Jakob Jakobeus (also spelled Jakub Jakobeus) (1591–1645) was a Slovak writer, historian, and poet. He was the author of ''Tears, Sighs and Pleas of the Slovak Nation'' (called in the day's

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''Gentis Slavonicae lacrimae, suspiria et vota''). This is said to be the first known defense of the Slovak nation.

Biography

Jakobeus was born to a bourgeois family in

Kutná Hora Kutná Hora (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants. The history of Kutná Hora is linked to silver mining, which made it a rich and rapidly developing town. The centre of Kutná Hora, i ...

, Bohemia, modern day

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. He completed his education at Charles University in Prague. In 1618 he was ordained a Protestant priest. Due to him being Protestant, he was forced to leave Bohemia when Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II, a devout Catholic, expelled all Protestants from Bohemia following his victory at the

Battle of White Mountain The Battle of White Mountain (; ) was an important battle in the early stages of the Thirty Years' War. It led to the defeat of the Bohemian Revolt and ensured Habsburg control for the next three hundred years. It was fought on 8 November 16 ...

in 1620. He chose to flee to

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, which was a mainly Protestant area. In 1624, he left Saxony and moved to his ancestral land, Slovakia, former Upper Hungary, where he spent the remainder of his life. While in Upper Hungary, now Slovakia he worked as a teacher and spiritual guide. He died in 1645 in Prešov, Slovakia, former

Upper Hungary Upper Hungary (, "Upland"), is the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been called ''Felső-Magyarország'' ( literally: "Upper Hungary"; ). During the ...

Writings

Jakobeus, being a prolific writer, wrote many books. Like most other learned men of his day, he was fluent in

, and he wrote many works in Latin. Whilst in

Soľ Soľ () is a village and municipality in Vranov nad Topľou District in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia. It is one of the oldest villages in eastern Slovakia. History The land that is now Sol' was the location of intermittent human settle ...

, Slovakia, he wrote a collection of poetry in Latin. Among his most widely held works are: * Dissertatio philologica, De materia et forma librorum apud veteres ante inventam artem typographicam ... * Scythæ præ Barbaro prærogativa deducta ex Col. III. ii, quam brevi hoc schediasmate publicè exponet Jacobus Jacobæus, etc. Resp. Janus Bruun * Idea mutationum Bohemo-evangelicarum ecclesiarum, in florentissimo regno Bohemiae à traditionibus humanis Pragae reformatarum ... simpliciter decerpta * Cesty k Tobě * Výber z diela. Štúdiu napísal Jozef Minárik. Texty preložili a poznámky napísali Josef Minárik, Mária Vyvijalová. With facsimiles and translations in Slovak. * De arte Christi mechanica, privatos intra parietes exculta * Výber z diela : Okolo r. 1591-1645. Texty preložili a poznámky napísali Jozef Minárik, Mária Vyvíjalová * Teils., slowak. Jakub Jakobeus * Poem admirandae et adorandae Jesu Christi theanthropiae * Curiosus et simul incautus Aristarchus, sive dissertatio philologico- critica de veterum grammaticorum censura circa libros eorumq einscriptiones, qvam ... publico examini submittit Jacobus Jacobaeus, Olig. fil. respondente ... Petro Muller in auditorio die 3 April anno 1705

References

{{authority control Emigrants from the Holy Roman Empire Slovak writers 1591 births 1645 deaths Charles University alumni