Petrus Albinus (German name: Peter von Weiße; 1543–1598) was a professor at Wittenberg in Germany and is known as the father of Saxon historiography.
Petrus Albinus was born on 18 June 1543 in Schneeberg in the Ore Mountains of central Europe. His father was Peter Weis, who built the Hospital Church in Schneeberg. He was married to Magdalena Hübsch, daughter of a Ratskämmerer and mining entrepreneur, who had moved to Schneeberg from Nuremberg. In keeping with the common practice of the day he Latinized his name to Petrus Albinus. After attending grammar schoolinSchneeberg and princely schoolatMeissen, Albinus studied in Leipzig, received his bachelor's degree in 1553 and worked in Lauban. In 1559 he moved to the University of ViadrinainFrankfurt/Oder, and in 1564 the LeucoreainWittenberg. He focused mainly on legal and historical research.
In Wittenberg he took over the task of completing the history of Upper Saxony and the House of Wettin begun by Georg Fabricius. For example, in 1579, he indexed the letters and documents of the Bishopric of Meissen. From 1579 to 1588 he was a dean of the University of Wittenberg; in 1586 he took over as Rector and worked until 1588 in Wittenberg. In 1588, Albinus was called to Dresden to be appointed as secretary to Prince-Elector Christian IofSaxony, where he took oversight of all the documents of the Saxon royal house.
During his time at Wittenberg, he wrote, in manuscript, a history of his native town of Schneeberg; parts of it were printed as the Chronicle of the Meissen Region and Mountains (Meißnische Land- und Bergchronik, 1580–89), but some parts remained unfinished. Other chronicles were left by him as manuscripts in the archives, for example, those of Altzelle Annaberg, Crimmitschau and Torgau. Several volumes of unpublished collections are preserved in the Dresden Library.
Although his research does not meet current scientific standards, his works qualify him as the father of Saxon local history, local history research and historiography. Albinus was married twice. First, in 1576 to Ludmilla Fritsch and, later, in 1584 to Magdalena, a daughter of Samuel Selfisch, with whom he had eight children.
He died on 31 July 1598 in Dresden.
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