«THOSE WHOM WE CALL TARTARS», OR THE TATAR TRACE ON EUROPEAN MEDIEVAL MAPS

The purpose of this work is to study the appearance and “existence” of the ethnotoponym “Tartary” (Tatars) on the iconic maps of the leading cartographic schools of Europe from the 13th–17th centuries. The study pays special attention to the place of the ethnonym “Tartary” on the “maps for kings” – royal orders, for which the most reliable and often secret information was used because maps have always been a most important strategic tool. Medieval scribes derived the name “Tartar” and “Tartary”, which are present on European maps, from “Tartarus”, the ancient Greek underworld. Chthonic and eschatological motifs were very popular in Europe throughout the Middle Ages, and the appearance of Mongolian tumens from the depths of Asia was perceived as a sign of the approaching end of the world. Later, when the missionary monks brought real information about the “Tartars” to the European political elite, the West immediately turned to its holy of holies – commerce. Trade relations with the newly discovered East undoubtedly played a positive role – “Scythia” began to acquire more specific features. The cartographic conservatism of the cartographers began to gradually lose ground due to the pressure arising from more reliable information about countries and peoples that antiquity did not know. Thus, up to the Modern era, classical, traditional information was being mixed with new realities on the map. A more or less realistic depiction of the territory of “Tartary” can be spoken of only from the 16th century when there were accounts by European travelers, merchants, and envoys of Western states who personally visited these harsh lands. The study of the appearance of the ethnotoponym “Tartary” on medieval European maps and its existence in various “guises” until the end of the 17th century provides a vivid picture of how the cartographic mirror reflected the political situation in Eurasia. According to graphic sources, one can trace the gradual fading of interest in “Tartars”, starting from the second half of the 16th century, when the “Turkish march” was detected more and more loudly in Europe. The innovation of the work is that the appearance and evolution of the ethnotoponym “Tartary” on medieval European maps has been traced back for almost five centuries.

Abstract licence: CC BY

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