Vilnius University Library Research Articles

Code-Switching in the Letters of Vilnius University Professors at the End of the 18th century

In order to show how research on historical epistolary language can contribute to sociolinguistics and applied linguistics, the present article examines some examples of late 18th-century letters. The research sample includes letters written to Vilnius University professors in that period (now archived in the Vilnius University Library), where the authors of the letters use code-switching or write in a language other than what we would nowadays think of as default. The cases under investigation have revealed that the use of an unusual language could be motivated by pedagogical goals, whereas code-switching could be caused, among other factors, by the need to refer to new realities or to clarify meaning; it could also be used for rhetorical expression (poetic function of language). The article is also important in that it presents accidentally detected instances of code-switching that are generally hard to identify in historically distant letters, e.g. Polish elements in French, Lithuanian and Russian elements in Polish texts. The article is intended to stimulate interest in the research on archaic manuscripts and to enrich the existing knowledge about the linguistic environment of the old Vilnius University.

The Books of Sigismund II Augustus in Vilnius University Library: Decorations of Book Covers and New Data about Provenances

In this article, the latest data about the personal book collection items of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund II Augustus in Vilnius University (VU) Library are presented. The authors that have been doing research on these books have not ascertained all of the embossed images that were used for cover decoration and have not identified the locations of where these books were bound and have not disclosed all of the provenances. In order to amend the lack of knowledge about the books of Sigismund II Augustus in VU library, the book covers of the King’s personal library were reviewed de visu and decorative ornaments were described. The ownership signs of the books were registered once again. While describing and comparing these books with the copies in various libraries of the world, the number of physical books (14) and publications in composite volumes (21) kept in VU library was assessed. The name of one book and a publisher’s imprint of two books were specified, eight provenances that were not mentioned by previous authors were registered. While describing book covers, the embossed images were given provisory names. Connections between the supralibros, dates of binding, decorative wheels, single embossed images, and other decorative elements were detected and lead to a reasonable conclusion that eight out of fourteen books from the Sigismund II Augustus collection were bound in Kraków, five were bound by bookbinders in Vilnius, while one was rebound in the 18th century. The identification of tools used by craftsmen that worked in Kraków and Vilnius will allow to ascertain the manufacturing location of similar book covers made in the middle of the 16th century.

The 1416 Indulgence for the Franciscan Friary in Ashmiany: Context and Text

This article contains the edition of the newly found letter of indulgence that was granted by three Roman Cardinals: Francesco Lando, Antonio Pancera, and Francesco Zabarella, for the no-longer extant Franciscan friary in Ashmiany in present-day Belarus. It was issued on 16 January 1416 during the Council of Constance, sede vacante. The text of this indulgence has been preserved as a copy in the collection of documents of the above-mentioned friary that was compiled in the early seventeenth century (now kept at Vilnius University Library, Manuscript Department, F. 114–13). For the time being, this text represents one of the earliest known indulgences related to a specific religious house in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and thus makes part and parcel of the meagre fund of primary sources illuminating the first steps in the process of Christianization of post-conversion Lithuania. This indulgence may also serve as a clue allowing us to expand the circle of the known participants from Lithuania at the Council of Constance by including Friars Minor, whose scope of service for the Grand Dukes of Lithuania still awaits a more thorough investigation.

Information retrieval systems in the Vilnius University Library : Past and present

Information retrieval systems in the Vilnius University Library : Past and present

Лексичні заміни в „Апокрисисі” Христофора Філалета

The article analyses the lexical substitutions in Apocrysys polemic tractate by Krystofor Filalet, printed in the year 1598 or 1599, in the Ostrog printing house owned by Great Prince of Ostrog. It is the translation of the Polish version of Apocrysys printed in 1597 in O. Rodeckyi’s printing house. The copies of this old printed work in the ”ruska mova” („the Ruthenian language”), kept at the V.I. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine and at the Vilnius University Library, were compared. In the old printed texts, translation of words was proposed with the help of notes on the page margins. Lexical substitutions are analyzed in the context, their fi xation in the contemporary dictionaries and historical lexicographical papers is indicated. Notably, the substitutions of Latinisms and, occasionally, Polonisms prevail. Church Slavonic and bookish Ukrainian elements appear instead. It was concluded that text substitutions in the Apocrysys may have other translation and explanation in dictionaries of that time, or are not recorded in them at all.

Manuscripts of Requiem by foreign composers in the Vilnius libraries’ funds: an overview of 19th – beginning of 20th century sources

Among numerous genres of sacred music (such as chorales, hymns, motets, masses, etc.), Requiem, or otherwise Missa pro defunctis, Missa defunctorum (Mass for the Deceased) stands out. It is the Mass for the Deceased, corresponding to the Roman Catholic Missal, that is celebrated mainly during the funeral. Over time, Requiem has become a vocal-instrumental genre, a composition associated with the theme of death and mourning. In the 19th century, two principal forms of the genre of Requiem co-existed: a proud, concert-type form, heavily influenced by secular music, and a more modest, reserved, and more “traditional” liturgical one. The latter was smaller in scope, written for a more modest composition of performers in a simpler music language and of a non-dramatic character. The development of the liturgical Requiem over the period in question was largely affected by the Cecilian Movement, active also in Lithuania. True, it is also possible to discuss an intermediate link between the concert and the liturgical types of Requiem – a concert-type vocal-instrumental Requiem, which could also be performed in liturgy. The paper focuses on the manuscripts of the Requiem compositions re-written in the 19th century that were once performed in churches of Vilnius and other cities of Lithuania and currently are stored in in the Rare Books and Manuscripts Reading Room of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania and in the Manuscript Department of the Vilnius University Library. These are copies of the Requiem compositions by the following authors: Gioacchino Albertini (1748–1812), Josef Becher (1821–1888), Luigi Cherubini (1760–1842), Max Filke (1855–1911), Joseph Gruber (1855–1933), Lambert Kraus (1728–1790), Antonio Rosetti (1750–1792), and Johann Baptist Schiedermayr (1779–1840).

The Library of Ignace Oginski (1755–1786): A Reflection of Geneological and Religious Identity

This article examines the development and the contents of the library of Ignacy Oginski, appointed elder of the Darsūniškis and Vaiguva communities; his collection of books is discussed with an emphasis on how the sense of self as well as geneological and religious identity are expressed. The library of I.Oginski is discussed within the context of the history of his family and closest relatives as well as his connections with the Bernardines of Trakai. The bibliographical and provenance analysis is founded on I. Oginski’s books, which are stored in Vilnius University Library (10 specimens); also published at the end of this paper is a list of books bestowed by I. Oginski to the Trakai Bernardine Monastery, which itself was added into the 1787 catalogue of the monastery’s library. It was determined that I. Oginski belonged to the third order of the Franciscan tertiaries and was a financial affairs trustee (i.e., a syndic, Lat. Sindicus Apostolicus) of the Trakai Bernardine Monastery, which he, together with his mother Antonina Oginska, had amply sponsored and to which he bequeathed upon death a sum of 7 thousand Lithuanian Zloty. I. Oginski bestowed his personal library, which consisted of 201 volume, to the Bernardines on March 29, 1786 based on a testament written in Kruonis. It contained not only the more traditional printed materials but also some sheet music characteristic of courtly culture, ledgers, and silva rerum manuscripts. Noteworthy is the prayer “On the Appeal for a Fulfilling Life” (Pol. O uproszenie stanu życia przyzwoitego), handwritten by I. Oginski himself. A large part of the library consisted of ascetic lectures, spiritual exercises, and sermons typical of the Bernardine monks, but the collection was not limited in this aspect, as it also had some secular French works from the Enlightenment period and textbooks printed by the publishing house of the Vilnius Piarists. The considerable number of historical works and books containing dedications with references to the merits of the Oginskis to the state and the Church shows that I. Oginski was particularly attentive of his family history. Generally, the library demonstrates quite clearly a promotional-religious aspect of I. Oginski’s genealogical sense of self and identity. And here, too, the ascetic literature supplements the data from other sources regarding I. Oginski’s piety and his belonging to the tertiary community. The carried out study of I. Oginski’s identity and his personal library’s development and the relevant associations confirms the available possibilities of using the approaches and methodologies of cultural anthropology and social communication in book science studies.

The Library of Ignace Oginski (1755–1786): A Reflection of Geneological and Religious Identity

This article examines the development and the contents of the library of Ignacy Oginski, appointed elder of the Darsūniškis and Vaiguva communities; his collection of books is discussed with an emphasis on how the sense of self as well as geneological and religious identity are expressed. The library of I.Oginski is discussed within the context of the history of his family and closest relatives as well as his connections with the Bernardines of Trakai. The bibliographical and provenance analysis is founded on I. Oginski’s books, which are stored in Vilnius University Library (10 specimens); also published at the end of this paper is a list of books bestowed by I. Oginski to the Trakai Bernardine Monastery, which itself was added into the 1787 catalogue of the monastery’s library. It was determined that I. Oginski belonged to the third order of the Franciscan tertiaries and was a financial affairs trustee (i.e., a syndic, Lat. Sindicus Apostolicus) of the Trakai Bernardine Monastery, which he, together with his mother Antonina Oginska, had amply sponsored and to which he bequeathed upon death a sum of 7 thousand Lithuanian Zloty. I. Oginski bestowed his personal library, which consisted of 201 volume, to the Bernardines on March 29, 1786 based on a testament written in Kruonis. It contained not only the more traditional printed materials but also some sheet music characteristic of courtly culture, ledgers, and silva rerum manuscripts. Noteworthy is the prayer “On the Appeal for a Fulfilling Life” (Pol. O uproszenie stanu życia przyzwoitego), handwritten by I. Oginski himself. A large part of the library consisted of ascetic lectures, spiritual exercises, and sermons typical of the Bernardine monks, but the collection was not limited in this aspect, as it also had some secular French works from the Enlightenment period and textbooks printed by the publishing house of the Vilnius Piarists. The considerable number of historical works and books containing dedications with references to the merits of the Oginskis to the state and the Church shows that I. Oginski was particularly attentive of his family history. Generally, the library demonstrates quite clearly a promotional-religious aspect of I. Oginski’s genealogical sense of self and identity. And here, too, the ascetic literature supplements the data from other sources regarding I. Oginski’s piety and his belonging to the tertiary community. The carried out study of I. Oginski’s identity and his personal library’s development and the relevant associations confirms the available possibilities of using the approaches and methodologies of cultural anthropology and social communication in book science studies.

Logic and Metaphysics in Vilnius during 16th–18th Centuries: The Most Important Sources of Vilnius Libraries

The aim of the article is to present the results of research conducted as part of the project Polonica Philosophica Orientalia: namely, to give an overview of the most important logical and metaphysical treatises (both manuscripts and printed editions) written in Vilnius between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries that are currently accessible in some of the Vilnius libraries. Although the research focused primarily on the Vilnius University Library and its resources, some interesting results were also obtained while researching the Wróblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. Most sources containing information about the state and the nature of metaphysical and logical investigations conducted in Vilnius during the period discussed are the manuscripts of lecture courses delivered for the students of Vilnius University and other schools. The analysis of those manuscripts has revealed a strong and long-lasting influence of scholastic Aristotelianism in both logic and metaphysics. Namely, up to the mid-eighteenth century, the main questions discussed in logic were Aristotelian syllogism, the square of opposition and the medieval topics of semantical antinomies, modalities and supposition theory, while investigations into metaphysical issues were limited to commentaries on Aristotle’s theoretical treatises without seriously questioning their main theses. In the second part of the eighteenth century, a moderate shift towards subjectivism and psychologism was observed in both of these disciplines. This was influenced by modern epistemologists (George Berkeley, John Locke and others). Logicians and metaphysicians of Vilnius University developed an interest in the topics of human understanding and cognition. However, this shift did not take a radical form – while the majority of eighteenth-century authors sought a combination of scholastic and modern ideas, a critical and even hostile stance towards modern philosophy and science is still noticeable in many of the analysed sources. An overview of the research supported by statistical data is followed by some preliminary remarks on how and where investigation of this topic might be continued in the future.

Procedural Aspects of the Work of Land and Castle Courts in Samogitia (1600–1630)

Juridical culture of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania is a multi-faceted phenomenon in the life of a “nation of nobles” of that time and it needs to be examined on a broader scale. In addition to other collections, the main part of a set of historical sources is stored at the Manuscript Department of the Vilnius University Library. Seventy-four manuscript books of Samogitian courts (1600–1630) have survived to the present time: two books of castle courts and 72 books of land courts. If the books of castle courts serve as an example of just a fragmentary activity, the books of the land courts are highly multisided and represent diverse aspects of the life of the nobles. The books of the land court of Samogitia of that period are divided into the groups of court acts (series A) and the court cases (series B). For the research into juridical culture, the books of the court case group, of which there are 47 units and which are further subdivided into the subgroups of proceedings and currents affairs, are of the greater interest. The Samogitian court books offer a sufficient basis of sources for the examination of the judicial culture of the nobility at the beginning of the seventeen century. It is therefore highly likely that research will be productive and will reveal intriguing shifts in the mentality of the Samogitian nobles.

The rebirth of Vytautas Magnus university as reflected in the press and relevant documents

This collection of sources brings to light documents that reflect the process of re-establishing Vytautas Magnus University from April 1988 to August 1989. It includes articles that appeared in newspapers during that period, diaries, documents, and memoirs kept in Vytautas Magnus University archives, Lithuanian Emigration Institute archives, and the Manuscript collection of the Vilnius University Library. These documents illustrate the development of different conceptions of the reestablishment of Vytautas Magnus University, the positions taken by the main actors, and the confrontations and breaking points occurring in this process. At the beginning of this collection a chronology of events is provided and at its end there is brief information about each of the people mentioned in the collection.

Knygotyrininkas Nojus Feigelmanas (1918–2002)

[straipsnis ir santrauka lietuvių kalba; santrauka anglų kalba]
 Nojus Feigelmanas – bibliografas, bibliotekininkas, daug nuveikęs Lietuvos kultūros istorijai. Tikslinga ir nuosekli su knyga susijusi viso gyvenimo veikla pelnė jam knygotyrininko statusą. Jis gimė Panevėžyje 1918 m. vasario 8 d., 1931–1936 m. mokėsi privačioje Panevėžio žydų gimnazijoje, 1936–1940 m. studijavo geodeziją Vytauto Didžiojo universitete, bet jo baigti nespėjo: prasidėjus Antrajam pasauliniam karui buvo pašauktas į kariuomenę. 1959 m. neakivaizdžiai baigė Vilniaus universiteto Istorijos ir filologijos fakultetą. 1950–1990 m. dirbo Vilniaus universiteto bibliotekoje: pradėjęs bibliografu, daugiau kaip tris dešimtmečius vadovavo Retų spaudinių skyriui. Mirė 2002 m. rugsėjo 7 d. Aškelono mieste Izraelyje, į kurį persikėlė 1990 m. Lietuvos knygotyros raidai itin reikšmingi N. Feigelmano sudaryti spausdintiniai katalogai: „Senoji lietuviška knyga Vilniaus universitete“ (1959), „Lietuvos inkunabulai“ (1975), „Vilniaus universiteto bibliotekos paleotipai“ (2003, paskelbta po mirties, parengta bendraautorių). Jis taip pat yra publikavęs tris dešimtis mokslinių straipsnių, rengęs mokslines parodas, kultūrines laidas televizijoje. Straipsnyje, remiantis naujais archyviniais šaltiniais, atskleidžiamas N. Feigelmano kelias knygotyros link, jo veiklos svarba Lietuvos knygotyros raidai, išskiriami esminiai asmenybės formavimuisi įtakos turėję veiksniai, bibliotekininko profesijos pasirinkimas, atvedęs į knygotyrą, tiriami N. Feigelmano sudaryti katalogai, jo parašyti straipsniai. Daroma išvada, kad nuo pradinėje mokykloje skaitytos Toros, gimnazijoje vykusių knygų parodų ir mugių, mokslinės Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto bibliotekos ir karinių bibliotekėlių iki pat darbo mokslinėje Vilniaus universiteto bibliotekoje ir net emigravus į Izraelį – visą ilgą gyvenimo kelią N. Feigelmaną lydėjo knyga.

Knygotyrininkas Nojus Feigelmanas (1918–2002)

[full article and abstract in Lithuanian; abstract in English]
 Nojus Feigelmanas is a bibliographer and a librarian known for his significant contribution to the history of Lithuanian culture. Consistent and targeted book-related activities pursued by Feigelmanas throughout his life-span have earned him the status of a bookscientist. He was born in Panevėžys on 8 February, 1918. During the period of 1931-1936 he studied in the private Panevėžys Jewish Gymnasium. In 1936-1940 he studied geodesy at Vytautas Magnus University, but failed to complete his studies as he was called up to the army when World War II was launched. In 1959, N. Feigelmanas graduated the Faculty of History and Philology at Vilnius University. In 1950-1990, he worked at the Vilnius University Library: having started career as a bibliographer, he became Head of the Rare Print Department and retained this position for more than three decades. Later in life, in 1990, he moved to Israel and died there on 7 September, 2002, in the city of Ashkelon. The printed catalogues compiled by N. Feigelman are as follows: “The Old Lithuanian Book at Vilnius University” (1959), “The Incunabula of Lithuania” (1975), “The paleotypes of Vilnius University Library” (2003, posthumously, co-authored). He has also published three dozen scientific articles, organized scientific exhibitions, cultural programs on television, etc.
 The article aims at disclosing N. Feigelmanas’s path toward book science and his contribution to the development of Lithuanian book science. It also identifies the key factors that have shaped his personality, the choice of the librarian’s profession which ignited his interest in book study, and analyses the directories compiled by N. Feigelmanas and the scientific articles. The conclusion has been drawn that during his long life, from the very young days, when he first read Torah at school, visited book fairs and exhibitions as a gymnasium student, throughout his career at the scientific Vytautas Magnus University Library and small military libraries, to the end of his life, even after he emigrated to Israel – the book remained his lifelong companion.

Trakai Castle Court Acts of 1660–1661 in the Context of the Legal Communication of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

[full article, abstract in Russian; abstract in Lithuanian and English]
 
 The paper deals with the previously unexplored Trakai Castle Court Acts of 1660–1661 (F7-MDGs, 1660–1661) from the collection of Vilnius University. The manuscript written in Polish and Ruthenian languages is important for research of Lithuanian, Polish, Russian and Byelorussian history. Information accumulated in it witnesses court activities, reflecting a broad political, social and cultural panorama of the multilingual GDL society. The abundance of accumulated information enables us to consider it as unique reference book that reflects changing sociolinguistic situation of the GDL. Chronologically ample documentary material is interesting and vital to the history of language, historical geography, and genealogy investigation. The article was prepared in the framework of the research project “Court books of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL): digitization and database” realized by Vilnius University Library (VUL, Nr. LIT-5-19).

Trakai Castle Court Acts of 1660–1661: From the Collection of Vilnius University Library. V

[full article, abstract in Polish; abstract in Lithuanian and English]
 
 The catalogue was prepared within the framework of the research project “Court Books of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL): Digitization and Database” realized by Vilnius University Library in 201122014 (VUL, No. LIT–5–19). The paper deals with the previously unexplored Trakai Castle Court Acts of 1660–1661 (F7–MDGs, 1660–1661) from the VUL collection. It presents Part V of the critical catalogue of the manuscripts written in Polish and Old Byelorussian (Ruthenian) languages, also providing short descriptions of documents Nos. 775–822 (pp. 827–877). These documents are important for the research of Lithuanian, Polish and Byelorussian history. Information accumulated in them reflects a broad political, social and cultural panorama of the multilingual GDL society. It enables us to consider them as unique reference books that represent the changing sociolinguistic situation of the GDL.

The First Polish Translation of Kant’s The Contest of the Faculties in the Collections of Vilnius University Library

[straipsnis ir santrauka anglų kalba, santrauka lietuvių kalba]Vilniaus universiteto bibliotekos fonduose saugomas nebaigtas, anoniminis Immanuelio Kanto „Fakultetų ginčo“ vertimo į lenkų kalbą rankraštis. Daugybė rankraščio ypatumų (terminologija, sintaksė ir rašysena) patvirtina, jog tai Józefo Władysławo Bychowieco, vieno svarbiausių XIX a. pradžios Kanto filosofijos populiarintojų Lenkijoje ir Lietuvoje, neišlikusio vertimo fragmentas. Rankraštis yra anksčiausias žinomas Bychowieco darbas, veikiausiai atliktas jo filosofijos studijų Karaliaučiuje metu.

The First Polish Translation of Kant’s The Contest of the Faculties in the Collections of Vilnius University Library

[full article, abstract in English; only abstract in Lithuanian] The collection of Vilnius University Library contains an incomplete, anonymous manuscript of a Polish translation of The Contest of the Faculties by Immanuel Kant. Numerous features of the manuscript (terminology, syntax and handwriting) confirm that it is a fragment of the lost translation by Jozef Wladyslaw Bychowiec, one of the most important popularisers of Immanuel Kant’s philosophy in Poland and Lithuania at the beginning of the 19th century. The manuscript is the earliest known work by Bychowiec, probably completed during his philosophical studies in Konigsberg.

Judicial Culture at the Courts of Samogitia in the Early Seventeenth Century. Formulating a Problem. An Overview of the Manuscript Court Books (1600–1630)

Research into juridical culture of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania has not been sufficiently addressed in general, and the Duchy of Samogitia at the end of the seventeenth century is not an exception in this context. Juridical culture is a multi-faceted phenomenon in the life of “a nation of nobles” of that time, and it needs to be examined on a broader scale. In addition to other collections, the main part of the set of historical sources consists of the manuscript books of Samogitian castle and land courts kept in Collection No. 7 of the Manuscript Department of the Vilnius University Library. Seventy-four manuscript books of Samogitian courts (1600–1630) have survived to the present time: two books of castle courts and 72 books of land courts. If the books of the castle court serve as an example of just a fragmentary activity, the books of the land court are highly multisided and represent diverse aspects of the life of the nobles. The books of the land court of Samogitia of that period are divided into the groups of court acts (series A) and of court cases (series B). For the research into juridical culture, the books of the court case group, of which there are 47 units and which are further subdivided into the subgroups of proceedings and current affairs, are of greater interest. Along with the collections of the noble families kept in a number of libraries and archives in Lithuania and abroad, the Samogitian court books offer a sufficient basis of sources for the examination of the juridical culture of the nobility at the beginning of the seventeenth century. It is therefore highly likely that the research will be productive and will reveal intriguing shifts in the mentality of the nobles. Meanwhile, the present paper is an introduction to a broader research problem.

Opening Science with Institutional Repository: A Case Study of Vilnius University Library

The future strategies for opening science have become important to libraries which serve scientific institutions by providing institutional repository infrastructures and services. Vilnius University Library provides such an infrastructure for Vilnius University, which is the biggest higher education institution in Lithuania (with more than 20,200 students, 1,330 academic staff members, and 450 researchers ), and manages services and infrastructure of the national open access repository eLABa and the national open access data archive MIDAS. As the new platforms of these repositories began operating in the beginning of 2015, new policies and routines for organizing work with scientific publications and data had to be implemented. This meant new roles for the Library and librarians, too. The University Senate approved the new Regulations of the Library on 13 June 2017 with the task to develop the scholarly communication tools dedicated to sustaining open access to information and open science. Thus, Vilnius University Library performs the leading role in opening science by providing strategic insights and solutions for development of services dedicated to researchers, students and the public in Lithuania. As it was not presented properly at the international level before, this article presents the case of Vilnius University Library which actively cooperates with other Lithuanian academic institutions, works in creating and coordinating policies, conducts research on the improvements and services of eLABa and MIDAS, and suggests and implements the integral solutions for opening science.

Contribution of A. Jakstas-Dambrauskas (1860-1938) to Mathematics in Lithuania

The article, dedicated to prelate Aleksandras Dambrauskas (pseudonym: Adomas Jakstas, 1860-1938), a Lithuanian encyclopaedist, Honorary Doctor of Mathematics, summarizes the researcher’s mathematical works and highlights his merits to the development of the science of mathematics in Lithuania. Most frequently his activities are associated with theology, philosophy, literature and politics. However, it is rarely mentioned that it was actually mathematics which led A. Jakstas’ search to be true and beautiful in philosophy, literature and theology. Firstly, he stands out as a reviewer of the fundamentals of geometry and trigonometry in the development of the science of mathematics in Lithuania. The mathematical works that were written by the prelate fall into three groups. The first group includes the original works covering the field of fundamentals of trigonometry and geometry. The second group embraces popularising and informative articles and booklets, and the third group unites school textbooks on mathematics. A. Jakstas manifested himself as a supporter of mathematics. The prelate was interested in problems which could be practically applied in everyday life or were based on all the generally accepted laws of the Universe. The major part of the mathematical works by the prelate was devoted to school mathematics. Observing the dawn of Lithuanian sciences, A. Dambrauskas’ significant contribution to mathematics in Lithuania is acknowledged. Reading the mathematical works by the prelate, his ability to fill them with humanist philosophy is admired. A. Dambrauskas is a perfect example for all the mathematicians, and his mathematical works occupy an honourable place in the history of mathematics in Lithuania. This article is dedicated to A. Jakstas-Dambrauskas, an outstanding Lithuanian personality, who left indelible marks in the Lithuanian culture and education. The latter merits are usually enthroned, whereas the prelate’s mathematical works are often neglected. In this article, the author returns to the mathematical contribution of A. Dambrauskas, supplementing his presentation delivered in Lithuania in 2011 with new sources, and aims to familiarise readers with this exceptional personality in English. To achieve the established goal not only already published but also archived materials stored in the Office of the Central State Archive of Lithuania and the Manuscripts Department of Vilnius University Library will be used. The research employs the methods characteristic of research work in humanities: text analysis, interpretation and historical description. Moreover, the criterion of objectivity and the principle of historicism are followed to revive the atmosphere of the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century.