Johann Philipp Abelin was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

chronicler whose career straddled the 16th and 17th centuries. He was born, probably, at

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, and died there between 1634 and 1637. He wrote numerous histories under the pseudonyms of Abeleus, Philipp Arlanibäus, Johann Ludwig Gottfried and Gotofredus.

Publications

He worked mainly as a translator for the publishing house of Lucas Jennisius,

Matthäus Merian Matthäus is a given name or surname. Notable people with the name include: ;Surname * Lothar Matthäus, (born 1961), German former football player and manager ;Given name * Matthäus Aurogallus, Professor of Hebrew at the University of Wittenberg ...

and

Friedrich Hulsius Frederik van Hulsen, or Friedrich von Hulsen, also known as Hulseen and Fredericus Hulsius (1580 – 1665) was a Dutch Golden Age printmaker active in Frankfurt and Nuremberg. He was born in Middelburg and became a pupil of Jan Theodor de Br ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

. Some of his works, such as a history of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, proved later to be translations of other works. His own works consisted mainly of compilations of historical records.

Own works

Abelin produced compilations of contemporary records and letters about the events of the wars of

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without further historical commentary: *''Arma Suecica'', 1631–1634, in 12 parts *''Inventarium Sueciae'', 1632 In the same style, his best known work was ''

Theatrum Europaeum ''Theatrum Europaeum'' was a journal on the history of the German-speaking lands by Matthäus Merian Matthäus is a given name or surname. Notable people with the name include: ;Surname * Lothar Matthäus, (born 1961), German former football play ...

'', a series of chronicles of the chief events in the history of the world down to 1619, reedited, updated and republished several times, including a translation into

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

. Its coincidence with the needs and tastes of the time, made it a very popular work. Abelin was responsible for the first two volumes. It was continued by various writers and grew to 21 volumes (1633–1738). However, the main interest of the volumes are the beautiful copperplate engraved illustrations of Matthäus Merian (1593–1650).

Derivative works

*''Historia Antipodum'', 1655, a translation of a history of the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

*''Archontologia Cosmicum'', translation and revision of

Petrus d'Avirth Petrus may refer to: People * Petrus (given name) * Petrus (surname) * Petrus Borel, pen name of Joseph-Pierre Borel d'Hauterive (1809–1859), French Romantic writer * Petrus Brovka, pen name of Pyotr Ustinovich Brovka (1905–1980), Soviet Belar ...

's ''Monde''

Notes

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abelin, Johann Philipp 16th-century births 1630s deaths Writers from Strasbourg Alsatian-German people German translators German non-fiction writers German chroniclers Year of birth unknown German male non-fiction writers 17th-century translators 17th-century Latin-language writers 17th-century German writers 17th-century German male writers