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Three Hundred Years of the First Publication in Russia of the Book “Universal Geography” by Bernhardus Varenius

https://doi.org/10.1134/S2587556618060067

Abstract

“Universal Geography” of Bernhardus Varenius (1622–1650) is a classic work on geography. Isaac Newton taught a course in geography at Cambridge University on the book of Varenius and twice in his redaction and with additions published it in England. The wide scientific resonance and special popularity of “Universal Geography” in England defined Peter The Great’s decision according to the authoritative recommendation of J.V. Bruce to choice this composition as a textbook. The publication in 1718 of “Universal geography” of B. Varenius had played an important role in the development of geographical knowledge and teaching geography in Russia.

About the Authors

S. S. Ilizarov
S.I. Vavilov Institute for the History of Science and Technology, Russian Academy of Sciences; Russian State University for the Humanities
Russian Federation


V. A. Snytkoa
S.I. Vavilov Institute for the History of Science and Technology, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation


References

1. Andreyev A.I. N’yuton i russkaya geografiya XVIII veka [Newton and the Russian Geography of the 18th Century]. Izv. Vsesoyuznogo Geogr. Obshchestva, 1943, vol. 75, no. 3, pp. 3–12. (In Russ.).

2. Varenius Bernkhardus Geografiya general’naya [General Geography]. Moscow, 1718. 647 p.

3. James P.E., Martin G.J. All possible worlds: A history of geographical ideas. John Wiley & Sons, 1981. 508 p.

4. Gumbol’dt A. Kosmos. Opyt fizicheskogo miroopisaniya. Ch. 1. [Space. An Experience of the Physical Description of the World. Vol. 1]. Moscow, 1862. 462 p.

5. Ilizarov S.S. The first Russian geographical dictionary is a monument of scientific thought. In Geograficheskii leksikon Rossiiskogo gosudarstva [Geographical Lexicon of Russia]. Moscow: Yanus-K Publ., 2012, pp. 7–33. (In Russ.).

6. Isachenko A.G. Razvitie geograficheskikh idei [Development of Geographical Ideas]. Moscow: Mysl’ Publ., 1971. 416 p.

7. Pekarskii P.P. Nauka i literatura v Rossii pri Petre Velikom. T. 1: Vvedenie v istoriyu prosveshcheniya v Rossii XVIII stoletiya [Science and Literature in Russia under Peter the Great. Vol. 1: An Introduction to the History of Enlightenment in Russia in the 18th Century]. St. Petersburg: Obshchestvennaya Pol’za Publ., 1862. 578 p.

8. Features from the history of book enlightenment under Peter the Great. Correspondence between the director of the Moscow Synodal Printing House Fedor Polikarpov and count Musin-Pushkin, the Head of the Monastic Prikaz. 1715–1717. Russkii Arkhiv, 1868, no. 7–8. (In Russ.).

9. Hanno Beck. Geographie: Europäische Entwicklung in Texten und Erläuterungen. Freiburg: K. Alber, 1973.

10. Bernhard Varenius (1622–1650), Schuchard M., Ed. Leiden: Brill, 2007. 345 p.


  • The book Universal Geography (Geographia Generalis) by the great scholar of the 17th century Bernhardus Varenius was published in Russian in 1718.
  • Translation of the book and its publication in Moscow became an important step in the transfer of scientific knowledge from Europe to Russia.
  • Exclusively thanks to the efforts of Peter the Great and his associate Ya.V. Bryus (J. Bruce) Varenius’ work became available to Russian reader.

Review

For citations:


Ilizarov S.S., Snytkoa V.A. Three Hundred Years of the First Publication in Russia of the Book “Universal Geography” by Bernhardus Varenius. Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk. Seriya Geograficheskaya. 2018;(6):110-114. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.1134/S2587556618060067

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ISSN 2587-5566 (Print)
ISSN 2658-6975 (Online)