Legends of foreigners

Until the second half of the 17th century, one Russian work was not known that would paint a general picture of the state of the then society. This gap is filled to a certain extent by the notes of foreigners.

It is easier for a foreigner to note the particularities of a country's life: being in a country with its own, sometimes opposing habits and attitudes, it quickly and easily seizes alien features and remembers them. Foreigners who came to Russian lands were more educated than the local population and it was easier for them to understand the general causes of the events; they also had material for comparison, which was lacking in Russian because of the isolation of their lives. Also, foreigners could fearlessly transmit their even unpleasant observations for the Russians; they did not have to hide facts for fear of incurring the wrath of “the mighty of this world” ^[1] .

In addition to the above advantages, the legends of foreigners contain many errors. The reasons for this are twofold: 1) general, rooted in the nature of Russian relations with foreigners, and 2) private, depending on the circumstances of a certain time and personal characteristics of the person who wrote. From the very entrance of the foreign embassy to Russian territory, it fell as if under arrests, they did not allow anyone to the ambassadors , they were not allowed to go anywhere alone. All the foreigners of the 16th century who traveled to Moscow and left notes, complained about the ill-treatment of the bailiffs , who were appointed to be ambassadors or, rather, to guard them. Only by the end of the XVII century the situation of foreign embassies became easier. It was very difficult to get acquainted with Russian life under such conditions. Very few of the foreigners spoke Russian , most spoke with Russians through translators , often illiterate. To address directly to literary monuments was prevented, apart from lack of knowledge of the language, the difficulty of acquiring them; nevertheless, some of the foreigners - for example, Herberstein (1486–1566), Fletcher (1548–1611) - found the opportunity to use this source in compiling their descriptions. Some Polish authors ( Jan Dlugosh and Maciej Stryjkovsky ) studied Russian to use the information from the Old Russian chronicles in their chronicles. On the other hand, until the end of the 17th century, the Russians were very suspicious of foreigners and even considered it their duty to give them incorrect information. Also, national and religious prejudices imposed their stamp on legends. Very often, foreigners, not understanding any phenomenon, condemned him and deduced from him incorrect conclusions.

The particular reasons why foreigners could not be impartial in their testimonies were rooted in the personal properties of the traveler, that is, depended on the degree of his education and development, and on the circumstances in which the notes were written. It is impossible, for example, to trust completely the reports of the Italian Jesuit Possevino (in Moscow in 1582), knowing with what purpose he came to Grozny ; It is impossible to take for granted a single fact from the book of Guanigny ^[2] , since it was written with a biased intention to serve the interests of Stefan Batory . In general, the legends of foreigners give the historian material rich, but requiring proper criticism.

VI century

Information about the Slavs in Byzantine historians occur, starting from the VI century. Of particular importance are the instructions of Procopius , Menander, and the emperor of Mauritius ; the latter in its “ Strategy ” reports a lot of data on the position of the Slavic tribes.

A lot of information, highly valuable, gives the Gothic historian Jordan in his description of the Gothic state in the VI century.

VII century

From the historians of the VII century, Theophylact Simokatta is important, telling about the reign of the emperor of Mauritius .

9th century

In the continuation of the chronicle of George Hamarthol (IX century) tells about the campaign of Russia in Constantinople in 860 . The theme of the history of the first baptism of Russia is touched upon in the epistles and conversations of the Byzantine Patriarch Photius (c. 820-896).

X century

About Biarmia and Baltic tell Otter (“The Journey of Ottar ”) and Wulfsten , who visited these places in the 9th century on the orders of the English king Alfred .

Of the 10th century Byzantine writers, Lev Grammac , Konstantin Porphyrogenitus and Lev Deacon are important. Constantine Bagryanonovny, in addition to the general characteristics of the Rus , reports on the reception of Olga in Byzantium (957) (see “ On Ceremonies ”); Leo Deacon described the war of Svyatoslav with the Greeks .

A lot of valuable information about the Slavs, Rus, Khazars and Bulgars is in the Arabic geographical literature. The most ancient description of Russian history is found in Ibn Rust ; in his essay "Dear Values". The Muslim writer Ibn Hordadbeh , who lived at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries, in the " Book of Ways and States " gives a lot of information about the trade of the Slavs. The extremely interesting reports of Ibn-Fadlan , who personally visited the Volga region, have long attracted the attention of researchers; the same must be said about Al-Masoudi . Ibn-Al-Nadim in his “ Book of Murals for the Sciences ” announces the existence of some letters from the Rus.

The first foreign news about the old Russian ruler Igor is contained in Liutprand , the Bishop of Cremona. Information about the princes Vladimir and Svyatopolk we find in the legend of the Mersebur bishop Titmar .

XI century

Some information about Rus of the 11th century is given in their annals by the Byzantines Georgy Kedrin and John Zonara ; Of great importance are the writings of the Bremen canon Adam and Lambert , the latter has information about Svyatoslav Yaroslavich .

Description of Kiev is the German missionary Bruno , who visited Russia in 1007.

XII century

Researchers distinguish Idrisi and al-Andalusi from Muslim writers of the 12th century, and Otto of Bamberg and Helmold from western writers.

A lot of information is in the Czech chronicler Kozma Prague . The manuscripts of Kraledvor and Zelenogorsk were recognized as fakes at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The reports of the Hungarian chronicler Anonymous Notary about the passage of Hungarians through Russia are interesting.

The Polish narrator of the 12th century, Martin Gall, tells in his chronicle about the struggle of the sons of Vladimir and the intervention of Boleslav .

XIII century

Yakut , a Muslim scholar who lived at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries, reports in his Dictionary a lot of important information for Russian history; as well as al-Qazvini , who wrote around 1275.

The reports of the Danish historian Saxon Grammar must be treated with great criticism. Bishop of Cracow Vikenti Kadlubek reports about Prince Roman Mstislavich Galitsky . Of the 13th century Livonian historians, the main importance is Henryk of Latvia , who told us about the relations between the inhabitants of Novgorod and Pskov with the Finno-Ugric and Baltic peoples; important news is in the Livonian rhyming chronicle .

The main source for the study of the Tatars is the description of the journey of the Italian Franciscan Plano Carpini to Great Mongolia ; he also has information about the position of the Russian territories under Yaroslav Vsevolodovich . “The creator of the new geography”, the famous Venetian Marco Polo (1254-1324), provides important information about the Tatars and some interesting information about the everyday life of the population of the Russian lands.

XIV century

Of great interest to Russian history is the trip of Ibn Battuta (XIV century), an African native. Important news about Galician Rus is transmitted by the Polish chronicler Janko from Charnkov . Less important are the tales of the Englishman Mandeville and the Austrian Zuchenwirth . A lot of information about the Golden Horde is contained in the work of the Bavarian Johann Hilburger (1344).

XV century

With the rise of the Moscow state, interest in Russian lands in the West intensifies; the number of legends increases significantly, their character changes: instead of the former, mostly fragmentary information, comprehensive studies appear in the works of foreigners, entirely devoted to the Moscow-Russian state. The most important of the legends of the XV century: notes of the Flemish knight Lannoy , a description of the journey of the Venetian Josaphat Barbaro to Tanu (now Azov ); the book “about Poland, Lithuania and Prussia” by Eneas Silvius Piccolini , who later became pope under the name of Pius II; message about Moscow Venetian Ambrogio Contarini .

XVI century

The famous notes about Muscovy of the beginning of the 16th century were written by Sigismund Herberstein and first published in Vienna in Latin in 1549 under the name “Rervm Moscoviticarvm Comentarii ...”. Until the end of the 16th century, Herberstein's work was published 20 times in various European languages.

Before Herberstein, Pavel Yoviy (Paolo Jovio) wrote about Muscovy, his essay “A Book about the Embassy of Vasily ...” (“De legatione Basilii Magni Principis Moscoviae ,,,”) written after meetings and conversations in Rome with the messenger of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily III Dmitry Gerasimov to Pope Clement VII in 1525. It was published in Rome in Latin in 1525 and became the first published book about our country.In the 16th century, this work was the most reprinted work in different languages ​​on Russia.

Already in the first edition of the Universal Cosmography by Sebastian Münster (Basel, 1544), an article about Muscovy was published, accompanied by a xylographic drawing made according to the drawing by Anthony Vid - Ivan Vasilyevich Lyatsky. which will be engraved by Franz Hogenberg in 1570.

In the work " On the Two Sarmatias " (1517) of the Polish writer Matthew from Mekhov there is a lot of historical and topographical information about Russia. The news about the Russian religion is collected in the work of the famous 16th century theologian Faber and in a note from the Gnezna archbishop Jan Lassky , submitted to the Lateran Cathedral.

An interesting letter from Albert Campense to Pope Clement VII ; an essay by the bishop of Nocher, Jovius , compiled from the stories of the Russian translator Dmitry Gerasimov ; the work of the Venetian Tiepolo "Reasoning on the affairs of Muscovy" (1560). Very important information about the Russian trade, products and prices are collected in the legend of the Italian Raphael Barberini (1565).

In the XVI century, the British began their acquaintance with Russia after the well-known adventure with Chensler (in Russia in the years 1553-1554). The latter described his journey; his description and stories served as material for Clement Adams , who composed the legend of Chansler's adventure. The tales of the English are very positive; they contain a lot of information about the economic situation in Russia. Of great interest are the works of Jenkinson and Jerome Horse , especially the latter ^[3] ; a lot of important information in the reports ^{[4] of the} Caesar's (Austrian) Ambassador Johann Cobenzl and in the essay ^{[5] of} his secretary von Buchau .

Unbiased coverage of the facts is found in the “Wandering” of the Danish Ulfeldt , who twice visited Moscow (1578; Jacob Ulfeldt , 1535–1593). The works of Gvignini and Posevino are mentioned above.

Albert Schlichting in 1570 wrote in Latin the essay "News from Muscovy, reported by the nobleman Albert Schlichting about the life and tyranny of Tsar Ivan."

Heinrich von Staden compiled a description of Muscovy (the end of 1577–1578) entitled “The Country and the Government of the Muscovites Described by Heinrich von Staden” ( Moscowiter Land und Regierung Beschriben durch Henrichen von Staden ).

Konrad Boussov . He owns works on events in Russia at the end of the 16th century.

From the tales of Polish writers, the most important are the writings of Reingold Heidenstein , the secretary of Zamoyski and Stefan Batory, who described the war between Grozny and Stefan Batory. The tales of Lavrentiy Miller ^[6] , , Philip Olmen ^[7] , Michalon Litvin deserve attention; the book ^{[8] of the} latter, in its tendency, resembles “Germany” of Tacitus.

Of the legends of the late XVI century, the first place is occupied by the work of Fletcher . This is a precious monument for Russian history, especially in financial matters. The same epoch includes the tales of the Greek, Bishop of Suzdal Arseny and Tsarsar's Ambassador Niklas von Varkach . Zaporozhtsev described tsar's attorney Erich Lassot .

XVII century

XVII century - the richest tales of foreigners. The narration of the Time of Troubles and the events preceding it is found in the description of the embassy of Lev Sapieha , in the beautiful book ^{[9] of} Jacques Margeret , in an important work ^{[10] of} Konrad Boussow , in the description of the stay in Moscow of Danish Prince Johann , in the diary of the Polish ambassadors N. Olesnitsky and A. Gonosevsky , in the so-called diary of Marina ^[11] , in the remarkable book of the Harlem geographer Isaac Massa .

Of great interest are the memoirs and diaries of Poles who were in the Time of Troubles in Russia — the diary of Belsky , the diary of the siege of Smolensk, the diary of Sapega who besieged the Trinity-Sergius Lavra (1608-1610), the diary of Maskevich ^[13] , etc. The main source for descriptions of the actions of the Poles in the Time of Troubles are the notes of the talented and intelligent hetman Stanislav Zolkiewski . We find a lot of information, especially about the third impostor, in the legend of Peter Peter . By the time of the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich, the precious legend of Olearius , the best of foreign sources for the 17th century, dates back.

For the history of Poland and Ukraine, the book of the French engineer Boplan “Description of Ukraine” is of great importance ^[14] .

The most important legends relating to the time of Alexei Mikhailovich (rules 1645–1676): messages from archdeacon Pavel , where there is much valuable information about the Russian clergy and among other things about Nikon , in whose deposition he himself took part ( 12 ( 22 ) December 1666 ); Meyerberg's work, valuable thanks to the drawings attached to it; сказание немца Рейтенфельса , сообщающее много данных для характеристики Алексея Михайловича; сказание итальянца ). Сведения о Разине дают кардинал Альтиери ^[15] и голландец Стрейс . Для характеристики Алексея Михайловича важно сказание сказание Коллинза , англичанина, жившего в России 8 лет. Не лишены значения сказания Витсена , Кильбургера и Родеса , писавших о русской торговле XVII века, Кояловича , рассказавшего историю казацкой войны, польского шляхтича Ерлича , Яна Пасека и голландского посланника Конрада Кленка .

Из сказаний иностранцев, относящихся ко времени детства Петра Великого (род. 1672), интересны сочинения немца Кемпфера и француза де ла Невиля ; последний под видом польского гонца служил французским шпионом; у него много очень любопытных сообщений о правлении Софии , но его рассказ требует проверки. Сказание французского иезуита Авриля даёт много ценных указаний для характеристики иностранцев, живших в России.

Во главе сказаний Петровской эпохи (1689—1725) следует поставить найденные в датском государственном архиве записки ^[16] Юля . Для начального периода правления Петра I незаменимым источником служит дневник Патрика Гордона . События после возвращения Петра из-за границы (1698) описаны ^[17] Корбом ^[18] . Важное значение имеют записки брауншвейгского резидента Вебера , большого почитателя Петра Великого. Еще выше стоят записки Иоганна Фоккеродта , секретаря прусского посольства, человека вполне образованного: отдавая дань гению Петра Великого, он наряду с хорошими сторонами его царствования указывает и много тёмных.

Домашняя жизнь русского общества описана голштинским камергером Берхгольцем . Противниками Петра Великого выступили швед Страленберг и немец Нейгебауэр , воспитатель царевича Алексея; с последним Пётр даже вёл полемику.

XVIII century

Шведская война до смерти Карла XII (1718) описана генералом Аллартом ; Прутский поход (1711) — французом Моро де Бразе (« Записки бригадира Моро-де-Бразе »). См. также сказания капитана фон Вреха (Curt Friedrich von Wreech ^[19] ), шведа Адлерфельда , поляка Отвиковского, «поляка-очевидца» ^[20] .

С XVIII века большое историческое значение приобретают донесения иностранных послов , но как они, так и вообще позднейшие записки, мемуары, воспоминания иностранцев, относящиеся к России, уже не подходят под категорию сказаний в узком смысле этого слова. См. Записки иностранцев о Российской империи .

В хронологическом порядке

Исследования XIX века

• Устрялов, Н. Г. Сказания современников о Дмитрии Самозванце. В 5 частях. СПб.: Типография Императорской Российской академии, 1831—1834. Часть 1: Берова Летопись Московская; ч. 2: Записки Георга Паерле; ч. 3: Записки Маржерета и президента де-Ту; ч. 4: Дневник Марины Мнишек и послов Польских; ч. 5: Маскевич.
• Старчевский, А. В. «Сказания иностранных писателей XVI в. о России» (1841, на латинском языке) и «Historiae Ruthenicae Scriptores exteri saeculi XVI» (1842)
• Любич-Романович, В. И. «Сказания иностранцев о России в XVI и XVII в.» (СПб., 1843)
• Аделунг, Ф. П. «Критико-литературное обозрение путешественников по России до 1700 г. и их сочинений» (ч. 1—2, М., 1864; пер. с нем. ). Книга удостоена полной Демидовской премии . Оригинал на немецком языке был издан в СПб. в 1846.
• Ключевский В. О. «Сказания иностранцев о Московском государстве» (1866; кандидатская диссертация и первая печатная работа историка).
• Bestuzhev-Ryumin, K. N. The Tales of Foreigners / Russian History; Volume 1 (on the period until the end of the 15th century; ed. St. Petersburg, 1872).
• Zotov V. R. "Tales of foreigners about Russia of the XVIII century" ( Russian antiquity , 1874; [1] ).
• Proceedings of S. M. Seredonin :
  • “Translation of English news about Russia” (in “Readings of the Moscow Society of History and Antiquities of Russia ”, 1884, No. 4)
  • "The British News about Russia in the second half of the XVI century" (" Journal of the Ministry of Public Education ", 1885, № 12),
  • “News of foreigners about the armed forces of the Moscow State” (“ Bibliographer ”, 1891, No. 2 - 3 and separately, St. Petersburg, 1891).
• Proceedings of A.I. Almazov :
  • Information about the churches and services of the Russian Church according to the tales of Western foreigners of the XVI-XVII centuries. // Orthodox interlocutor , 1887.
  • Messages of Western foreigners XVI — XVII centuries. about the sacraments in the Russian Church. (Kazan, 1900; [2] )

Twentieth Century Studies

• Alekseev M.P. Siberia in the news of Western European travelers and writers (XIII-XVII centuries). - Irkutsk: OGIZ, Irkutsk Regional Publishing House, 1941. - 612 p.
• Proceedings of M. A. Alpatov :
  • Russian historical thought and Western Europe XII-XVII centuries. - M .: Science, 1973. - 476 p.
  • Russian historical thought and Western Europe (XVIII - first half of the XIX century.). - M .: Science, 1985. - 272 p.
• Limonov Yu. A. Cultural ties of Russia with European countries in the 15th — 17th centuries. - L .: Science, 1978. - 272 p.
• Melnikova E. A. Formation and evolution of geographical representations in medieval Western Europe // Middle Ages. - 1990. - Vol. 53. - S. 52-74.

21st Century Studies

• Kirpichnikov A.N. Pskov on the eve of the new time and the message of foreigners about this city // Pskov in Russian and European history. - M.: Moscow State University of Printing, 2003. - S. 39-58.
• Proceedings of G. M. Kovalenko :
  • Veliky Novgorod in European writing XV - early XX centuries. // Bulletin of Novgorod State University. - 2006. - № 38. - p. 36-40.
  • Foreigners in Veliky Novgorod // Russian History. - 2013. - № 2. - p. 62-67.
• Rybakov V.V. Seminar "Russia, Muscovy, Russia in the testimonies of foreigners" at the IVI RAS / / Middle Ages. - M .: Science, 2014. - Vol. 75 (1-2). - pp. 134-136.

• Ancient Russia in the Light of Foreign Sources: Reader (2009—2010)
• The oldest sources in the history of Eastern Europe
• Foreigners Notes on the Russian Empire

• Legends of Foreigners // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : 86 t. (82 t. And 4 extra.). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• “Rossika”, a collection of foreign sources of the XV — XVIII centuries // Website “Oriental literature”
• The history of pre-revolutionary Russia in diaries and memoirs / ed. P.A. Zayonchkovsky . - Moscow: Book, 1976-1989. - T. 1-13.
• Chernikova T.V. Western servicemen and foreign doctors at the time of Ivan the Terrible / MGIMO