George Psalmanazar

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George Psalmanazar (1679–1763)

George Psalmanazar (* 1679 ; † May 3, 1763 ) claimed to be the first native of Formosa (today's Taiwan) to come to Europe . For some years he was the public in the United Kingdom convince, but was later than impostor unmasked.

Life

Around 1700 a very strange man appeared in northern Europe. He looked European, but claimed to come from the distant island of Formosa, lived according to its strange calendar and worshiped the sun and moon.

In 1702 he arrived in the Netherlands . There he met William Innes , who was a chaplain in a unit of the Scottish Army. Afterwards, he claimed to have converted the pagan to Christianity and baptized him in the name of George Psalmanazar (based on the biblical king of the Assyrians Shalmaneser ). In 1703 he traveled to London via Rotterdam to meet the local bishop.

In London at the time, the exotic stranger became famous for his peculiar behavior. He ate raw meat with lots of spices and slept upright on a chair. He claimed to have been kidnapped by Jesuits from Formosa to France , where he refused to join Roman Catholicism .

Formosa Book (1704)

In 1704 Psalmanazar published the book An Historical and Geographical Description of Formosa, an Island Subject to the Emperor of Japan , in which he described a number of other peculiarities. Formosa was a rich country with the capital Xternetsa . People went naked except for gold and silver buckles to cover their genitals. The main food was snakes, which they hunted with branches.

Formosans were then polygamous and the husband had the right to eat his wives at will. Convicted murderers were executed by hanging them upside down and shooting at them with arrows. Every year they sacrificed the hearts of 18,000 young men to the gods, the remaining bodies were eaten by the priests. They also knew horses and camels as a means of transport. A "Formosan alphabet" is also described in the book.

The book was pretty successful. There were two English editions, a French and a German edition followed.

Shortly thereafter, he was called to Oxford College . He started translating religious literature into (his) Formosan language and taught (his) Formosan culture and language. The Bishop of London supported him. He looked at Dr. Samuel Johnson (a literary character) as his friend. And he spoke to the Royal Geographical Society .

The identity given by Psalmanazar has been questioned. However, he was able to turn most of the criticism away from himself. He explained his pale skin by saying that as a member of the upper class he did not have to do any work in the sun. In fact, he even claimed to have lived underground. Jesuits who were actually missionaries in Formosa, however, were not believed, mainly because of their bad reputation in the anti-Catholic mood of the time. He avoided questions from members of the Royal Society , such as Edmund Halley .

Innes was promoted to senior chaplain of the English armed forces in Portugal . Psalmanazar, on the other hand, got involved in some dubious business. In 1706 he admitted the deception, first to friends, and finally he also confessed it to the public.

Psalmanazar lived as a writer until his death. He worked for some time as an employee of the army until a fellow employee gave him money to study theology . He learned Hebrew , co-authored A General History of Printing (1732), and wrote a number of articles for Universal History . He also worked on the book Geography of the World , in which he wrote about the real conditions in Formosa and criticized his earlier common hoax. Apparently he was also becoming increasingly religious.

Among his writings is also Memoirs of ****, Commonly Known by the Name of George Psalmanazar; a Reputed Native of Formosa , published posthumously.

According to this autobiography , he was born in France in 1679 and attended a Jesuit school there. His activity there ended when he resisted the advances of the hostess and became a pilgrim . At first he claimed to be an Irish pilgrim on his way to Rome. On the way, however, he met too many who actually knew something about Ireland. He then switched to the role of a Japanese convert , eventually posing as a pagan , which sounded even more exciting. He wandered through Europe hungry, as a hero and sometimes as a soldier. He took on the role of Formosan at the insistence of Innes, when the priest recognized his deception, but wanted to profit from the imposture.

Psalmanazar failed to pass on his maiden name.

literature

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Commons : George Psalmanazar  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Psalmanazar, George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French impostor
DATE OF BIRTH 1679
DATE OF DEATH May 3, 1763