Gvanini, Aleksandr

Gvan’ini, Aleksandr 

(Alessandro Guanini). Born 1538; died 1614. Author of several historical and geographical works. An Italian by birth.

In the late 16th century Gvan’ini served in the army of the Polish kings Stephen Bathory and Sigismund III, took part in the wars with Russia, and was commandant of Vitebsk. His

Description of All Lands Under the Authority of the Tsar of Muscovy … (published in Latin in 1581 and in German in 1582; translated into Russian in the 17th century) gives information on natural features, the structure of the Russian state, religion, the art of war, commerce, the mores and customs of the population, and new information on the oprichnina. Gvan’ini used the works of S. Herberstein and A. Schlichting but provided more complete information than they did.

SOURCE

“Zamechaniia inostrantsa XVI veka o voennykh pokhodakh russkikh togo vremeni i predannosti ikh k gosudariu svoemu.” Otechestvennye zapiski, 1826, part 25.

REFERENCE

Adelung, F. P. Kritiko-literaturnoe obozrenie puteshestvennikov po Rossii do 1700 goda i ikh sochinenii, parts 1-2. Moscow, 1864. (Translated from German.)