THE EVOLUTION OF PERCEPTION OF RUSSIA ON THE MAPS OF THE XVI-XVIII CENTURIES
ISBN 978-85-88783-11-9
Authors
1Zinchuk, L.
1RUSSIAN STATE LIBRARY Email: zinchukln@rsl.ru, l.zinchuk@yandex.ru
Abstract
The Russian State Library possesses a collection of rare and valuable foreign maps of XVI-XVIII centuries, depicting the entire territory of Russia and its regions. Corps of these maps in the contemporary literature got generalizing name of "Cartographic Rossika. These maps date back to the heyday of cartography and art engravings in Europe and represent not only the main stages in the spread of geographical knowledge of the country, but also in manufacturing techniques of map-making as well as in methods of portrayal and in the evolution of the mathematical basics of cartography. Mentioned maps are not only evidence of various historical periods and political claims, but also provide insights about changes in the perception of Russia in Western European public opinion from "Sarmatia" and "Scythia" to "Russia" and "Muscovy". In XVI-XVII centuries, it has become possible thanks to the combination of Russian geographic data and Western European cartographic science. Great contribution to the popularization of information about Russia made almost all the famous map cartographers and publishers, as Ortelius, Mercator, Blaeu, Hondius et al. The Petrine epoch created in cartography the phenomenon of "Russian Rossica." In the XVIII century the growing prestige of Russia, its political recognition by foreign powers is reflected in European cartography. Henceforth overgrown territory of the former Moscow kingdom cartographers call "Russian Empire". Many of politically important and spectacular maps were created in the workshops of the European cartographers and often on request of the Russian rulers and on the materials of domestic cartographers. They are maps of the famous European cartographers: Johann Baptist Homann, Matthias Hasii, Delisle, Peter Mortier, Matthaus Seutter et al. The study of maps and atlases, constituting the collection of "Cartographic Rossica", is currently carried out in the Russian State Library in order to identify the role of domestic mapmakers in collecting the geographical data about Russia, which in their turn have been used by foreign mapmakers in creating of the wonderful examples of European cartography. The paper goes to present the results of the investigation.
Keywords
Early maps; Maps of Russia; History of Cartography