Abba Gregorius
Abba Gregorius (Ethiopian Gorgoryos , born Iskinder; * approx. 1600 in Mekane Sellase in Amhara ; † 1658 before Iskanderun ) was an Ethiopian priest of noble origin and co-author of lexicons in various African languages.
He was a friend and companion of Job Ludolf , with whom he initially communicated in the church and liturgy language of Old Ethiopian .
When Ludolf entered the service of Duke Ernst the Pious of Saxe-Gotha and Altenburg, he invited Gorgoryos to Gotha in 1652 . Ludolf and Ernst studied books on Abyssinia and prepared a list of questions that they put to Gorgoryos. The Duke was particularly interested in the legendary Priest King John . Ludolf and Gorgoryos jointly developed an Old Ethiopian lexicon as well as a lexicon and grammar for Amharic , the Lexicon Aethiopico-Latinum and the Lexicon Amharico-Latinum .
On his return trip to Ethiopia in 1658, Gorgoryos was killed in a shipwreck off Iskanderun .
literature
- Erich Beyreuther : August Hermann Francke and the beginnings of the ecumenical movement. Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1957, p. 31.
- Richard Pankhurst (Ed.): Travelers in Ethiopia. Oxford University Press, London 1965.
- Wolbert Smidt: Abba Gorgoryos - a man of integrity and seriousness. The visit of an Ethiopian scholar in Thuringia in 1652. In: Kerstin Volker-Saad, Anna Greve (Hrsg.): Ethiopia and Germany, longing for the distance. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich et al. 2006, ISBN 3-422-06603-9 , pp. 48–57.
- Jürgen Tubach : Ludolf, Job. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 5, Bautz, Herzberg 1993, ISBN 3-88309-043-3 , Sp. 317-325.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gregorius, Abba |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gorgoryos (Ethiopian); Iskinder (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Ethiopian priest of noble origin, philologist and lexicographer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | between 1595 and 1600 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Amhara |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1658 |
| Place of death | before Iskanderun |