author
a S. Bartholomaeo Paulinus
1748–1806
An Austrian Carmelite missionary who spent years in India, he became one of Europe’s early interpreters of Indian languages and culture. His travel writing and scholarly works helped introduce Sanskrit and South Asian traditions to Western readers.
1 Audiobook
Voyage to the East Indies
by a S. Bartholomaeo Paulinus
About the author
Born Johann Philipp Wesdin in 1748, this writer is better known by his religious name, Paulinus a Sancto Bartholomaeo or Paulinus of St. Bartholomew. He was an Austrian Discalced Carmelite who traveled to Malabar in India as a missionary and later worked in Rome.
He is remembered not only for missionary work but also for scholarship. Sources describe him as an Orientalist and linguist, and he is often credited with producing one of the earliest Sanskrit grammars published in Europe. His books drew on long firsthand experience in India and ranged across language, religion, customs, and travel.
For audiobook listeners, he is especially interesting as a bridge figure: part traveler, part observer, part scholar. His writing opens a window onto late eighteenth-century encounters between Europe and South Asia, with all the curiosity and limitations that came with that era.