|
Paul Menesius (1637–1694, Latinized from Menzies, Russian transliteration: Павел Гаврилович Менезиус or Менезий or Миннюст〔His last name written in the forms Menzies, Menghes, Meneses〕) was a Scottish soldier and diplomat, who spent most of his life in the service of the Russian Tsar Alexei. ==Life== Menesius came from an old wealthy Scottish family of Catholic and traditional background from Aberdeen, who were forced by religious persecution to emigrate to France in 1639, where he studied at the Douai College. After Oliver Cromwell's death in 1658 the family returned to Scotland when Charles II returned the family's land. However their wealth was lost and Paul, the youngest son, had to seek his own living. He joined the Polish army. In 1660 he defected to Russia. There, he received a master's rank and later married a Russian woman. Menzies' friendship with Kirill Naryshkin, who since 1671 was the Tsar's father-in-law, and Patrick Gordon and others placed him close to Tsar Alexei. When in 1671 - 1672 during a return to Scotland, his fortunes took a further turn. The Russian state was looking for allies amongst the European states to fight Turkey. Menesius with his linguistic skills and Catholic faith was enlisted as an ambassador and sent in 1672, to Berlin, Dresden, Vienna, Venice and Rome. Although he was welcomed, he did not receive any direct response to the appeal for alliance. However, despite Austrian suspicion; in Vienna when he announced that the Turks had conquered the Kamenets and Russian arsenals, the Austrian Emperor led an army to the borders to defeat the infidel invader. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Paul Menesius」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|