Topographie boréale et topologie boréaliste chez Pierre-Daniel Huet (1630-1721)

Abstract

Pierre-Daniel Huet’s (1630-1721) journey to Sweden in 1652 offered him the opportunity to observe the customs and habits of the peoples of the Far North. The young scholar’s zest for geographic discovery and his topographic surveys of places mingled with ancient borealist topoi, with which he had become familiar early on through his readings of Greek and Latin authors. This article shows how Huet’s borealist topoi, especially on the influence of climate on people’s credulity, carry more weight in his writings than his description of places and his knowledge of physics. They feed his disparaging views on the Swedes from whom he suffered much hardship during his stay at the court of Queen Christina.