Matthäus Prätorius

Matthäus Prätorius (; (c.1635–c.1704) was a Protestant pastor, later a Roman Catholic priest, a historian and ethnographer.

Prätorius is thought to have been born in Memel (Klaipėda). He probably grew up speaking both German and Lithuanian, which helped him when preaching to the ethnic Lithuanians in Ducal Prussia. His work about Prussia and its culture, ''Deliciae Prussicae, oder Preussische Schaubühne'', resembles the work of Christoph Hartknoch, with whom he collaborated. Prätorius' work provides much more ethnographic information regarding local Lithuanians and Old Prussians. It was only published partially, in 1725 (in ''Erleutertes Preußen''), 1731 (in ''Acta Borussica'') and 1871. A complete edition, in seven volumes, with original German text and Lithuanian translation, is under preparation in Lithuania.

In 1701, having converted from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism, he appealed against an ongoing case of witch-hunt. He died in Wejherowo (Weyherststadt).

In ''Orbis Gothicus'' and ''Mars Gothicus'' sustained that Prussia was the original land of Goths and that Goths can be identified as being "prussians, lithuanians, samogitians and curonians". Provided by Wikipedia