Archival Funds and Collections of Professor Gottlieb Bayer in St. Petersburg and Glasgow

Scientific article

doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2024-1-28–42

For citation

Sokolov, Sergei, V., Gilevich, Nikita D. Archival Funds and Collections of Professor Gottlieb Bayer in St. Petersburg and Glasgow (In Russ). IN: Vestnik Archivista / Herald of an Archivist, 2024, no. 1, pp. 28–42. doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2024-1-28–42

Sokolov, Sergei, V., Gilevich, Nikita D.

First President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation

Archival Funds and Collections of Professor Gottlieb Bayer in St. Petersburg and Glasgow

Abstract

The article provides an overview of archival documents related to Gottlieb Siegfried Bayer (1694–1738), professor of the first staff of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Bayer's research interests were quite diverse and included the study of the languages and culture of Asia, the Volga region, the Urals, Siberia, history of the Black Sea region, origin of the Varangians and Rus'. Bayer's documents are mainly concentrated in two repositories: the St. Petersburg branch of the Archives of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SPbF ARAN) and in the Special Collections of the University of Glasgow Library (UGL). The article examines the history of the formation and composition of archival collections, as well as the most significant publications. In the St. Petersburg Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences there is a personal collection of Bayer, formed in the Soviet period. The fund includes two inventories: manuscripts of works and materials and correspondence of the scientist, with a total of 64 files. In addition to the personal fund, Bayer’s documents can be found in other funds and categories of the St. Petersburg Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The archive contains notes, projects, organizational, administrative, personnel, financial documentation, including those related to Bayer’s activities as inspector of the Academic Gymnasium. Bayer's papers in the University of Glasgow Library arrived there at the beginning of the 19th century. The collection is made up of documents sent shortly before the scientist’s death to K?nigsberg and includes draft articles, notes, various copies and extracts, correspondence, books from his personal library, a total of 261 items. Almost all the documents in Glasgow are related to Bayer's orientalist interests. Complexes of documents in St. Petersburg and Glasgow include the scholar’s autographs. Most of the documents are manuscripts. There are a small number of printed books, including those of Chinese origin (UGL). Certain documents are duplicated in both complexes, for example, Bayer's correspondence with Jesuit missionaries in China. The first publications of Bayer's archival documents were made in the 18th century. Extracts from the documents appeared in various publications of the 19th century on the history of the Academy of Sciences. Several articles and monographs cited extensive quotations from Bayer's correspondence. A significant number of items were abstracted and cited in the Catalogue of the Bayer collection in Glasgow. A few translations of Bayer's texts are given in the new volume on the history of the Academy of Sciences. Bayer's archival collections complement each other, allowing one to evaluate the academic research practices and trace connections and interactions in the 18th-century scholars.

Keywords

Gottlieb Bayer, St. Petersburg branch of the Archives of the Russian Academy of Sciences, University of Glasgow Library, historical sources, origin of Varangians, history of Russia, academic environment of the 18th century, professors of the first St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, antiquity, church history, eastern languages, of the origin of the Varangian princes.

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References

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About the authors

Sokolov Sergei V., PhD in History, associate professor, First President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin Ural Federal University, laboratory for the study of primary sources, senior researcher, department of Russian history, head of the department, Ekaterinburg, Russian Federation, +7-343-389-94-69, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Gilevich Nikita D., First President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin Ural Federal University, department of Russian history, postgraduate student, laboratory of digital technologies in historical and cultural research, research engineer, Ekaterinburg, Russian Federation, +7-902-448-45-78, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Grant information

The article has been prepared with financial support of the Russian Science Foundation, project no. 23-28-01692 “East European Peoples and Early History of Kievan Rus' in Academic Legacy of Gottlieb Siegfried Bayer”.

The article was received in the editorial office on 5.09.2023, recommended for publication on 20.12.2023.