Philippus Baldaeus
Philips Baelde or
Philippus Baldaeus, (baptized on 24 October 1632,
Delft – 1671,
Geervliet) was a Dutch
minister. He went to
Jaffna during the
Dutch period in Ceylon with an invading Dutch force. As the second European after
Abraham Rogerius, in his illustrated ''Description of the East Indian Countries of Malabar, Coromandel, Ceylon, etc.'' he documented the life, language and culture of the
Tamil people, living in the north of the island. It was initially published in Dutch and German, while the English translation was published by the Ceylon Government Railway (1960).
He wrote much about the religious, civil and domestic conditions of the places he visited and introduced his account of the
Hindu mythology. He translated the Lord's Prayer into the Tamil language, and although it had mistakes, it was remarkable as the first treatise printed in Europe of any Indian language. Baldaeus went back to Holland and preached until he died while still a young man.
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