''Catechismus in der windischenn Sprach'' or simply ''Catechismus'' (

Catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adul ...

, also known as or simply in modern Slovene), is a book written by the Slovene

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

preacher

Primož Trubar Primož Trubar or Primus Truber () (1508 – 28 June 1586) was a Slovene Protestant Reformer of the Lutheran tradition, mostly known as the author of the first Slovene language printed book, the founder and the first superintendent of the Prot ...

in 1550. Along with Trubar's 1550 book, ''

Abecedarium An abecedarium (also known as an abecedary or ABCs or simply an ABC) is an inscription consisting of the letters of an alphabet, almost always listed in order. Typically, abecedaria (or abecedaries) are practice exercises. Non-Latin alphab ...

'' (Abecedary), ''Catechismus'' was the first book published in Slovene. ''Catechismus'' served as part of a foundation of the establishment of a national identity for

Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, Slovenian culture, culture, History ...

History

Although it was for decades assumed that ''Catechismus'' was printed in

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in three ...

, new research has shown that it was most probably printed in 1550 by Peter Frentz in

Schwäbisch Hall Schwäbisch Hall (; "Swabian Hall"; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'' ) is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the ...

''Catechismus'' was originally published in the

schwabacher The German word Schwabacher (pronounced ) refers to a specific style of blackletter typefaces which evolved from Gothic Textualis (''Textura'') under the influence of Humanist type design in Italy during the 15th century. Schwabacher typesetti ...

(Gothic script) and reprinted in 1555 in the

Latin script The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern ...

. It also contains

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn ...

s and a

litany Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Judaic worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin '' litania'' from Ancient Greek λιτανεία (''lit ...

, all with musical notation. Based on the German patterns, they are original poems in four different forms of

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have ei ...

s comprising altogether 500 verses.

Modern edition

''Catechismus'' was released in October 2009 for the first time in modern Slovene. This scholarly edition includes both the Trubar-era Slovene and a translation into modern Slovene with scholarly notes. Similarly, ''Abecedarium'' was published in October 2008, the other "first" Slovene book. The "Pridiga o veri" (Sermon on Faith) from ''Catechismus'' is available in Slovene, English, German, and Esperanto.

Cultural references

A phrase from Cathecismus, ''Stati inu Obstati'' ("To Stand and Withstand"), is inscribed on the Slovenian 1 euro coin and has also been the slogan of the former Slovenian

metropolitan archbishop Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

Franc Rode Franc Rode (or Rodé; born 23/09/1934) is a Slovenian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, having served as prefect from 2004 ...

References

1550 books Slovene-language books Cultural history of Slovenia {{christian-book-stub

History

Contents

Modern edition

Cultural references

See also

References