Sigismund von Herberstein (1486–1566) was a diplomat, writer, historian, and member of the Holy Roman Empire Imperial Council. He was most noted for his extensive writing on the geography, history, and customs of Muscovy-Russia, and contributed greatly to early Western European knowledge of that area. He was twice sent to Moscow as ambassador of the Holy Roman Emperor and these extended visits provided him with the opportunity to study Muscovite society.
While in Muscovy, Herberstein employed his knowledge of Slavic language to interrogate a sizable circle of Muscovites on a host of topics. Herberstein proclaimed that he “daily availed [himself] of every opportunity to converse much upon such matters with a great number of people… I made myself acquainted with the greater part of the talented and trustworthy men of the place,” wrote the Habsburg diplomat, “and did not rely upon this or that man’s account, but trusted only to the unvarying statements of many… And in order that my opinion in this matter may not be looked upon with suspicion, or considered presumptuous,” he wrote, “I assert with all honesty, that not once only, but repeatedly, . . . I have seen and investigated Moscow, as it were under my very eyes.”
The result was Heberstein’s major work written in Latin and titled Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii (“Notes on Muscovite Affairs“). The book was published in 1549 and became the main early source of knowledge in Western Europe on the realm that calls itself ‘Russia’ these days.
“The Habsburg ambassador’s picture of Muscovite political life around 1525 was broadcast throughout Europe via the printing press. In a period starved for intelligence about Russia, Herberstein’s book proved tremendously popular, and it was often reprinted in the second half of the sixteenth century. Soon after its initial publication, his tome became the major European source of information on Muscovy and, more generally, the interpretive lens through which men of the late Renaissance viewed Russia. Almost every serious student of Muscovy read Notes on the Muscovites and was influenced by the image of the Russian government it presented…
‘Notes on the Muscovites‘ was in some measure responsible for convincing not only Crull but many Europeans that Muscovy was ruled by a despot and peopled by slaves. Herberstein did not invent the image of Russian despotism, but his depiction of it was the first to be grounded in personal experience.” (People Born to Slavery)
“All the people consider themselves to be kholops, that is slaves of their Prince,” – another popular quote from Sigismund Herberstein’s work.
“Gardariki, Ukraine‘ ebook has unique facts about the early conflicts between slaverish Muscovy and freedom-loving Cossack Country Ukraine.
