Jenkinson, Anthony (died 1611) English traveler and
merchant
After some years in the Middle East as a merchant
(1546–53), Jenkinson went to Russia as an agent of the
MUSCOVY COMPANY(1557–60); in 1558, searching for a
possible land route to China, he became the first English-
man to visit Kazan and the northern Caspian Sea. On later
visits to Russia (1566–68, 1571–72) he conducted valu-
able trade negotiations, despite the tsar’s hostility. After a
final mission to Embden to negotiate with the Danes
(1577), he lived in London and Northamptonshire. His
lively reports on his Russian and Persian journeys were
published by HAKLUYT.
Jenson, Nicolas (1420–1480) French type designer and
printer
Jenson was born at Sommevoie, near Troyes, and after
learning to print in Germany, perhaps at Mainz, he settled
in Venice about 1470. There he perfected the roman type-
face first used in Strasbourg and Rome by 1467, following
a roman manuscript hand. In the following decade he is-
sued about 70 books, mostly Latin or Greek classics; of
these Pliny’s Historia naturalis (1472) is one of his finest
productions. Many of his books were illuminated and dec-
orated by hand, as though they were MANUSCRIPTS, and
special copies of some were printed on vellum.
Jessenius, Johannes (Jan Jesenský) (1566–1621)
Slovak physician and polymath
Born in Breslau, Jessenius studied medicine at Padua
(1588–91). There he wrote De divina humanaque
philosophia (1591), dedicated to Emperor Rudolf II, who
rewarded him with a degree on his first visit to Prague
shortly afterward. He lived in Wittenberg for some years,
where he wrote a quasi hermetic treatise, Zoroaster
(1593), published a compendium on the unity of knowl-
edge, Universae philosophiae epitome (1596), and also
made the acquaintance of Tycho Brahe. Jessenius moved
to Prague in 1600 where he became an influential teacher
at the university.
Jesuits A Roman Catholic religious order established to
strengthen the papacy and the Catholic Church against
Protestantism. The Jesuits came into being when IGNATIUS
LOYOLAand ten followers, all committed to missionary
work, met in Venice in 1537 to form the Society of Jesus.
This put into effect plans made in Paris three years earlier,
when Loyola and six companions dedicated themselves to
a life of service to God. Their order was recognized by
Pope Paul III in 1540.
Representing a new religious technique rather than
new doctrine, the Jesuits’ spiritual discipline is contained
in the Spiritual Exercises, first composed by Loyola in
1522 but continually revised until the appearance of a
printed version in 1548. The Exercises, reinforced by Loy-
ola’s Constitutions (first drafted 1547–50), are fundamen-
tal to the self-discipline and organization that are the hall-
mark of the society. Divided into four parts, each part to
be studied for a week, the Exercises provide a meditative
experience based upon the themes of sin, Christ’s life,
the Passion, and the Resurrection. The overall effect of
the program was the fostering of a greater awareness of
sin and salvation, continually refreshed through study
and confession. United in a devotion to the pope and or-
ganized into congregations superintended by a general,
the society proved to be a highly effective mission. By the
time of Loyola’s death (1556) it had over 1000 members
and was set to become a major force in the COUNTER-
REFORMATION.
Dedicated to personal humility and reliant on alms,
the Jesuits soon became renowned for their courage,
tenacity, and zeal, as demonstrated in the heroic exploits
of one of the original companions of Loyola in Paris,
FRANCIS XAVIER, whose mission lay in the Indies and Far
East. The Jesuit practice by which individual priests regu-
larly reported on their travels to their superiors is the
source of much fascinating historical, geographical and
ethnographic material during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Reports from the Orient include accounts of some aston-
ishing journeys: of Fathers António de Almeida and
Michele Ruggieri into the interior of China (1585); of Fa-
ther Nicolau Pimenta around India (1597–1600); of
Brother Bento de Góis traversing Central Asia (1603–05).
The Portuguese Manuel da Nóbrega, the first Jesuit to
visit the New World (1548), was instrumental in founding
Salvador in Bahia, Brazil’s first capital. Later Portuguese
New World missions covered the Spanish colonies of New
Spain (present-day Mexico and southern North America
from Florida to California) and Central and South Amer-
ica. Jesuit activity in New Spain from 1570 to 1605 is
chronicled in the eight-volume Monumenta Mexicana
(1956–59); few of these documents have been translated.
French Jesuits toiled in New France (Canada), along the
eastern seaboard, in the Great Lakes area, and Louisiana.
All these missions were covered by the reports, written in
Latin, French, or Italian, known collectively as Relations,
and published in English as a 73-volume set entitled The
Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents (1896–1901).
The Jesuit mission to reconvert England, undertaken
in 1578, also produced many acts of bravery and several
martyrs, prominent among them Edmund CAMPION. The
Jesuits were opposed by the Jansenists and other move-
ments within the Catholic Church and were persecuted in
several European countries during the late 17th and 18th
centuries, but their suppression was incomplete. The so-
ciety once again flourishes and plays a leading part in
modern Roman Catholicism, particularly in its educa-
tional aspects (see also GREGORIANA).
Further reading: James Brodrick, The Origin of the Je-
suits (London: Longmans, Green, 1940; new ed.JJeessuuiittss 2 25599