Paul Unicorn

Paul Einhorn (* around 1590 in Iecava ; † August 26, 1655 in Jelgava ) was a German-Baltic , Latvian Evangelical-Lutheran pastor and chronicler .

Life

Paul Einhorn, whose date of birth is unknown, was born in Iecava , Latvia . His father was also called Paul. He studied Protestant theology at the universities of Greifswald (1611 to 1613), Königsberg (1614) and, like his father before, at the University of Rostock from 1615 and was ordained pastor in 1621. He initially served as a pastor in Grenzhof (Latvian: Mežmuiža) and from 1634 as an early preacher for the German-speaking community in Mitau . In 1636 he was appointed superintendent and thus leading clergyman for the Duchy of Courland and Semgallia , an office that his grandfather Alexander Einhorn had also held from 1570 to 1575. In 1645 he took part in the Thorner Religious Discussion as a representative of Courland, sent by Duke Jakob Kettler .

Einhorn condemned superstition among the Balts and is the author of the German-language Historia Lettica , which he published in 1649. In it he was one of the first to describe Latvian history , language and mythology in more detail . Shaped by Lutheran Orthodoxy and caught up in time-related views, especially with regard to the Latvian popular belief, his statements on this should be treated with caution.

He died on August 28, 1655 during the sermon in the pulpit .

Works

• Refutation of idolatry and vain superstition / so anciently arose out of Heydnian idolatry in this country / and bithero remained in use. Riga 1627
• Reformatio gentis Letticae in Ducatu Curlandiae. Riga: Schröder 1636
• Historia Lettica This is a description of the Latvian nation. In which von der Letten as an old inhabitant and owner of Liefland / Churlandes and Semgallen names / clock jump or arrival / their divine service / their republica or regiments so they had in the Heyden family / also their customs / gestures / customs / nature and characteristics [ Etc. Thorough and comprehensive report on history / the German nation and all those who love historical truth / brought together for a necessary lesson and made it to the press. Dorpt in Liefland: Vogel, 1649

Digitized , University of Tartu

literature

• Exequiale Decus in pios Manes Viri Admodum Reverendi ... Dn. Pauli unicorn. Riga: Schröder 1656

Digitized version , Göttingen University Library

• Unicorn (Paul) , in: Johann Friedrich von Recke , Charles Edward Napiersky : General Writers and scholars lexicon of the provinces of Livonia, Esthonia and Kurland Volume 1: A-F, Mitau: Steffenhhagen 1827, pp 486 -490 (including publication list )
• Scriptores rerum livonicarum , Volume 2. Riga, Leipzig: Frantz, 1848. (Paul Einhorn's biography on pages 653–656)

Web links

• Baltic Historical Commission (ed.): Entry on Paul Einhorn. In: BBLD - Baltic Biographical Lexicon digital
• Publications by and about Paul Einhorn in VD 17 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Entry in the Rostock matriculation portal

predecessor	Office	successor
Heinrich Mayer	Superintendent of Courland and Semgallia 1636–1655	Nicolaus Franck