Sorbische Sprachdenkmäler, 16.-18. Jahrhundert by Heinz Schuster-S̆ewcReview by: Gerald StoneThe Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 47, No. 108 (Jan., 1969), pp. 247-248Published by: the Modern Humanities Research Association and University College London, School ofSlavonic and East European StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4206058 .

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Reviews

Schuster-Sewc, Heinz. Sorbische Sprachdenkmaler, 16.-18. Jahrhundert. Schriftenreihe des Instituts fur sorbische Volksforschung, No. 31. VEB

Domowina-Verlag, Bautzen, 1967. 544 pages. Plates.

A Brandenburg electoral rescript of 1667 (quoted in the introduction to this anthology) ordered 'such Wendish books as are still in existence . . . to be confiscated from the churches and schools and thereupon to be

totally liquidated'. This order, it is true, was restricted to the 'Wendish District' of Brandenburg, but the attitude it exemplifies was not, and it is therefore not surprising that only a fraction of the MS literature circu?

lating in both Lusatias in the 16th and 17th centuries has survived.

Nevertheless, a considerable amount of this material was preserved, though access to much of it has often not been easy. Professor Schuster- Sewc's anthology now makes available for research a wide selection of the main old Sorbian texts, many of which have never previously been

published. This is an event of significance not only for Sorbian studies but also for the comparative and historical study of the West Slavonic

languages as a whole. The texts, which are accompanied by linguistic comments, are repro?

duced in their original form except for the use of the Latin alphabet in

place of the original Gothic. Several diacritics, now no longer in use, are

replaced by their modern equivalents. Obvious typographical and spelling mistakes have been corrected by the editor, but the original form is

always given in a footnote. The older texts are accompanied by a trans?

cript which follows the modern orthography but preserves all other

linguistic peculiarities of the original. There is a most useful introduction, which, despite its brevity (17 pp.),

represents an original contribution to the history of the Sorbian languages. It contains the most substantial account yet published of the evolution of the standard languages, and includes a valuable summary of the main features distinguishing the Protestant and Catholic literary variants.

The account of MSS lost or destroyed is a depressing one. Some are known to have survived until the late 19th and even 20th centuries only to disappear before they could be studied or published. It is remarkable that even some printed books have completely disappeared. The where? abouts of the single surviving copy of Warichius's Catechism (1597), for

example, have been unknown since 1945. Fortunately, this text was

reprinted by K. H. Meyer in 1923, providing the source for the extracts included in this anthology.

On the other hand, there is the encouraging news that old MSS are still being discovered. Some, which were previously thought to have been

lost, came to light during the preparation of this book. It is to be hoped that more will follow.

The sudden secularisation of literature which took place in the 1840s has tended to obscure the significance of the small amount of secular

writing which existed in the 18th and even 17th centuries, but care has

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248 THE SLAVONIC REVIEW

been taken here to ensure the adequate representation of such texts. The earliest known private letters (late 18th century) are included, as well as the first secular poetry, which dates from the end of the 17th century. The rarity of such monuments imparts a special interest.

One item is included which originates outside the 16th-18th centuries. This is a set of glosses from a 12th-century Magdeburg Latin Ms. first

published by F. Wiggert in Scherflein zur Forderung der Kenntniss alterer deutscher Mundarten und Schriften, Magdeburg, 1832. It would be interesting to know what criteria determined its classification as West Lower Sor? bian. Although the representation of Common Slavonic ? by i in knize

(domine) does suggest Lower Sorbian, the fricative ch in boch (deus) contradicts this, and (in the absence of further evidence) it is perhaps safer to avoid a narrow classification.

The Upper Sorbian texts begin, naturally enough, with the 'Bautzen

Burgher's Oath', even though (as the editor explains) this MS can no

longer be attributed to the 15th century and is here given the date 1532. A careful re-examination of the Ms. has produced several new readings. The most significant of these are the two infinitives stajs and wobwarno-

wajs, which introduce new problems of interpretation, since they imply Lower Sorbian influence.

These new readings are indicative of the painstaking care with which this volume has been produced. The result is a selection of Sorbian texts to rival any of the existing historical anthologies for other Slavonic

languages. It is admirably set off by 31 pages of photographs of MSS and

printed texts.

Nottingham Gerald Stone

Mlynk, Jurij. Serbska bibliografija. Sorbische Bibliographic 1958-1965* Schriftenreihe des Ins ti tu ts fur sorbische Volksforschung, No. 33. VEB Domowina-Verlag, Bautzen, 1968. 559 pages.

The first comprehensive Sorbian bibliography was produced by Jakub Wjacslawk in 1929 and reappeared in an enlarged edition in 1952. Dr

Jurij Mlynk, who subsequently assumed responsibility for providing adequate bibliographical sources in this field, has proved a more than

worthy successor to Wjacslawk, even though the burden he assumed has increased severalfold due both to increased literary output in Lusatia and to the rapidly growing interest in the Sorbs, their languages and culture in the outside world.

Mlynk's first bibliography, Serbska bibliografija 1945-1957, Bautzen, J959> contained 4,010 entries. The 1968 volume, which covers the suc?

ceeding eight years, contains more than twice as many (8,785). Like its predecessors it aims to be complete for the period covered, including all books and articles both in the Sorbian languages and on all Sorbian

subjects. In binding and format it forms a companion volume to the 1959 volume. The entries are classified under 28 headings and three useful indexes of personal names, place names and authors are provided. It is

easy to use.

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