Introduction
Jacob Masen (28 March 1606 - 27 September 1681) was a German Jesuit, known as a prolific writer in Latin. As well as poetry and drama, he wrote works of history, criticism and theology.
Life
He was born at Dahlen in Jülich, and studied in Cologne. Having entered the Order of Jesus, he taught poetry and rhetoric in the Lower Rhine region. In 1648 he took his final vows, and acted as a preacher in Cologne, Paderborn and Trier. He died, aged 75, in Cologne.
Works
He completed a substantial antiquarian work on Trier by Christoph Brouwer.
His epic poem Sarcotis (1654) became notorious in the 18th century, after William Lauder alleged that John Milton had plagiarised it in writing Paradise Lost.
With Jacob Bidermann, he was one of the most important Jesuit dramatists influencing German drama.