Szimón Krofey was born in 1545 in the Kashubian village of Dąbie, Gmina Bytów,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. From paternal side he had German (Prussian) blood from his great great grand father who married a Kashubian woman. His father, Wawrzyniec Krofey, was the mayor of Dąbie, and was well enough off to send young Szimón off to the

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

. In 1579, after finishing his studies, he became pastor of the Lutheran church in

Bytów Bytów (; ; ) is a town in the Gdańsk Pomerania region of northern Poland with 16,730 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Bytów County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. In the early Middle Ages a fortified stronghold stood nea ...

. In 1586 and 1588, respectively, Reverend Krofey published two vitally important works in Kashubian, both of which were translations from German intended for Kashubian Lutherans: ''Duchowne piesnie D. Marciná Lutherá y ynßich naboznich męzow. Zniemieckiego w Slawięsky ięzik wilozone Przes Szymana Krofea, sluge slova Bozego w Bytowie''. ("Spiritual Songs of Doctor

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

") and ''Maly katechizm D. Marciná Lutherá Niemiecko-Wándalski ábo Słowięski to jestá z Niemieckiego językáw Słowięski wystáwion'' ("Small Catechism"). In 1896, the songbook was rediscovered in Smoldzino by Franz Tetner; the catechism was republished in 1643 by the Lutheran pastor Michael Brüggemann (also known as Mostnik or Pontanus), "polonised" in 1758, and ultimately "re-Kashubised" by

Florian Ceynowa Florian Stanisław Ceynowa ( Kashubian ''Florión Cenôwa'') (May 4, 1817 – March 26, 1881) was a doctor, political activist, writer, and linguist. He was a pioneer of the nationalist movement among the Kashubian people in the mid-19th centur ...

in 1861 as ''Pjnc głovnech wóddzałov evangjelickjeho katechizmu z njemjeckjeho na kaśebsko-słovjenskj jęzek''. Scholarly opinion is divided on whether Reverend Krofey's two books were the first books published in Kashubian, but the dispute hinges strictly on linguistic concerns, not historical. One side holds that Reverend Krofey wrote, as

Józef Borzyszkowski Józef Borzyszkowski (born 6 February 1946) is a Polish historian,Marcin Pacyno, "Borowy Młyn. Mieszkańcy żądają zwrotu Piety", 2004-12-21,/ref> professor of history at Gdańsk University, and Kashubian activist, who served as chairman of ...

puts it, "in Polish with abundant Kashubianisms." Jerzy Treder and Cezary Obracht-Prondzyński, on the other hand, hold that the works were written in Kashubian and therefore constitute "the origins of

Kashubian literature Kashubian language, Kashubian literature appeared in Poland during the second half of the nineteenth century with Florian Cejnowa (1817–1881), who used the Sławoszyno dialect of the Puck, Poland, Puck region, and Hieronim Derdowski (1852–19 ...

:" These two books are also considered important for an understanding of

Slovincian Slovincian may refer to: * Slovincian language Slovincian (Slovincian: ''slôvjinskjy'', ; ; ; ) is an extinct language formerly spoken by the Slovincians living between lakes Gardno and Łebsko near Słupsk in Pomerania. Slovincian is c ...

, along with Brüggemann's reworking of the "Small Catechism" and similar texts published in 1700 by the Lutheran pastor J.M. Sporgius, also of Smoldzino. Reverend Szimón Krofey died in 1590. To honor his undisputed importance in the history of Kashubian literature, the Bytow chapter of the Kashubian-Pomeranian Association has recently issued a souvenir golden ducat called the "Krofeya."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krofey, Szimon Polish people of Kashubian descent Polish people of German descent Kashubian clergy Kashubian culture Polish Lutheran clergy University of Wittenberg alumni 16th-century Lutheran clergy Protestant Reformers