Constantin Suysken

Constantin Suysken. Illustration in the Acta Sanctorum, October, 4th volume

Constantin Suysken (* 1714 in Herzogenbusch ; † 1771 ) was a Jesuit and Bollandist from North Brabant . He worked for the Acta Sanctorum for 25 years and wrote about 130 articles for the Compendium of Saints.

Life

Constantin Suysken was born in Herzogenbusch as the son of wealthy Catholic parents . Since there was no Catholic school there, he was sent to Roermond in 1725 to the Jesuit college there , where he learned the humaniora . In 1731 he moved to Douai to study philosophy , but in the same year he entered the Jesuit college in Mechelen as a novice . After the end of the novitiate, he was sent to Hall in Hainaut in 1734 to repeat the Humaniora. From 1735 he studied physics in Antwerp . Here he worked as a teacher for five years after graduating. He then completed a four-year theology course in Leuven . In 1745 he was called back to Antwerp and took the third test in Lier . 1748 was followed by the profession .

In 1745 he was appointed to the Society of Bollandists , for which he worked for 25 years. In 1769 Constantin Suysken fell ill with a stone disease. Later I had a tumor and dropsy . He died in 1771.

plant

Father Suysken edited about 130 articles for the Acta Sanctorum in September and October. Among other things, he wrote:

• In September:
  • Volume 2: 10 articles, including Ida , Irmgard , Abbot Albert von Bergamo and Fredald .
  • Volume 3: 20 articles, including Abbot Kieran von Clonmacnois and Nikolaus von Tolentino .
  • 4th volume: Pope Cornelius and Cyprian .
  • Volume 5: Ludmilla , Lambert and Josef von Copertino .
  • Volume 6: Castor , Gerulf , Lando , Maura , Digna , Merita and Emmeram .
  • 7th volume (1760): 20 articles, including Johann von Meda , Elzearius von Sabrano , Wenzel von Böhmen and Bernardin von Feltre .
  • Volume 8: Johann von Montmirail and Nikolaus von Furca-Palena .
• In October:
  • Volume 1: Remedius , Remigius and Thomas de Cantilupe .
  • Volume 2: Marsus , Quinctinus and Francis of Assisi .
  • Volume 3: Pope Marcus and Adalbero von Würzburg .
  • 4th volume: Reparata , Benedicta , Eusebia and Bertrand .

Father Suysken was also responsible for the overall design of the work and coordinated the arrangement of the articles under their proper memorial days . The property registers of the Acta Sanctorum go back to him ( indices historicum, topographicum, onomasticum et moralem ). To collect rare books and manuscripts, he and Father Stilting toured France , Italy , Germany and Hungary in 1752 .

Even in later times, Father Suysken enjoyed a good reputation in the professional world for his careful, learned and critical way of working. For example, he is highly credited for rejecting overly fabulous traditions, for example about the holy Libaria , and for showing a skill that was often not achieved later in the selection of manuscripts.

literature

• Historical literature for 1784 . Published by Johann Georg Meusel. 4th year, 2nd volume, Erlangen 1784, pp. 475–479.
• Josef Pekař : The Wenceslas and Ludmila legends and the authenticity of Christian . Prague 1906, pp. 1-2.