Abstrakt
An analysis of sources mentioning the fates of Francysk (František, (+02.06.1541) and Simeon (+not earlier than 1593) expands our knowledge about the social circle of the Skaryna family. Skaryna's elder son had close connections with Jan of Puchov ( Jan z Puchova), his younger son, with Jiři Cetl Netolicky.
The both patrons were canons of the St. Vitus cathedral in Prague, and, being zealous proponents of Catholicism, achieved high positions in church hierarchy: those of administrator and archpresbyter.
This information is important when looking into the confessional orientation of the Skaryna family. The children of the first printer in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were in service to individuals who accrued the reputation of distinguished literary figures in Czechia.
Simeon the Russian was employed by a family in Hradec and also had ties to Česky Krumlov, where he was physician to Jiři Netolicky, Archpresbyter of Bechyne. Jiři served in Hradec from 1564 to 1568 (Simeon might have become his personal physician at that time or even earlier), after which he went to live in Prague for two years, and later moved to Krumlov.
In a similar fashion, a talented physician-gardener might have been passed from one master to another. Skaryna's printing activities in Prague corresponded in time with the activities with one of the key officials of the Czech kingdom, whose family seat was also situated in Southern Czechia, in Bechyne.
It was Ladislaus of Šternberk (Ladislav ze Šternberka na Bechyni), who occupied the post of the High Chancellor of the Kingdom of Bohemia (supremus cancellarius regni Bohemiae) from 1510 to 1521. It is probable that upon his return to Prague, Skaryna might have approached his old patrons and their descendants, whose favors might have also been transferred to his son.
This may explain why it was in Southern Czechia that Simeon the Russian pursued his gardening and medical activities. The personal library of Francysk Skaryna must also have ended up in Sourthern Czechia.
One of the books, the Little Traveller's Book, was discovered in the early ninth decade of the 18th century by a Czech Slavicist, the Jesuit Josef Dobrovsky. Jiři Cetl Netolicky, who was of the similar age as the first printer of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, earned a wide acclaim as the author of a book containing interesting botanical and medical reflections.
The description of the sun and the young moon on the pages of his Kaʒanij o Bijdě nyněgʃʃyho naʃʃeho Ʒiwota (1568) might suggest that this emblematic image of the eternally young (or, more precisely, constantly rejuvenating) celestial bodies betokens the medical vocation of Francysk Skaryna. Prior to entering the University of Prague, he could have attended a school in the New Town, a probable place of residence of Skaryna himself.