Vilniaus Jėzuitų naujokyno gnomos
Gnomes at the Jesuit novitiate in Vilnius

Summary/Abstract: The author introduces and provides a description of the gnomes, a unique phenomenon in Lithuanian culture, at the Jesuit novitiate in Vilnius. The inscriptions, with which the novitiate was decorated between 1611 and 1617 on the commission of the novice-master Father Laurynas Bartilijus SJ, have not survived or have not been uncovered, with the exception of one small detail (Illustration 1); the texts of the gnomes are published from the notebook of Father Mikalojus Kopecas SJ (c. 1615-1658).The main source of the inscriptions is the Scriptures; in addition to anonymous versified pieces on the cultivation of monastic virtues and perfection, there are three quotations from St Bernard of Clairvaux. The Holy Scriptures and St Bernard are cited employing accommodation, i.e. separate places, frequently taken out of context, are adjusted to a specific idea. The entries that appeared in the garden, corridors, staircase, anteroom, refectory, workroom, dormitories, near the doorkeeper's room, infirmary and kitchen of the novitiate should have encouraged a constant contemplation in the presence of God and should have helped the novices to acquire the essential monastic virtues. In accordance with the biographer, the novitiate's master Bartilijus made energetic efforts to accustom the novices from the very beginning to occupy their mind with praying and permanent concentration on the divine matters. As a mnemonic tool of training, gnomes were on the margins of the spoken and written culture: appearing in the written form, they had to be continuously read aloud so that it was possible to memorize them. Some inscriptions did not function independently; they acted in conjunction with a painted image – as emblematic entries – to reveal the real meaning of the inscription.

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