Gottlieb Siegfried Bayer and Classical Latin Poetry in Scholarly Debate on Early History of Ancient Rus

Abstract

This article is dedicated to a stylistic feature of 17th-century scholarly texts, namely the incorporation of poetic quotations into polemical scientific discourse, which enhances the expressiveness of evaluations concerning opponents and their concepts. An analysis of Gottlieb Bayer's texts is conducted. A number of works by the academician of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, Gottlieb Siegfried Bayer (1694–1738), focus on the early history of Ancient Rus. In preparing these works, Bayer extensively relied on ancient historical sources, and his articles were written in Latin, which naturally involved the traditions of classical literature in discussions pertaining to the historical issues of early Rus. This publication examines quotations and reminiscences from classical Latin poetry introduced by G. S. Bayer in his article “Origines russicae” (“The Origins of the Russians,” posthumously published in 1741). The poetic interpolations within the scholarly text serve as elements of the author’s style and fulfill two purposes. Firstly, they are utilized by the author to illustrate his assertions, lending emotional depth to academic reasoning and subtly indicating the breadth of his intellectual horizon, which enhances the perception of the scholarly reliability of his work. Secondly, they sustain Bayer’s polemical stance towards certain established historical concepts of his time, allowing for a sharp critical tone that accentuates the polemical fervor without resorting to personal attacks.