Martin Ludwig Jedemin Rhesa[a] (Lithuanian: Martynas Liudvikas Gediminas Rėza; 9 January 1776 – 30 August 1840) was a Lutheran pastor and a professor at the University of Königsberg in East Prussia.

He became a military chaplain of the Königsberg garrison [de] and participated in the Napoleonic Wars, including the French invasion of Russia and the Battle of Leipzig.

Youngest of eight children, Rhesa was orphaned at the age of 6 and was taken in by distant relatives – first, by a fisherman in Nagliai [lt] then by a postman in Rossitten (now Rybachy).

[6] In 1785, Rhesa moved to live with his cousin-in-law Christian David Wittich who at the time was priest in Kaukehmen (now Yasnoye [de]).

He attended lectures by Immanuel Kant, Christian Jakob Kraus, and was particularly close with professor Johann Gottfried Hasse [de].

[9] Rhesa was interested in linguistics and attended lectures on the Lithuanian language, but theology was more practical as it provided more secure employment after graduation.

He became acquainted with Karl von Lieven [de] who later unsuccessfully attempted to recruit Rhesa to teach at the University of Dorpat.

[15] In 1810, after publishing a treatise on the Christianization of Lithuania, Rhesa became an extraordinary professor and director of the Lithuanian language seminar at the university.

[16][17] He even suggested introducing Lithuanian language classes in gymnasiums in Tilsit (now Sovetsk), Gumbinnen (now Gusev), Insterburg (now Chernyakhovsk).

[18] He long sought to hire a permanent lecturer for the seminar and to introduce Lithuanian language lessons at the Tilsit Gymnasium [de] so that the university would not have teach the basics.

Rhesa was ordered to return it to its roots – abandon academic aspirations and focus on teaching future priests how to communicate with their parishioners who spoke Lithuanian.

[15] In April 1819, he defended his thesis on sources and origin of the first three canonical gospels, received doctorate in theology, and became an ordinary professor.

[21] In 1825, he delivered a lecture to the Royal German Society [de] on the poetry of Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux (1636–1711) and his poem L’Art poétique [fr].

[21] His tombstone depicted an open Bible with a Lithuanian inscription Tai esti visas Šventas Raštas (That is the entire holy scripture).

[25] In 1975, to commemorate his 200th birth anniversary, a wooden sculpture by sculptor Eduardas Jonušas [lt] was erected near the former location of his native Karvaičiai village.

[12] In 2008, Neringa Municipality established an award named after Rhesa for scientific, educational, or cultural achievements benefiting the Curonian Spit.

[12] In 1809, Rhesa established contacts with Wilhelm von Humboldt, Prussian Minister of Education, who promised to support a new revision to the 1755 Bible translation into Lithuanian.

[33] The publication started with a dedication (23-line German poem) to Wilhelm von Humboldt who had encouraged Rhesa to publish The Seasons.

[34] At the end, Rhesa added 82 comments to explain Lithuanian customs and traditions, for example he described the preparation of certain dishes, making of bast shoes, or use of a crooked staff known as krivulė.

[38] In 1825, Rhesa published a collection of 85 Lithuanian folk songs and their translations to German titled Dainos oder Litthauische Volkslieder.

The publication also included seven melodies, a study of Lithuanian folk songs by Rhesa, and detailed philological and other notes at the end.

[41][42] The introductory study of the folk songs was an expanded and reworked version of his 1809 introduction to his poetry collection Prutena and his 1818 article published in Beiträge zur Kunde Preußens [de].

He then described the common metre (iamb, trochee, amphibrach, or mixed), melody (which is difficult to record), and rhythm (not an essential feature of Lithuanian songs).

[51] In total, at least nine reviews of Dainos, including by Jacob Grimm in Göttingische Gelehrte Anzeigen [de] and Franciszek Siarczyński, were published in various German and Polish journals.

[52] Songs from the collection were translated to Czech by František Čelakovský, Polish by Kazimierz Brodziński,[53] Adam Rościszewski [Wikidata], Antoni Edward Odyniec, Franciszek Zatorski [pl], Russian by Pavel Kukolnik [ru] (published by Adam Kirkor in 1854),[40] English by Uriah Katzenelenbogen (19 songs published in 1935).

[40][53] The songs from Rhesa's collection inspired several artists to create Lithuanian-themed works, including poet Julius Zeyer, composer Antonín Dvořák (song for male choir), writer Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Jordan (about 30 song-inspired texts), poet Adelbert von Chamisso (five poems),[53] author Józef Ignacy Kraszewski (borrowed elements for epic poem Anafielas [pl]).

[55] In addition to manuscripts by Donelaitis, Rhesa also owned Lithuanian texts by Christian Gottlieb Mielcke [lt] and Adam Friedrich Schimmelpfennig.

[59] It is a panegyric thanking for teaching Lithuanian language, criticizing the pope, and praising Martin Luther, Duke Albert, and King Frederick William I.

[72] In 1814, Rhesa published his diary from the military travels through Brandenburg, Pomerania, Berlin, Silesia, Bohemia, France, England in 1813–1814.

[21] Rhesa was tasked with continuing a biographical dictionary, first published by Daniel Heinrich Arnoldt [de] in 1777, of all priests in western Prussia.