Building on the achievements of earlier research, Foundations of Old Prussian: Philology and Linguistics offers an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of Old Prussian, the most enigmatic of the Baltic languages. The novelty of the author’s approach consists in a masterly combination of strictly philological and grammatical information with extra-linguistic (historical and cultural) background.

Wojciech Smoczynski, Jagiellonian University

In the local area of Central-Eastern Europe persists an ecolinguistic problem related to the gradual disappearance of local languages. In the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period, the Curonian, Prussian and Yatvingian languages became extinct. The fate of the Western Baltic languages is currently faced by the Belarusian language, which is now in a state of 16th century Prussian. About the disappearance of the “different” Prussian language (Vetus Prutenica, toto genere ab aliis Europæis diver?a) was European society alarmed by J.A. Komenský in 1648. Pietro U. Dini's monographic work provides a factual and uniquely detailed introduction to this extinct Baltic language—the Prussian written heritage of the 13th-16th centuries—and through it, to the tragic linguistic transformation of the region.

Ilja Lemeškin, Charles University; author of Lituanica aliter

Unparalleled in scope, the strongest feature of Foundations of Old Prussian: Philology and Linguistics is the balance between linguistic data and textual-cultural information on this extinct Baltic language and nation. I highly recommend P. U. Dini’s book to specialists and students of Baltic, Slavic, Indo-European, and textual studies.

Bonifacas Stundžia, Vilnius University