Balthasar Rüssow

Rüssows Chronica of the Lyfflandt Province . Title page of the 1578 edition.

Balthasar Rüssow (* 1536 in Reval (Estonian Tallinn); † November 23 or 24, 1600 ibid) was one of the most important chroniclers of Livonia and Estonia .

Life

Balthasar Rüssow (also Russow or Ruessow) was born in Reval into a not very wealthy family. From 1559 to 1562, on the recommendation of his teacher Bartholomäus Frölinck, he attended the academy in the Pomeranian Stettin with Matthäus Wolff. Rüssow completed his studies with a master's degree. He stayed in Wittenberg and Bremen for a short time before returning to Reval because of the death of his father. In 1563 he became a deacon . From 1566 until his death in 1600 he was a respected Lutheran pastor of the Estonian-speaking township at the Church of the Holy Spirit ( Estonian Pühavaimu kirik ) in Reval and lived in the area of the wake-up hall .

family

Balthasar Rüssow was married three times: first to Elsbet Ganander (1571), then to Margarethe (1582), the daughter of Reval Bishop Johannes Robertus von Geldern, and finally to the merchant's daughter Anna Bade (1593), a stepdaughter of the Reval councilor and mayor Heinrich of wages.

Several historians have dealt with the question of whether Rüssow was of German or Estonian origin.

"Chronica of the Lyfflandt Province"

Balthasar Rüssow is best known for his Chronica of the Lyfflandt Province . The work was first printed in Rostock, Mecklenburg , in 1578 and was quickly sold out. In 1584 a second, revised edition was published in the Princely Printing House in Barth (Western Pomerania).

In his Chronica of the Lyfflandt Province , Rüssow describes the history of Livonia from the 13th to the 16th century. It is written in Low German . In particular, the decline of the Livonian Order and the period of the Livonian War (1558–1583) are presented in detail. The Chronica is one of the most important sources for the history of the region.

In his Chronica, Rüssow takes a critical view of the Livonian upper class and denounces their immoral behavior. But he also describes the Estonian farmers as uneducated and adherent to pagan traditions. Rüssow describes the raging of the mercenary armies during the Livonian War in detail. But he has sympathy for the emerging new power of order in Northern Europe: Sweden .

Aftermath

Balthasar Rüssow is the main character in the historical novel Das Leben des Balthasar Rüssow by the Estonian writer Jaan Kross , published in 1970 . The original Estonian title is Kolme katku vahel (Between three plague epidemics ); Not only the plague epidemics of 1531, 1549 and from 1570 to 1578 are meant, but also those powers that rule the Baltic peoples: Sweden , Poland and Russia .

Fonts

literature

Paul Johansen : Balthasar Rüssow as a humanist and historian. Edited by Heinz von zur Mühlen . Böhlau, Cologne 1996 (= sources and studies on Baltic history 14). ISBN 3-412-08795-5 .
Jaan Kross : Balthasar Russow - ajalugu ja romaan . In: Keel ja Kirjandus , born 1987, issue 3 (Estonian).
Carola L. Gottzmann / Petra Hörner: Lexicon of the German-language literature of the Baltic States and St. Petersburg . 3 volumes; Verlag Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2007. ISBN 978-3-11-019338-1 . Volume 3, pp. 1095-1097.

Web links

Remarks

↑ uncertain, according to other sources 1542
↑ according to the Gregorian calendar December 3 or 4, 1600
↑ Chronica Der Provintz Lyfflandt, in which it is announced: Where datsülvige land was first found, unde thom Christendome brought ys: Wol de first regent of the country sint: Van the first master Düdesches order in Lyfflandt, beth up the lesten, unde van einer ydtliken Daden : Wat sick in the Voranderinge der Lyfflendeschen Stende, unde na der tydt, beth in dat negeste 1577. Jar, in front of strange unde wünderlike Geschefft in the country thogedragen lift, nütte unde pleasant tho reading, Korth unde loffwerdich entrust you revaliens, Dörch Balthasar Rüssouwen. Rostock, Pressed dörch Augustin Ferber, 1578.
↑ Chronica. Lyfflandt Province, to be reported therein. Where the sluggish lands were first found, and thom Christendome brought ys: Wol de were the first rulers of the land; van the first Meyster Düdesches order in Lyfflandt beth up the lesten, unde van a ydtliken daden. Wat sick in the Voranderinge of the Lyfflendische Stende, and na der tydt beth in dat negeste 1583. Jar, before strange and wünderlike business in the country tho rise: nütte unde pleasant reading tho korth and loffwerdich proclaim you. Dorch Balthasar Russowen Revaliensem. Thom other times with everything flyte, corrigeret, vorbetert, and mith velen histories dorch the author sülvest. Pressed tho Bart in the Förstliken Drückerye, Dorch Andream Seitnern. 1584.

personal data
SURNAME	Rüssow, Balthasar
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Russow, Balthasar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Chronicler of Livonia and Estonia
DATE OF BIRTH	1536
PLACE OF BIRTH	Tallinn
DATE OF DEATH	November 23, 1600
Place of death	Tallinn

[1] uncertain, according to other sources 1542

[2] rding to the Gregorian calendar December 3 or 4, 1600

[3] Chronica Der Provintz Lyfflandt, in which it is announced: Where datsülvige land was first found, unde thom Christendome brought ys: Wol de first regent of the country sint: Van the first master Düdesches order in Lyfflandt, beth up the lesten, unde van einer ydtliken Daden : Wat sick in the Voranderinge der Lyfflendeschen Stende, unde na der tydt, beth in dat negeste 1577. Jar, in front of strange unde wünderlike Geschefft in the country thogedragen lift, nütte unde pleasant tho reading, Korth unde loffwerdich entrust you revaliens, Dörch Balthasar Rüssouwen. Rostock, Pressed dörch Augustin Ferber, 1578.

[4] Chronica. Lyfflandt Province, to be reported therein. Where the sluggish lands were first found, and thom Christendome brought ys: Wol de were the first rulers of the land; van the first Meyster Düdesches order in Lyfflandt beth up the lesten, unde van a ydtliken daden. Wat sick in the Voranderinge of the Lyfflendische Stende, and na der tydt beth in dat negeste 1583. Jar, before strange and wünderlike business in the country tho rise: nütte unde pleasant reading tho korth and loffwerdich proclaim you. Dorch Balthasar Russowen Revaliensem. Thom other times with everything flyte, corrigeret, vorbetert, and mith velen histories dorch the author sülvest. Pressed tho Bart in the Förstliken Drückerye, Dorch Andream Seitnern. 1584.