Dmitry Gerasimov (russian: Дмитрий Герасимов; also known as ''Demetrius Erasmius'', ''Mitya the Translator'' and ''Dmitri the Scholastic''; c. 1465 – after 1535), was a Russian translator, diplomat and philologist; he also provided some of the earliest information on

Muscovy Muscovy is an alternative name for the Grand Duchy of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 * Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and Domes ...

to Renaissance scholars such as

Paolo Giovio Paolo Giovio (also spelled ''Paulo Jovio''; Latin: ''Paulus Jovius''; 19 April 1483 – 11 December 1552) was an Italian physician, historian, biographer, and prelate. Early life Little is known about Giovio's youth. He was a native of Com ...

and Sigismund von Herberstein. Gerasimov presumably lived in Novgorod for most of his life and worked mainly with Novgorodian clerics. In his youth he studied in

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

, where he learnt Latin and German. These languages he put to extensive use in his translations of religious texts (including

Hieronymus Hieronymus, in English pronounced or , is the Latin form of the Ancient Greek name (Hierṓnymos), meaning "with a sacred name". It corresponds to the English given name Jerome. Variants * Albanian: Jeronimi * Arabic: جيروم (Jerome) * Basq ...

' comments on the

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

, commentary on the Psalter compiled by Bruno of Würzburg, and some tracts aimed at combating the

Sect of Skhariya the Jew The Thought of Skhariya the Jew, much more commonly known in the church terminology as the Heresy of the Judaizers ( ''Zhidovstvuyushchiye''), was a religious concept that existed in Veliky Novgorod and Grand Duchy of Moscow in the second half of ...

), and as an interpreter on Muscovite embassies to

Emperor Maximilian I Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death. He was never crowned by the pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed himself Ele ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

, Sweden and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. In 1525 he was an ambassador in his own right to

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...

, when the Grand Duke

Vasily III Vasili, Vasily, Vasilii or Vasiliy (Russian: Василий) is a Russian masculine given name of Greek origin and corresponds to ''Basil''. It may refer to: *Vasili I of Moscow Grand Prince from 1389–1425 * Vasili II of Moscow Grand Prince fr ...

desired to join the anti-Ottoman League. During his stay in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Dmitri related details to Giovio of the geography of Russia and the northern countries. This information was compiled by Giovio into a separate book, and subsequently mapped by

Battista Agnese Battista Agnese (c. 1500 – 1564) was a cartographer from the Republic of Genoa, who worked in the Venetian Republic. In 1525 he prepared an early map of Muscovy that was based on the geographical data, narrated to Paolo Giovio by the Rus ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

and was a pattern for most 16th-century maps of Muscovy. Gerasimov also translated ''Ars grammatica'' by

Aelius Donatus Aelius Donatus (; fl. mid-fourth century AD) was a Roman grammarian and teacher of rhetoric. Works He was the author of a number of professional works, of which several are extant: *Ars maior – A commentary on Latin grammar. * Ars minor � ...

, juxtaposing the Latin grammar against that of Church Slavonic and proposing a terminology for Slavic grammar. He was a prominent collaborator of

Maximus the Greek Maximus the Greek, also known as Maximos the Greek or Maksim Grek (; ; –1556), was a Greek monk, publicist, writer, scholar, and translator active in Russia. He is also called Maximos the Hagiorite (), as well as Maximus the Philosopher.. His ...

, Greek-born humanist Michael Trivolis who worked in Russia. It is widely held that Gerasimov was the Russian translator of the

Maximilianus Transylvanus Maximilian van Sevenbergen, Latinized in Maximilianus Transylvanus (Transilvanus, Transylvanianus), also Maximilianus of Transylvania and Maximilian (Maximiliaen) von Sevenborgen (between 1485 and 1490 – 1538, Brussels), was a courtier of ...

' Letter on

Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East ...

voyage.

Sources

Leo Bagrow Leo Bagrow (1881 Saint Petersburg – 9 August 1957 The Hague), born Lev Solomonovich Bagrow, was a historian of cartography and the founder of the journal ''Imago Mundi ''Imago Mundi'', or in full ''Imago Mundi: International Journal for the His ...

. ''At the Sources of the Cartography of Russia'' // Imago Mundi, Vol. 16, 1962 (1962), pp. 33–48 *''Der russische Donat: Vom lateinischen Lehrbuch zur russischen Grammatik''. Hrsg. und komment v. V. S. Tomelleri. Köln, 2002 *Tomelleri V. S. ''Il Salterio commentario di Brunone di Würzburg in area slavo-orientale: Fra traduzione e tradizione (con unè appendice di testi)'', München, 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerasimov, Dmitry 1460s births 16th-century deaths Diplomats of the Russian Empire Russian translators Russian philologists Latin–Russian translators Old Church Slavonic literature

See also

Sources