“Genuine anecdotes about Peter the Great” by J. Shtelin, Translated by A. A. Nartov — an Unknown Monument of Russian Literature of 18th Century
https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2020-9-235-249
Abstract
The problem of the development of a small literary genre of historical anecdote in Russia in the second half of the 18th century is researched. The question is raised on the manuscript of the translation of “Genuine anecdotes about Peter the Great” by Academician J. Shtelin (1709—1785) into Russian, which was made by the famous person of the Age of Enlightenment A. A. Nartov (1736/1737—1813) in 1785. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that the article is the first study of the manuscript, which remained unpublished and was not the subject of research. It is proved that Nartov’s translation of Shtelin’s work became an impetus for him to create his own historical and literary work, now known as Nartov’s Tales of Peter the Great (1786). It is concluded that Nartov’s collection of historical anecdotes is a literary work, which was created with extensive use of Shtelin’s “Genuine anecdotes about Peter the Great”. The study of Nartov’s manuscript also made it possible to establish that the author of the first translation of Shtelin’s work published in Russia (1785) was the famous translator and publisher P. I. Bogdanovich.
Keywords
history of Russian literature of the 18th century,
genre of historical anecdote,
Peter the Great,
J. Shtelin,
A. A. Nartov,
P. I. Bogdanovich
Supporting agencies: The study was carried out with the financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research within the framework of a scientific project № 19-012-00110
About the Author
P. A. Krotov
Saint Petersburg State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Pavel A. Krotov, Doctor of History, Professor, Department of Russian History from Ancient Times to the 20th Century
Saint Petersburg
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Review
For citations:
Krotov P.A. “Genuine anecdotes about Peter the Great” by J. Shtelin, Translated by A. A. Nartov — an Unknown Monument of Russian Literature of 18th Century. Nauchnyi dialog. 2020;(9):235-249. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2020-9-235-249
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