Jean Chardin

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jean Chardin, around 1690

Sir Jean Chardin ( English John Chardin , born November 26, 1643 in Paris , † January 26, 1713 in Chiswick near London ) was a French explorer who traveled in particular to the Middle East . His parents were Huguenots (Protestants): Jean Chardin, jeweler on Place Dauphine in Paris and shareholder in the French East India Company and his wife Jenny Ghiselin. He was married to Esther de Lardinière Peigne, daughter of a councilor in Rouen, who moved with him to London.

Live and act

As the son of a jeweler, he had an excellent education and had also learned his father's trade. In 1664, at the age of 21, he was able to travel to Persia with a merchant from Lyon via Turkey, the Black Sea (Crimea) and Armenia. In Isfahan he enjoyed the favor of Shah Abbas II , who placed an order with him to manufacture a piece of jewelry. When he died in 1666, Chardin witnessed the coronation of his son Shah Safi II , who appointed him court jeweler and gem dealer. During his stay in Persia, Chardin traveled twice to the ruins of Persepolis and also made a trip to India. In 1670, after six years, he returned to France with a rich collection of geography and antiquity . He published a report on the coronation celebrations in 1671. In Paris, however, he faced numerous persecutions because he was of Protestant faith. This prompted him to go to Asia for the second time. In 1673 he reached Isfahan, where he stayed for several years. From there he traveled again to India before finally returning to Europe in 1677 via the Cape of Good Hope with new collections, where he settled with his family in London in 1681 . King Charles II proposed him to Knight Bachelor ("Sir") in 1681 and sent him to Holland as an agent of the English East India Company .

Chardin was elected on the proposal of Sir Christopher Wren in 1682 as a member (" Fellow ") in the Royal Society , but on July 22, 1685 again excluded because he had not paid his contribution. He died on January 26, 1713 in Turnham Green , Middlesex , near London. He was buried in Chiswick Church in Middlesex.

Works

  • Voyages en Perse et aux Indes orientales . (London, 1686). This edition was so remarkable that it appeared in a German translation just one year later ( Des adorable Ritters Chardin, the great King in Persia Hoff-Handelsmanns / Curieuse Persian and East Indian Travel Description , Leipzig, 1687).

His entire journeys in 10 volumes were published in 1711 "Journal du voyage du chevalier Chardin" . Chardin gives a detailed and objective description of Persian society based on serious research and knowledge of the language and literature. He still enjoys a reputation today as one of the best-informed European observers in Persia during the Safavid period.

See also

In Achim von Arnim's 1823 novella, The Disguises of the French Court Master and his German pupil , the court master is designed after Chardin.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jean Chardin in the Encyclopædia Britannica Online
  2. ^ William Arthur Shaw: The Knights of England. Volume 2, Sherratt and Hughes, London 1906, p. 257.
  3. ↑ digitized version
  4. ↑ digitized version

Web links and sources

Web links

Commons : Jean Chardin  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Chardin, Jean
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Chardin, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French explorer
DATE OF BIRTH November 26, 1643
PLACE OF BIRTH Paris
DATE OF DEATH January 26, 1713
Place of death Chiswick