Traditions of European Knowledge in 17th-Century Russia: The 1670 Translation of Albert the Great's Book

Among the texts distributed in 17th century Russia, a special place was occupied by translations of medical literature. However, such medical texts are not given due attention, even though manuscripts are extremely valuable for studying the formation of the lexical system, including scientific terminology, as well as for investigation of the development of translation techniques. This study introduces the manuscript of Albert the Great’s Book, translated from Latin in 1670, into scientific circulation. The introduction details the history of the Latin original and its significance for the European cultural context. The first part of the research provides an archaeographic analysis of the manuscript and describes the content of the book and its place in Russian culture of the 17th-18th centuries. The second part represents a consistent multilevel linguistic analysis of the text. Examination of lexis, morphology and syntax of Albert the Great’s Book enables to identify the main features inherent in the language of that era and to consider the stages of formation of science language.