Exploring the eighteenth-century concept of soil as reflected in Sámuel Domby's De vino Tokaiensi

Abstract

The treatise De vino Tokaiensi (On Tokaj Wine) written by Sámuel Domby of Gálfalva (1729–1807), is a valuable source on Hungarian history of culture and science which has become widely accessible thanks to its facsimile edition. This medical doctoral dissertation published in 1758 in Utrecht presents a study of the medicinal effects of Tokaj wine, mirroring the norms of philosophical-scientific literature in eighteenth century Hungary. It is unequivocally an exceptional document of the intellectual heritage of the educated classes in the early modern age regarding growth habitat, viticulture and winemaking, with specific reference to Tokaj-Hegyalja, a wine region and cultural landscape of historic importance in Northeast Hungary. The present paper aims at identifying the perceptions detailed in the candidate's argument in pedological terms.