Abstract
Emergence and spreading of book printing technique caused a radical status change of local vernaculars, that contributed substantially to their bloom. The opposite process, involving particularly a detrimental effect of book printing on once universal Latin as well as on some of the so-called "small" languages, remains much less researched (and attractive).
However, this process resulted in a complete vanishing of the latter. The aim of this article is to scrutinise practices of the Teutonic Order and (from 1525) the Duchy of Prussia.
The author focuses (in the context of book printing) especially on the fate of the extinct Prussian language.