Akademiko Konstantino Jablonskio šaltinių skelbimo principai

LTPo Pirmojo pasaulinio karo, kai kūrėsi nepriklausomos Lietuvos valstybės institucijos, kai reikėjo gelbėti nuo sunykimo kultūros vertybes, Konstantinas Jablonskis buvo vienas iš tų, kurie važinėjo po apleistus Lietuvos dvarus ir stengėsi gelbėti rankraščius, nes puikiai suprato jų reikšmę mokslui. Todėl neatsitiktinai jis 1929 m. buvo vienas iš Lietuvos istorijos draugijos kūrėjų, tapo pirmuoju šaltinių leidėju Lietuvos Respublikoje [p. 23].

ENAlmost five decades after Konstantinas Jablonskis’s death, his works in the area of research of historical sources still retain their scholarly value. Jablonskis had been convinced that written sources are the foundation of history, but the historian must know how to read the sources, evaluate and comprehend them critically, and use them to support final conclusions. Research of documents, however, requires not only skill but also experience and above all patience. A written description will never be the same as the original document. Therefore, the notes one takes of any document is also an interpretation of the document. Such an interpretation cannot avoid subjectivity and very often contains errors. Scholars must strive to make as few such errors as possible, although all publications of documents contain them. The scholar must make every effort possible to allow an accurate understanding of the text, i.e., in the way that the author intended. But even reliable publishers should not be trusted completely. Furthermore, each separate publication has its own specific style of preparing texts. The volumes of sources compiled by Konstantinas Jablonskis in the 20th century are distinguished by a single paragraph of rules for the publication of documents. In contrast, lengthy instructions regulate modern publication of sources.Nevertheless, various authors, although following the same instructions, prepare their publications differently. Still, probably more important is the fact that all publishers try to ensure that sources be reproduced as closely as possible to the original, without being concerned about irrelevant details. One or other school of the publication of sources should not impose on its principles on others. Most important is that the reader understand how and why a publication followed certain instructions but at the same time not be burdened by needlessly detailed explanations of the documents’ contents. The brief rules for publication of sources set by Konstantinas Jablonskis should be acceptable even today.