Johannes Praetorius (latinization of Hans Schultz; also called Praetorius Zeitlingensis to differentiate him from others with the same pen name; ; October 22, 1630, Zethlingen - October 25, 1680,

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

) was a German writer and historian. JohannPraetorius1630

Praetorius attended school in

Salzwedel Salzwedel (, officially known as Hansestadt Salzwedel; Low German: ''Soltwedel'') is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, and has a population of approximately 21,500. Salz ...

and at the Gymnasium in Halle (Saale), then enrolled at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

, where he studied the natural sciences and obtained the

Magister degree A magister degree (also magistar, female form: magistra; from la, magister, "teacher") is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education. The magister degree arose in medieval universities in Europe and was originally equal to th ...

in 1653. He remained affiliated with the university until his death, studying texts at the Paulinum. Praetorius occasionally gave lectures, but spent the bulk of his time writing and compiling literary works, including compendia of fairy tales and

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

s. He is well known for collecting folk tales of the

Rübezahl Rübezahl ( pl, Liczyrzepa, Duch Gór, Karkonosz, Rzepiór, or Rzepolicz; cs, Krakonoš) is a folkloric mountain spirit ( woodwose) of the Giant Mountains (''Krkonoše'', ''Riesengebirge'', ''Karkonosze''), a mountain range along the border bet ...

. Under the name Prophulidor, he belonged to the Elbschwanenorden, which promoted the Protestant confession.

Works

* ''Daemonologia Rubinzalii … Ein ausführlicher Bericht von … dem Rübezahl.'' Leipzig 1662. * ''Catastrophe Muhammetica: Oder das Endliche Valet, und Schändliche Nativität des gantzen und nunmehr vergänglichen Türckischen Reichs: aus ziemlich vielen so wohl geistlichen Prophezeyungen als weltlichen Weissagungen ... an den Tag gegeben''. Leipzig 1664.
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* ''Iudiciolum Asteriae oder Der mittägliche Strauss-Stern, so sich im Außgange des 1664. Jahrs nach Christi Geburt, im Monat Decemb. am 3. 4. 5. 12. und 18. gegen Süden früe Morgens, erschrecklich hat sehen lassen …'' 1664
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. * ''Anthropodemus Plutonicus, das ist, Eine Neue Weltbeschreibung.'' Magdeburg 1666. * ''Storchs und Schwalben Winter-Qvartier.'' Frankfurt am Main, Leipzig 1676. * ''Blockes-Berges Verrichtung oder ausführlicher geographischer Bericht von den hohen trefflich alt- und berühmten Blockes-Berge: ingleichen von der Hexenfahrt und Zauber-Sabbathe, so auff solchen Berge die Unholden aus gantz Teutschland Jährlich den 1. Maij in Sanct-Walpurgis-Nachte anstellen sollen; Aus vielen Autoribus abgefasset und mit schönen Raritäten angeschmücket sampt zugehörigen Figuren; Nebenst einen Appendice vom Blockes-Berge wie auch des Alten Reinsteins und der Baumans Höle am Hartz.'' Scheibe, Leipzig; Arnst, Frankfurt am Main 1668.

Literature

* Gerhard Dünnhaupt: ''Chronogramme und Kryptonyme: Geheime Schlüssel zur Datierung und Autorschaft der Werke des Polyhistors Johannes Praetorius.'' In: ''Philobiblon.'' 21, 1977, S. 130–135. * Gerhard Dünnhaupt: ''Johann Praetorius (1630-1680).'' In: ''Personalbibliographien zu den Drucken des Barock.'' Vol. 5. Hiersemann, Stuttgart 1991, , S. 3145–3193. (List of works and literature) * Ferdinand van Ingen: ''Das Geschäft mit dem Berggeist.'' In: ''Chloe.'' 7, 1988, S. 361–380. *Stefan Jordan: Praetorius, John. In: New German Biography (NDB). Vol. 20, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2001, , p. 667 f. * Gerhild Scholz Williams: ''Ways of Knowing in Early Modern Germany. Johannes Praetorius as a Witness to his Time.'' Ashgate, Burlington VT 2006. * Friedrich Zarncke: Praetorius, Johannes (poet) . In: General German Biography (ADB). Vol. 26, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig, 1888, pp. 520–529.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Praetorius, Johannes 1630 births 1680 deaths German scholars 17th-century German writers 17th-century German male writers