Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Boleslaus Balbinus

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95598Catholic Encyclopedia — Boleslaus BalbinusThomas Joseph Shahan


Balbinus, Boleslaus, a Jesuit historian of Bohemia, b. 4 December, 1621, at Königgrätz, of an ancient noble family; d. 29 November, 1688, at Prague. His entire life was devoted to collecting and editing the materials of Bohemian history, and his researches have often been utilized by the Bollandists. He wrote over thirty works, the most important of which is a "Miscellanea Historica regni Bohemiæ" or "Miscellany of Bohemian history" (6 vols., Prague, 1679–87) in which he described the chief historical events of his native land, its natural history, the genealogies of its nobles, lives of prominent Bohemians, etc. He wrote also in Latin an "Apology for the Slavic and especially the Bohemian tongue". Balbinus was the first to edit the ancient vernacular chronicle known as the "Life of St. Ludmilla and Martyrdom of St. Wenceslas", a new edition of which was published in 1902 by Dr. Pekár and is by him held to be a text of the tenth century, and therefore "the oldest historical work written in Bohemia and by a Bohemian". Balbinus wrote also "De archiepiscopis Bohemia" (Prague, 1682) and "Bohemia Sancta, sive de Sanctis Bohemiæ, Moraviæ, Silesiæ, Lusatiæ" (ibid,, 1682).

Sommervogel, Bibl, des écriv. de la c. de J., s. v.; Lützow, The Historians of Bohemia (London, 1905).