Adam Olearius: travel, life after them, meaning of activity

In the XVII-XVIII centuries. Europeans built their own idea of Russia on the basis of the material of the book written by Adam Olearius. This traveler has visited Muscovy three times. So Russia was called the inhabitants of Western countries. Olearius left a detailed description of the life and customs of Russia. He did his record during his stay at the embassy that was traveling to Persia.

Childhood and Education

Traveler Adam Olearius was born on September 24, 1599 in the German city of Aschersleben. He came from a simple working family. His father was a tailor. The head of the family died shortly after the birth of his son. Despite everyday difficulties and poverty, Adam was able to enroll in the University of Leipzig. In 1627 he became a master of philosophy.

The young scientist began working in his native university, but his scientific career was interrupted due to the devastating Thirty Years' War. The bloodshed also affected Saxony. Adam Olearius decided not to risk his life and went to the north, how the war never reached. The philosopher took refuge at the court of the Duke of Holstein, Frederick III. Olearius was not only a philosopher, but also an Orientalist, historian, physicist and mathematician. He knew the eastern languages. The Duke appreciated these rare skills and left the scientist in his service.

First trip

In 1633, Frederick III sent his first embassy to Russia and Persia. The Duke wanted to establish strong trade relations with these rich and vast countries, where rare and valuable goods were sold to Europeans. First of all, the Germans were interested in buying eastern silk. At the head of the ambassadorial mission, Philip von Kruzenstern, as well as trader Otto Brugman, was installed. Adam Olearius became an interpreter and secretary, recording everything that happened to the Germans on their journey. It was this function that enabled him later to systematize his numerous notes and publish a book about Russia, which became extremely popular in Western Europe.

In all, the embassy had 36 people. According to Adam Olearius, the way of diplomats ran through Riga, Narva and Novgorod. The Germans solemnly arrived in Moscow on August 14, 1634. In the capital, the embassy stayed for 4 months. Russian Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich (the first monarch from the Romanov dynasty) allowed foreigners to travel to Persia unhindered. However, this goal was set before the next embassy. The first delegation, having received permission for the future, went home and returned to Gottorp in April 1635. According to the German scholar Adam Olearius, in Moscow they were received with open arms. Mikhail Fedorovich was also interested in contacts with Europeans, just as they themselves were willing to cooperate with the Russians. For four months in the city and a few more weeks on the road, Adam Olearius painstakingly fixed on paper everything he had seen.

The Second Journey

Friedrich III was pleased with the results of the first preliminary embassy. He did not intend to stop there and proceeded to organize the second trip. This time, the scholar Adam Olearius became not only a secretary-interpreter, but also an adviser to the embassy. The Germans had to go literally to the end of the world - to Asia, where even in the 17th century there were almost no Europeans.

According to Adam Olearius, the delegation left Hamburg from the sea on October 22, 1635. On board the ship there were many gifts for the Russian Tsar and the Persian Shah Sefi I. But on the way to the island of Gogland in the Baltic Sea the ship crashed against the rocks. All gifts and credentials were lost. The people did not die, they struggled to the shore of Gogland. Because of this misfortune the Germans had to wander about a month on the Baltic Sea ports on random ships.

Finally, the envoys were in Revel. At the end of March 1636 they entered Moscow, and in June they moved to Persia. The embassy route ran through Kolomna and Nizhny Novgorod. In the local port, the Lubeck master built a ship for Schleswig in advance, on which they descended the Volga and reached the Caspian Sea. According to Adam Olearius, this transport was also used by traders and fishermen who traded on this river-rich river. And this time the embassy was not destined to finish its journey without incident. The raging storm threw the ship onto the Azerbaijani shore near the town of Nizabat. At the end of December, the Germans reached the borderline Shemakha.

Stay in Persia and return home

Another four months they had to wait for the official permission of the Shah to move on. According to the German scholar Adam Olearius, the ambassadors were ready for this, understanding that the habits and norms of the Eastern peoples differ radically from European ones. In August 1637, the embassy arrived in Isfahan, the capital of Persia. There it stayed until the end of December. The way back lay through Astrakhan, Kazan and Nizhny Novgorod. On January 2, 1639, Adam Olearius returned to Moscow. The Russian Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich drew attention to him and suggested that he stay in Russia as a court scholar and astronomer. However, Olearius refused such an honor and in August 1639 returned to Germany. In 1643 he again visited Moscow, although not with such a long visit. This was the last time Olearius visited Russia.

In general, the trip was a failure. It cost the duchy a lot of money, but there was no agreement on trade with Persia through the territory of Russia. In addition, the head of the embassy, Otto Brugman, abused his powers, because of which he broke out a conflict with his colleagues. After returning home, the German scientist Adam Olearius became the prosecutor at the trial against his former boss. Brugman was executed for excessive embezzlement and failure to comply with the decrees of the Duke.

The Book of Olearius

In 1647 Olearius's book "Description of the Journey to Muscovy" was published, in which he set out the full chronology of his voyage to the east. The book immediately gained frenzied popularity. The views of Europeans about Russia were the most vague, and they eagerly devoured any information about this distant country. The writing of Olearius for a long time was the most informative and rich detail. On each page of the book his awareness, erudition and observation was revealed. The work was translated into many European languages. In part, Olearius' book became a source of vigorous stereotypes about Muscovy with its neglect and strange orders.

Among other things, the copper-filled drawings depicting paintings of Russian life unusual for Europeans acquired special value. Their author was Adam Olearius himself. Transport and a leisurely journey allowed to take with you all the necessary tools. Figures were created right during the journey in the footsteps of fresh impressions. We finished them already in Germany. In Europe, drawings were completed, depicting the inhabitants of Muscovy. Especially for this Olearii brought home Russian national costumes, and as a model he used models of compatriots dressed in foreign dresses and caftans.

Appearance of Russian

The book of Olearius was divided into many chapters, each of which dealt with this or that aspect of the life of the Russians. Separately, the author described the appearance and clothes of the inhabitants of Muscovy. Long hair relied only on the servants of the church. Grandees had to get a regular haircut. Women liked to rouge and whiten, and much more europeans, which immediately caught the eye of a native of Germany.

Men's clothes Olearius considered very similar to the Greek. Wide shirts and trousers were widely spread, with narrow and long coats hanging down to the knees. Each man wore a hat, in the form of which it was possible to determine the social belonging of a person. Princes, boyars and state councilors did not remove them even during public meetings. Hats for them were made from expensive fox or sable fur. Simple townspeople wore white hats in the summer, and in the winter - cloth.

Russian short and pointed boots in front of morocco or yufti resembled Polish shoes. According to the scholar Adam Olearius, the girls wore shoes with high heels. Women's suits were very much like men's, only their outer garments were somewhat wider and edged with gold-colored laces and gimmicks.

Nutrition and well-being of Muscovites

The German scientist made many notes about the way of life and the welfare of Russians. All this was very interested in the omnipresent Adam Olearius. According to the German scientist, the inhabitants of Muscovy were much poorer than the Germans. Even the aristocracy, who owned tereums and palaces, built them only in the last thirty years, and before that she herself lived rather badly. Speaking of this period, Olearius had in mind the Time of Troubles, when Russia was devastated by civil war and Polish intervention.

Daily food of commoners consisted of turnips, cereals, cabbage, cucumbers, salted and fresh fish. While the average European had "gentle dishes and goodies," the Russians did not know anything and did not try. Olearius noted that the magnificent pastures of Muscovy gave a good mutton, beef and pork. However, the Russians ate little meat, because in their Orthodox calendar almost six months had to take a strict fast. It was replaced by various dishes from fish mixed with vegetables.

Olearius was surprised at the peculiar kind of Russian cookies, which were called pies. In Muscovy there was a lot of caviar of sturgeon fishes, which were transported by barrels on wagons and sleighs. According to the scientist Adam Olearius, this transport was also used to deliver other products that were not produced in the cities.

Government structure

Particularly detailed Olearius described the state system of Russia. First of all, he noted the slavish position of the supreme nobles in relation to his king, who, in turn, was transferred to officials of the lower links and, finally, to commoners.

In the XVII century, corporal punishment was widespread in Russia . They were even applied to aristocrats and wealthy merchants, who, for example, for a disrespectful reason, missed an audience with the sovereign. Attitude to the king as a god was instilled from the earliest years. Adults inspired this norm to their children, and those in turn to their children. In Europe, such orders are already in the past.

Olearius, studying the situation of the boyars, noted that they serve the tsar not only in state affairs, but also in the courts and chancelleries. So the German, in his habit, called orders - the predecessors of Russian ministries. In total, Olearius counted 33 offices. He also noted the severity of the Moscow courts. If a person was convicted of theft, he was tortured to find out if he had stolen anything else. The executioners beat the whip, pulled out the nostrils, and so on.

The most frequent courts were courts of debts and debtors. Typically, for such people appointed a period during which they could legally pay the required amount. If the debtor did not keep within this period, then he was sent to a special debt prison. Such prisoners were taken out every day to the street in front of the office building and punished with beatings on the shins with sticks.

Orthodox Church

In Moscow XVII century there was a huge number of churches, which Adam Olearius noted. The bishops initiated the construction of new churches every year. Olearius counted 4,000 priests in the Russian capital with a total population of about 200,000 people. The monks walked around the city in black long caftans, on top of which were the same color coats. Other obligatory attributes were hoods and staves.

In order to become a priest, a man had to undergo an attestation, that is, pass exams and convince the commission that he can read, write and sing. In Muscovy monks were much more than in European countries. This was noted by Adam Olearius. The Moscow bishops guarded a number of monasteries, which were not only in Moscow, but also scattered throughout the country outside the cities. The German in his book emphasized that Russian priests adopted a lot from the Byzantine Orthodox Church, and some of their orders contradicted Catholic customs. For example, priests could marry and raise children, while in the west it was impossible to start a family. Newborns were baptized immediately after birth. And this was done not only by priests in their families, but also by all common people. Such hasty baptism was necessary because of the consideration that all people are born in sin, and only a purification rite can save the child from filth.

The bishops moved around Moscow in a special sleigh covered with a black cloth. According to Adam Olearius, this transport emphasized the special position of the passenger. A little later, already with Alexei Mikhailovich, carriages appeared, which the patriarchs and metropolitans began to use. If all the secular people worshiped the king as a god, then the monarch himself had to rigorously perform all the church rites, and in this he did not differ from his subjects. Russian XVII century closely followed the calendar. Every Sunday was celebrated with a festive service in the church, and even the king could not help but go there or be in a church with a covered head.

Volga region

In Nizhny Novgorod XVII century lived Russian, the Tatars and Germans. Thus, it was the easternmost city where the Lutherans had a church and could freely profess their religion. When Adam Olearius arrived there, the German community consisted of a hundred people. Foreigners came to Nizhny Novgorod for various reasons. Some engaged in brewing, others were military officers, others traded with distillery.

Ships from all over the Volga came to Nizhny Novgorod. According to Adam Olearius, this vehicle was used by the "Cheremis Tatars" (that is, the Mari) who lived below the Volga. The German scientist left a curious sketch about them. Cheremis, originally from the right bank of the Volga, was called the Upland. They lived in simple huts, ate game, honey, and also thanks to cattle breeding.

It is interesting that Olearius in his book called the local natives "a robber, treacherous and enchanting people." Surely he was transferring on paper those rumors that were popular among the Volga Russian commoners who feared the Cheremis. Such a fame was due to the fact that many of them remained pagans in the 17th century.

The Last Years of Adam Olearius

Most of the life of Olearius spent in Schleswig. He lived at the court of the Duke, was his mathematician and librarian. In 1651, he was entrusted with the most important project - the creation of the Gottorp globe. At the time of its appearance, it was the largest in the world (its diameter reached three meters). The frame, bearing structures and mechanisms were manufactured under the leadership of Olearius for several years. Friedrich III, who became the initiator of the project, did not live to see the discovery of the globe. He was introduced to the public by the next Duke Christian Albrecht.

The globe had an internal cavity in which was placed a table and a bench for 12 people. Enter inside could be through the door. On the outside, a map of the Earth was plotted. Inside was a planetarium with constellations. The design was unique. Two cards could rotate simultaneously. Under Peter I the globe was donated to Russia. It was kept in the Kunstkammer and burnt in a fire in 1747. From the miracle of engineering and cartographic thought, only the door remained, which at that time was stored in the basement. Later, a copy of the original model was created.

In addition to the book about Russia and the globe-planetarium, Adam Olearius had many other undertakings. He wrote prose, translated fiction and even composed a manuscript of the Persian dictionary. But most of all the scientist was known precisely because of his trip to the east and notes on Russia. Adam Olearius died in 1671.