethen) is a village with a church near Trempai (German Trempen) and Darkehmen (German Darkehmen). ²⁶ This refers to Prussian Lithuania. ²⁷ The Lithuanian Language Seminar of Halle University was founded in 1727 at the behest of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm I (Friedrich Wilhelm I., 1688–1740, reigned 1713–1740). The professor of theology Gotthilf August Francke (1696–1769) was appointed head of the seminar. K. E. Tiedtke could not have taught at the seminar earlier than mid-November 1741, when he enrolled at Halle University. ²⁸ K. E. Tiedtke matriculated at Halle University on 16 November 1741 (Preuß 1994: 228) and studied theology for four years. ²⁹ This certificate is not present in the file. 76 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXXIII Kristupo Ernsto Tydkės 1747 m. gruodžio 12 d. prašymas: nauji faktai apie Halės universiteto Lietuvių kalbos seminarą After completing my studies, I served in Potsdam and nearby30, while also diligently practicing preaching; I enclose the certificate31 attesting to this as well. [1v] Since the aforementioned pastorate in Baletai, as my father informed me32, has now indeed become vacant33, but I am not known to the Königsberg faculty because I did not study there34, and therefore cannot provide any certificate from there, I once again most humbly beseech Your Royal Majesty graciously to appoint me to this pastorate and, for this purpose, to have the appointment procedure initiated. I remain Your Royal Majesty’s most humble servant, Christoph Ernst Tiedtke Berlin, 12 December 1747 [2v] The Candidate of Theology Christoph Ernst Tiedtke’s more detailed petition concerning the vacant pastorate in Baletai 30 The place probably meant is Spandau (German Spandau), now a western district of Berlin, but in the eighteenth century still an independent town situated at the confluence of two rivers—the Havel (German Havel) and the Spree (German Spree). 31 This certificate is not present in the file. 32 This refers to his stepfather, Peter Gottlieb Mielcke (1695–1753), at that time pastor of Mehlkehmen (German Mehlkehmen). His biological father, Tobias Tiedtke (1688–1725), died when Christoph Ernst was only three. 33 The pastorate in Baletai became vacant upon the death of George Abraham Baltzer on 22 September 1747 (QPP IV 8r; ŽM I 61). 34 In fact, K. E. Tiedtke matriculated at the University of Königsberg on April 5, 1741 (Erler 1911–1912: 386), and most likely studied there for one semester. Straipsniai / Articles 77 BIRUTĖ TRIŠKAITĖ Christoph Ernst Tiedtke’s Appeal of December 12, 1747: New Facts about the Lithuanian Language Seminar at the University of Halle SUMMARY The article analyses and publishes the archival document found at the Secret State Archives Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (German: Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz) in Berlin, which reveals new facts about the Lithuanian Language Seminar established at the University of Halle in 1727. It is an appeal of Christoph Ernst Tiedtke (1722–after 1772), a graduate of the University’s Faculty of Theology, which was written on December 12, 1747 and was addressed to the Privy Council (German: Geheimer Rat) in Berlin (GStA PK: I. HA, Rep. 7, Nr. 90 h, Pkt. 1239, [1r–2v]). This archival source is important for the history of the Lithuanian Language Seminar at the University of Halle, as it provides evidence about a nearly undocumented final period of existence of the seminar. This archival document is a witness to the name of one more teacher of the Lithuanian Language Seminar at the University of Halle, i.e., the author of the appeal himself, Tiedtke, who was raised in the Mielcke family fostering Lithuanian traditions and belonged to the Schimmelpfennig family through his maternal lineage. Hence, Tiedtke is one of the four known and indisputable teachers of the seminar. He could have taught the Lithuanian language at the seminar between the end of November 1741 when he was matriculated at the University of Halle and the beginning of August 1745, which is the date of his departure. An assertion of Tiedtke who entered the University of Halle in 1741 only that he taught the Lithuanian language at the Lithuanian Language Seminar of that time invites us to re-evaluate a statement of the head of the seminar, Gotthilf August Francke, that the seminar functioned until 1740. Francke’s statement was quoted in Johann Christoph Hoffbauer’s book Geschichte der Universität zu Halle bis zum Jahre 1805 (Halle, 1805) without a sufficient context. Due to the lack of other primary sources, it has been considered for two centuries that the seminar ceased to exist in 1740. Tiedtke’s appeal of December 12, 1747 is so far the only authentic source providing evidence that the Lithuanian Language Seminar at the University of Halle existed longer than the year established in historiography. The appeal allows us to assert that the year 1740 mentioned by Francke only marked a pause in the activities of the seminar, which were resumed soon afterwards; however, only new archival sources could reveal how long the seminar actually functioned until its final closure. Submitted on August 15, 2020 BIRUTĖ TRIŠKAITĖ Institute of the Lithuanian Language 5 Petro Vileišio St., LT–10308 Vilnius, Lithuania [email protected] 78 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXXIII