Andreas Angelus (German name ''Andreas Engel'', 16 November 1561 – 9 August 1598) was a German clergyman, teacher and government inspector, known for his chronicles of the history of the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe. Brandenburg developed out o ...

Biography

Engel was born in

Strausberg Strausberg () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, located 30 km east of Berlin. With a population of about 27,000 it is the largest town in the district of Märkisch-Oderland. History Strausberg was founded ''circa'' 1240, and in 1333 its firs ...

, Germany, the son of Gregorius Engel, a member of the town council. At the early age of 12 he was admitted to the Alma Mater Viadrina, the university of

Frankfurt an der Oder Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

(now the

Viadrina European University European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) (german: Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)) is a university located at Frankfurt (Oder) in Brandenburg, Germany. It is also known as the University of Frankfurt (Oder). The city is on the ...

). His family died in 1575 of the plague, after which he left Brandenburg; he is recorded in 1577 as a pupil of the Marienstiftsgymnasium in

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

. Later he lived for some time in

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

where he wrote a chronicle of Holstein. From about 1580 he can be traced once again in Brandenburg, in various educational posts: conrector and cantor in Strausberg from 1582; rector in Strausberg 1584-1586; conrector in the ''Neustadt'' of

Brandenburg an der Havel Brandenburg an der Havel () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, which served as the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg until it was replaced by Berlin in 1417. With a population of 72,040 (as of 2020), it is located on the banks of the H ...

1586-87; also as a teacher in the Franciscans' school in Berlin (now the

Berlinisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster The Evangelisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster, located in suburban Schmargendorf, Berlin, is an independent school with a humanistic profile, known as one of the most prestigious schools in Germany. Founded by the Evangelical Church in West Berli ...

). On 14 September 1592 he married Sabina, eldest daughter of Jacob Colerus, provost of the church of St. Nicholas in Berlin, and in the same year was made pastor (and inspector) in his birthplace Strausberg. From this time he started to write his three works on the history of the Mark Brandenburg, which, although they had Latin titles, were written entirely in German. His principal work was a comprehensive history under the working title ''Marchia''. In about 1593 the first published volume drawn from this work appeared under the title ''Rerum Marchicarum Breviarum'', and two years later a further volume entitled ''Annales Marchiae Brandenburgicae''. Angelus cites some 200 printed works and a further twenty or so, which at that time were available only in manuscript. He planned a third volume to complete the published history, but he died of the plague on 9 August 1598 and the unfinished manuscript of the third part was burnt by his widow after his death, apparently because of some sort of financial dispute.

Published works

*
Annales Marchiae Brandenburgicae, das ist ordentliche Verzeichnus und Beschreibung der fürnemsten und gedenckwirdigsten Märkischen Jahrgeschichten und Historien, so sich vom 416. Jahr vor Christi Geburt bis aufs 1596 Jahr zugetragen haben
'. Frankfurt a.d. Oder 1598. * ''Rerum Marchicarum Breviarum, Das Ist Kurtze Beschreibung der vornembsten geschichten und HIstorien, so sich vor und nach Christi Geburt als uber 2000 Jahren in chur und Fürstenthumb der Mark Brandenburg bis auff gegenwertiges 1593. Jahr begeben und zugetragen haben''. Wittenberg 1593.

References

* Reschke, Wolfgang, 2004: ''Der märkische Chronist und Pfarrer, Andreas Engel, genannt Angelus'' in ''750 Jahre St. Marien zu Strausberg''. Strausberg: Freundeskreis St. Marien zu Strausberg e.V. * Ribbe, Wolfgang, 1971: ''Die Aufzeichnungen des Engelbert Wusterwitz. Überlieferung, Edition und Interpretation einer spätmittelalterlichen Quelle zur Geschichte der Mark Brandenburg''. Berlin: Colloquium-Verlag (also a dissertation, FU Berlin 1971). * Walther, Philipp

(ADB). Band 1, pp. 456ff, Band 1. Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875
Catalogue of the Deutschen Nationalbibliothek: Biographical summary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Angelus, Andreas German chroniclers German educational theorists German Protestant clergy 1561 births 1598 deaths People from Strausberg People from the Margraviate of Brandenburg 16th-century German male writers 16th-century Latin-language writers 16th-century German historians