Johann Ernst Hanxleden (1681–1732), better identified as Arnos Pathiri, was a German Jesuit

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

and

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

, best known for his contributions as a

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

poet,

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes domain ...

ian,

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoretica ...

, and

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

. He lived in India for most part of his life and became a scholar of

and

languages before authoring '' Puthen Pana'', a poem on the life of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, ''Malayalam–Portuguese Dictionary'', the first dictionary in Malayalam as well as two linguistic treatises, ''Malayalavyaakaranam'' and ''Sidharoopam''.

Early life

Johann Ernst Hanxleden was born at

Ostercappeln Ostercappeln is a municipality in the district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Wiehengebirge, approx. 15 km northeast of Osnabrück. The municipality is made up of three villages, Ostercappeln, Venne and Schwa ...

, near

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...

, in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

, Germany in 1681. While studying philosophy at his home town of Osnabruck, he met Wilhelm Weber, a

Jesuit priest , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

to whom he volunteered for service in India as a part of the then Jesuit mission in Malabar. On 30 October 1699 he set out on a long journey to India, along with Wilhelm Weber and another Jesuit priest, Wilhelm Meyr, travelling through present day Italy, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, Syria,

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

, and

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

to reach Surat (of present-day

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

), India on 13 December 1700. During the journey, he entered into a novitiate and proceeded to

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

where there was a large community of

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

In India

After completing his spiritual formation ( Novitiate) in Goa, Hanxleden was sent to a Jesuit Seminary at

Sampaloor Sampaloor is a small village located in Kadukutty panchayat of Chalakudy Taluk in Kerala state, India. It is believed that the name 'Sampaloor' was originated from 'São - Paulo - oor' ( the land of St. Paul). During the Portuguese rule, Sampa ...

in Thrissur District of the south Indian state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. It is at St. Paul's Seminary in Sampaloor, he did his theological studies for preparing himself to receive priesthood. He took time also to initiate himself to the local language,

and more importantly studied the

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

, the

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

language of the

Thomas Christians The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an Ethnoreligious group, ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Ker ...

. He was ordained priest in 1706. In addition to his mother tongue German, and his mastery of

, he also had a good command over

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, and

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

. After moving to

Palayoor Palayūr, also called Palayoor and historically as Palur, is a town near Chavakkad, Thrissur district, India. It is famous for its ancient church, Palayur Mar Thoma Church, which is believed to be one of the seven major churches founded by Sa ...

, Hanxleden studied

too and improved his

, learning under the tutelage of Namboodiri scholars such as Kunjan and Krishnan from Angamaly and Thekkemadom from Thrissur. From 1707 to 1711, he served as secretary to John Ribeiro, the then Archbishop of

Cranganore Kodungallur (; also Cranganore, Portuguese: Cranganor; formerly known as Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in Thr ...

and visited many places in

on tasks such as preaching and Catechesis. It is recorded that he also served as the vicar of the main church in Malabar. Later, he moved to Velur, Thrissur, a small village near

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

District in 1712 and built the Velur Forane Church. From 1729 onward, he spent his time between Velur, Sampaloor,

and Pazhuvil and it was at Pazhuvil he suffered a snake bite which resulted in his death on 20 March 1732, at the age of 51. He was buried there but, later, when a memorial was built outside the church, his mortal remains were transferred to it; the memorial also houses a historical museum. The church and his home in Velur have since been declared as a protected monument by the Government of Kerala. Among various exhibits at the museum are the bed used by Hanxleden and the '' chathurangam'' (which Hanxleden used to play) columns marked on the floor of his home. Mar Francis Vazhapilly, Metropolitan Archbishop of Thrissur from 1921 to 1942, used to stay at the Velur Forane Church for a few days during

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

so that he could sleep on the bed used by Arnos Paathiri and drink from the well dug during his times. His life has been documented in many books; ''Arnos Pathiri - a Biography'', written by A. Adappur, a Catholic priest ''Arnos Pathiri'', written by Mathew Ulakamthara ''Arnos Pathiri - Jeevacharithram'' of N. K. Jos and ''Arnos Padri'', written by C. K. Mattam count among them.

Legacy

Arnos Paathiri's oeuvre comprises poems, dictionaries and grammar books and two of his prominent literary works are '' Puthen Pana'' and ''Chathuranthyam''.

'' Puthen Pana''

The '' Puthen Pana'', a Malayalam epic on the life of Jesus Christ, is Arnos Pathiri's most popular poem and it is one of the earliest poems written in simple Malayalam. It has been an inalienable part of Christian (not restricted to

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

) life in Kerala since the time of its composition; its ''paadham''s are sung in a characteristic manner in Christian households on various solemn occasions, the most notable ones being

Holy Thursday Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday (also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, among other names) is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the ...

, Good Friday, and other days of

Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...

and

and evenings preceding funerals. It is reported that he wrote '' Puthen Pana'' sitting by the well of Pazhuvil Forane church. The poem which follows a similar style to the noted work, Jnanappana of

Poonthanam Nambudiri Poonthanam Nambudiri (1547–1640AD) was a famous poet and a devotee of Guruvayurappan, who lived in Keezhattoor in what is now Malappuram district, Kerala, India. He is remembered for his masterpiece, ''Jnanappana'' which means "the song o ...

, consists of fourteen ''Paadhams''; the couplets are written in the ''Sarppini'' ''Vruththam'', except for those in the twelfth ''Paadham'', which are in the ''Nathonnatha'' metre. The twelfth ''Paadham'' on the lament of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

at the

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...

and death of Jesus is the heart of the poem. Other important ''Paadham''s are concerned with the

Fall of Man The fall of man, the fall of Adam, or simply the Fall, is a term used in Christianity to describe the transition of the first man and woman from a state of innocent obedience to God to a state of guilty disobedience. * * * * The doctrine of the ...

(second), the Annunciation (fourth), the Nativity (fifth), the Sermon on the Mount (seventh), the

Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...

(tenth), the trial and

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...

(eleventh), the

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...

(thirteenth), and the Ascension (fourteenth). The first ''paadham'' has the poet telling us that the poem is being written on request from Antonio Pimental, the Archbishop of Cranganore; Pimental held the ecclesiastical office from 1721 to 1752, the poem is estimated to have been composed some time during the period 1721–1732.

''Chathuranthyam''

The ''Chathuranthyam'' is a mystic poem on the four ends of man: ''Maranam'', ''Vidhi'', ''Moksham'' and ''Narakam'' parts of the poem are sung on occasions similar to the ''Puththenpaana'' recitals. While his poems are written works, they also have a strong

oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985) ...

; many pious Christians learn his poetical works by heart for recitals.

''Malayalam–Portuguese Dictionary''

Arnos Pathiri was the first to compile a

Dictionary and his lexicon described

words in both

and

Others

Pathiri was the first European to write a

grammar ''Grammatica grandonica'' and also the first European to compose Sanskrit verse. He also wrote a short and succinct

for the

language. Along with his predecessor,

Heinrich Roth Heinrich Roth (December 18, 1620 in Dillingen, Germany – June 20, 1668 in Agra; also known as ''Henricus Rodius'' or ''Henrique Roa'') was a missionary and pioneering Sanskrit scholar. Life Having been born in Dillingen and raised in Augsburg ...

, he was one of the pioneering European

scholars, and he has written several essays on

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

and

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

, in Latin. ''Marana Parvam'', ''Vidhi Parvam'', ''Moksha Parvam'', ''Naraka Parvam'', ''Umma Parvam'', ''Misiha Charitham'', and ''Jehova Parvam'' are some of his other works. Arnos Padre Academy is an eponymous organization based in Velur, established in memory of Hanxleden and the academy has taken steps to get his writings translated into English with the help of European scholars.

Selected works

* * ''Chathuranthyam'' * ''Genevieva Punyacharithram'' * ''Ummaadaey Dhukhkham'' * * ''Malayalavyaakaranam'' * ''Samskrutham – Portuguese'' Dictionary * ''Samskruthavyaakaranam'' * ''Ave Maris Stella'' * * * *

Notes

References

External links

''Grammatica Grandonica: The Sanskrit Grammar of Johann Ernst Hanxleden s.j. (1681-1732), introduced and edited, with a photographical reproduction of the original manuscript'' by Vielle, Christophe ; Van Hal, Toon ; Muller, Jean-Claude
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanxleden, Johann Ernst 1681 births 1732 deaths 18th-century German Jesuits 18th-century Indian Jesuits People from Thrissur district German lexicographers German orientalists German philologists Malayalam-language writers People from Osnabrück (district) German male non-fiction writers Clergy from Lower Saxony 18th-century lexicographers

Early life

In India

Legacy

'' Puthen Pana''

''Chathuranthyam''

''Malayalam–Portuguese Dictionary''

Others

Selected works

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links