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15 Co9mographies in Romanian 167

By the middle of the 19th century several geographical books are print-ed and even^ł periodicals dedicated to this subject appear⁴⁰. The old type of copying is still present mainly for the texts used in schools⁴¹.

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A study of the cosmographies translated into Romanian is interesting both for our cultural history and for the aesthetics and the comparative ap-proach of the images.

There are common points between Grigore Ureche s Cronica (Chronicie) and some parts of Sebastian Munsters book or Marco Polos. N. Costins

Letopiseful 'fani Moldovei de la zidirea lumii pina la 1601 (The History of Moldavia from the Origins to 1601) and D. Cantemir s Hronicul vechimei a romdno-moldo-vlahilor (The History of Romanians) hint to Strabon. Ptolemy, Plin}'. Pomponius Mela and Solinus. as well as to Trogus Pompeius. Iustin, Isidor of Sevilla and Kedrenos. Ali of them are directly or indirectly connect-ed with the fate of the cosmographies translated into Romanian in the 2nd half of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. The vocation for myth found in the Brasov (§chei) manuscript places it in the trend illus-trated by Ctesias. Megasthene. Pomponius Mela and Solinus. later by Sebastian Munster (partially).

On the contrary. Botero s book belongs to another trend similar by the sense of reality and criticism to Strabon s Geography.

The copies madę from cosmographies prove that the Romanian scho-lars were well acąuainted with literary motives and topics which enjoyed a European circulation: Priester John s Land. the Salamander of Hinhitas, the Phoenix of Arabia, the History of the Amazons. the Tempie of Diana in Ephesus. the Giant of Rhodos. the riches of the Caliph of Baghdad. the spices of India and many others. We consider necessary to open a new chap-ter in the history of our literaturę to study the cosmography in connection with chronographs or other popular books as well as the relations existing with the imaginative powers of the Romanian readers and audience in generał.

⁴⁰ For the manuscript containing the various~geograpliical descriptions. see N. A. Ursu. Formarea terminologiei geografice... in Omagiu lui Iorgu Jordan. Bucharest. 1958, pp. 871 — 876: G. Strempel. Catalogul manuscriselor romdneęti. vol. I—IV. Bucharfest. 1959—1992: M. Moraru. C. Velculescu, Bibliografia analitfcd a cdrfilor populare. co-ordinated by I. C. Chi^imia, Bucharest. 1976— 1978. See also. Dan Simonescu. Catalogul manuscriselor din B. C. U. — łasi. not published.

Althougli the "New World" seems to be a chapter of less interest for the Romanian readers we must point out that in the years preceding the copy madę by Costea Dasc&lul (who spoke about the three parts of the world). Radu Popescu reminded America in his Istoriile domnilor Tdrii Rotnanesli (196i edition. p. 267): and not long after that. Nicolae Cos-tin mentioned the realm in his Letopiseful Tdrii Moldooei de la zidirea lumii (Iassy. 1976. pp. 49—50). as well as Dimitrie Cantemir did in his Hronicul oechimei... (1901 edition. p. 184).

*^l Rom. manuscripts existing in BAR: 4277, 4180, 30, 3595, 4213, 4931, 2693, 3753, 2446, 692, 1633, 5792, 5889, 5074, 1183, 5467,. 2323, 2073, 3041, 3263, 3973, 4196, 3826;

Arh. St. Iaęi. ms. 1875; B.C.U. Iaęi ms. V 26 a.s.o.