Matthäus Prätorius

Matthäus Prätorius was a Protestant pastor in the Duchy of Prussia and later a Roman Catholic priest in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He is best known as the author of Deliciae Prussicae, oder Preussische Schaubühne, a historical and ethnographic work about Old Prussia. By focusing on cultural history, this large two-volume work provides an independent and original outlook on Prussian culture and history. The work includes examples of the customs and folklore of the locals which modern researchers particularly value. Deliciae Prussicae has not been published. In 1998, the Lithuanian Institute of History began publishing the full work in original German and Lithuanian translation.