Libmonster ID: U.S.-1477

Historical science in the USSR. Reviews. DIMITRI CANTEMIR. DESCRIPTION OF MOLDOVA

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Chisinau. Kartya moldavenyaske Publishing House, 1973, 222 pages. Mintage 12,000. Price 49 kopecks.

On October 26, 1973, the scientific community celebrated the 300th anniversary of the birth of Dimitri Cantemir, an outstanding scholar-encyclopedist and educator, a prominent statesman of the early 18th century, an associate of Peter I, the Moldavian ruler. His contribution to European and Russian science is enormous. He is the author of The History of the Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire, published in English (in 1734), French (in 1743) and German (in 1745), which brought him European fame. No less important was another work by D. Cantemir - "Description of Moldavia", first published in German in 1769 in " Magazin fur die neue Historical und Geographical. Hamburg". In 1771. It was published in Frankfurt and Leipzig. In Russia, this work became known in the translation from the German edition of 1769, printed by N. I. Novikov in the university printing house 1 .

To mark the 300th anniversary of the birth of D. Cantemir, the first edition of his "Description of Moldavia" was published, prepared from the original manuscripts of the author (translated from Latin by L. Pankratiev). It is preceded by a large introductory article by V. N. Ermuratsky, which describes the socio-political activities of the scientist and patriot, one of the outstanding thinkers of the Moldovan people. "The description of Moldavia", the author emphasizes, "is being translated into Russian for the first time directly from Latin, that is, from the language in which this book was created" (p. XIX). Thus, thanks to V. N. Ermuratsky and L. Pankratiev, Soviet scientists were able to make extensive use of the work of an encyclopedic scholar of the beginning of the XVIII century, which covers the history of Moldova from ancient times to the beginning of the XVIII century, showing its political structure, the state of education and culture.

Given the importance of this publication, we will focus on some of its textual problems and, in this regard, touch on the fate of the manuscript heritage of D. Kantemir.

The introductory article briefly describes three lists of "Descriptions of Moldavia" that formed the basis of the new edition: two lists from the beginning of the XVIII century. Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences in Leningrad and the list of the beginning of the XIX century, stored in the Odessa library named after A.M. Gorky. The first manuscript in a sheet in Latin (f. 25, n 7). The sheets are divided in half: a clear field is left for adding and changing the main text. The cover reads: "Demetrii Cantemiri Prinzipis Moldaviae. Descriptio Molda-viae. Autographum auctoris passim in mar-gine "("Moldavian Prince Dimitri Cantemir. Description of Moldova. In the margins - the author's hand is everywhere"). The second quarter-page manuscript (f. 25, No. 8) was rewritten without any errors or corrections. On the title page is an inscription in the same handwriting as on the first list: "Demetrii Cantemiri Prinzipis Moldaviae. Descriptio antiqui et hoderni statua Moldaviae. Descriptia ex, apographo, quod ejus filius mercum communicavit. Petropavlovsk, 1727 "("Moldavian Prince Dimitri Cantemir. Description of the ancient and modern state of Moldova. Copied from a manuscript submitted to me by his son. St. Petersburg, 1727").

Both lists of the Institute of Oriental Studies got there from the Asian Museum of the Academy of Sciences, founded in St. Petersburg on November 11, 1818. The first list begins with the second chapter; the first seems to have been lost mechanically. Traces of broken threads that sewed notebooks are clearly visible. If you compare both lists, the first one also doesn't have the last 6 chapters. A textual comparison of the two lists of the Institute of Oriental Studies makes it clear that the entire revision of the first (f. 25, n 7) was included in the text of the second (f. 25, N 8) , and additions and amendments to the main text were taken into account in the correspondence of 1727, and notes to individual words were moved to the ends of chapters and placed after the text under a separate title: Nota, Notates. It is quite clear that the second list is not a copy of the first and that there was another list of "Descriptions of Moldavia", which took into account the entire revision of the first list and added the last 6 chapters missing from it, 5 of which are separate, Part III ("Continens constitutionern Ecclesial et litteraturae Moldaviae" -


1 "Demetrius Cantemir, former Prince in Moldavia, historical, geographical and political description of Moldavia with the life of the writer". Translated from the German translation by Vasily Levshin, Moscow, 1789.

page 168


"On the organization of the Church and Education in Moldova").

V. N. Yermuratsky does not express an opinion about who was allowed by D. Cantemir's son to rewrite the manuscript of "Description of Moldavia". Meanwhile, clarifying this issue allows us to reveal the history of the scholar's manuscript heritage. Numerous works of D. Cantemir after his death in 1723 remained in manuscripts and were inherited by three sons: Konstantin, Serban (Sergei) and Antioch. The fourth son, Matvey, was excluded from the list of heirs. In addition, a significant part of the manuscripts was kept by Ivan Ilyinsky, D. Kantemir's secretary and tutor of his children.

Antioch Cantemir, a satirical poet and future Russian diplomat, became one of the first students of the gymnasium that opened simultaneously with the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg in 1725. He became friends with a young professor of Oriental and ancient languages, G.-Z. Bayer, who was given the opportunity to study his father's manuscripts. There are still reports that G.-Z. Bayer was preparing to publish a History of the Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire in Latin, but the departure of A. Cantemir to England in 1732 as an envoy interrupted this undertaking. All the manuscripts of D. Kantemir preserved at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences have the marks G.-Z. Bayer. Some of the manuscripts are copies rewritten by G.-Z. Bayer from the autographs of D. Cantemir, for example, " Vita Constantini Cantemyrib. On the cover there is a postscript: "Auctore Demetrio Cantemire Principe Mold(aviae). Ex autographo auctoris ("The Life of Konstantin Kantemir. Author Dimitri Cantemir Gospodar of Moldavia. From the author's manuscript"). This is also the origin of the second list of the "Description of Moldavia", which states that it was copied in 1727 from a manuscript"that was given to me by his son". The original list of 1727 was taken by A. Cantemir first to England, and later to France. In the French edition of "Histories of the Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire" in 1743, a brief biography of D. Cantemir is presented at the end of the second volume .and a list of his works. Par. 5 reads: "Etat present de la Moldavie en Latin, avec une grande Carte du pais. II est a present sous la pressie en Hollande, in quarto " 2 ("Description of Moldavia, in Latin, with a large geographical map. It is currently being printed in Holland, at quarter time"). This edition, however, did not come out.

After the death of A. Cantemir in 1744, his father's manuscripts were sold at auction in Paris and, according to G. F. Miller, were bought by Count Thomson, then by Professor A.-R. Bourgave. After the death of Thomson, they passed to A.-R. Bourgave, and then to the state full adviser to the life physician K.-F. von Kruse, who in 1764 gave the manuscript of the "Description of Moldavia" to G. F. Miller . 3 G. F. Miller gave the manuscript to A. F. Bushing. In 1769, it was translated into German by I. Redzlov and published 4 . In the" portfolios " of G. F. Miller, a copy of the "Description of Moldavia" remained, which he reported to Catherine II .5

The archive of D. Cantemir's middle son, Sergei, contained a manuscript in Latin: "Historia Moldo-Vlachia D. Caritemyri". Now it is located in TSGADA 6 . Thus, at present, more lists of "Descriptions of Moldova" are known than they were attracted to the publication carried out by V. N. Ermuratsky.

Unfortunately, the publication "Descriptions of Moldova" also contains a number of textual inconsistencies. The reader is not clear on which of the two lists of the Institute of Oriental Studies the text was prepared. If according to the first one (f. 25, n 7) with numerous marginals and edits by D. Kantemir, but without ch. I and without the last 6 chapters, then from what source are the missing chapters taken and why is the text reconstruction not marked? The same question arises in connection with the context of section V of the chapter "On Moldavian Writing", where, as V. N. Ermuratsky writes, the text of A. Sturdza's "Odessa list" of the beginning of the XIX century is printed. If the publication is based on the text of the second, more complete list of " Descriptions of Moldova "(f. 25, N 8, where the entire edit has already been "removed"), then why in


2 D. Cantemir. Historic de l'Empire Othoman ou se vouent les causes de son Agrandissement et de ca Decadence. T. II. Paris, 1743, p. 324.

3 TSGADA. Portfolios of G. F. Miller, f. 199, N 149, part 3, N 5, l. 5 vol.

4 "Beschreibung der Moldau von Demetrio Kantemir'ehemaligem Fursten derselben". Magazin fur die neue Historic und Geographic. T. III. Hamburg. 1769 - 1770, S. 539 - 574; t.' IV. S. 1 - 120.

5, No. 143, 5; see: "Works of the Empress Catherine II", Vol. XI. St. Petersburg, 1906, p. 682.

6 TSGADA, f. 181, N 1325, 1, ll. 1-225.

page 169


notes that have been preserved in the margins only in the draft manuscript are noted in the publication? In the copy, as already mentioned, they are found in the notes at the end of the chapters. It is also unclear why the illustrations in the book do not refer to the source (p.19, 53, 73), and the reader can only guess at their origin.

The study of the works of the great Moldovan enlightener will undoubtedly continue, and perhaps the issue of publishing a collection of his works will arise. It would be advisable to take into account all the handwritten lists of D. Kantemir's works and prepare their future publication at the level of modern textology.


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