IMAGES OF EURASIAN ETHNICITY IN WORKS OF RENAISSANCE POLISH HISTORIANS

The study addresses proto-scholarly theories of the origins and early ethnic history of Eurasian peoples (Russians, “Muscovites”, Bulgars, Vandals, Goths, Cumans, Pechenegs, Hungarians, and Tatars) proposed by 16th-century Polish historians. Drawing heavily on the rich ancient and medieval scholarship, these theories allowed the European intellectuals of the Renaissance Age to gain an understanding of how the ethnic map of Eurasia changed over time, where various Eurasian peoples lived, from where they had migrated, and what their languages, cultures, lifestyles, political and social organizations were like.