Abstract
The article presents a research of the most significant find in the field of Prussian (Baltic) studies that has been made in the last 40 years. Reading of the Trace of Crete (or Colophon of Crete) is particularly difficult due to unavailability of the original from 1422.
Researchers can work only with a copy from 1440, which contains substantial graphic mistakes made by a German-speaking writer. The Old Prussian colophon can be interpreted as an incantation, a magic formula, which is a form of calendar ceremonial folklore.
The study at hand discusses the specifics of the text from 1440 and formulates a methodological approach for a possible reconstruction of the original, with regard to several conjectures, motivated by a paleographic analysis of the copy. Furthermore, syntactic structure and semantics of problematic passages are made more precise and accurate.
The person that employed the Old Prussian colophon in 1422 in Crete has been identified as Petrus Turnau, a Hussite from Prague.