Matvey (Matthias) Mechowski (Mechovita) , known as Matvey from Mechow (real name is Maciej Karpigo; Polish. Maciej Miechowita also known as Maciej z Miechowa, Maciej of Miechów, Maciej Karpiga, Matthias de Miechow ) ( 1457 - September 8, 1523 ) - Polish historian and geographer of the Renaissance , professor at the University of Cracow , court physician and astrologer of King Sigismund I. The author of medical and historical works. It is customary to transfer his name in Russian by the name “Matvey”, however, the latter corresponds to the Church Slavonic name “Matthew” (Latin “Matthaeus” and Polish “Mateusz”), while the Polish name “Maciej” transfers the Latin “Matthias” (church Slavic "Matthew").
| Matvey (Matthew) Mehovsky | |
|---|---|
| polish Maciej miechowita | |
 | |
| Date of Birth | 1457 |
| Place of Birth | Mechow |
| Date of death | September 8, 1523 |
| Place of death | Krakow |
| A country | |
| Occupation | , , |
He studied at the Jagiellonian University (also known as the University of Cracow), and in 1479 received a master 's degree . Between 1480-1485 he studied abroad. After his return, he became a professor at the Jagiellonian University, where he was elected rector 8 times (intermittently) (1501-1519) and for two years he was vice chancellor.
His Tractatus de duabus Sarmatiis (“ A Treatise on Two Sarmatians ”) was considered in the West as the first detailed geographical and ethnographic description of Eastern Europe between the Vistula and the Don on the one hand and between the Don and the Caspian meridian on the other and was written based on the stories of Poles and generally foreigners who visited there, as well as Russian people who came to Poland. Fully understanding the importance of his work, in the foreword, the author wrote [1] :
“The southern regions and coastal peoples up to India were discovered by the king of Portugal. May the northern lands with the peoples living near the North Ocean to the east, discovered by the troops of the King of Poland, become known to the world now ”
The treatise following Jan Dlugosch popularized abroad the myth of Sarmatism , according to which the Polish gentry are descendants of the ancient Sarmatians. [2] Among other things, Matvey Mekhovsky in his work calls the Russian state “Muscovy” , and its population “Muscovites” . Although the author wrote that “speech is everywhere Russian or Slavic” , nevertheless it separates “Moscow” from “root”, “ Rusyns ” (Russians) - such a scheme was subsequently adopted and rooted in Polish-Lithuanian journalism. It is also believed that the term " Tatar yoke " belongs to his pen. [3] The Treatise on Two Sarmatians was repeatedly reprinted in the 16th century and was one of the main sources for studying Russia in Western Europe, then it was translated from Latin into many European languages, including German, Italian, and Polish.
Bibliography
- Contra pestem sevam regimen , ed. 1508 ;
- De sanguinis missione , ed. 1508;
- Conservatio sanitatis , ed. 1512 ;
- Tractatus de duabus Sarmatiis Asiana et Europiana et de contentis in eis , ed. 1517 ;
- Chronica Polonorum , ed. 1519 , 1521 , 1919 , 1921 .
- Matvey Mehovsky. A treatise on two Sarmatians. / Translation by S. A. Anninsky (on the site "Oriental literature")
Links
- ↑ Matvey Mehovsky Treatise on two Sarmatians. Introduction 1936 edition
- ↑ Andrzej Wasko , Sarmatism or the Enlightenment: The Dilemma of Polish Culture Sarmatian Review XVII.2, online
- ↑ Malov N. M., Malyshev A. B., Rakushin A. I. “Religion in the Golden Horde” Archived on October 12, 2007.
See also
- Marek Stachowski : Miechowita's knowledge of East European languages (mainly Hungarian, Lithuanian and Tatar), based on his Tractatus de duabus Sarmatiis (1517). - [in:] Studia Linguistica Universitatis Iagellonicae Cracoviensis 130 (2013): 309-316.