The Image of Sweden and Finland in The Chronicle of the Whole World by Marcin Bielski: Prolegomena to Further Research

ABSTRACT The present article discusses the description of Sweden and Finland in the third edition of Kronika wszytkiego świata (The Chronicle of All the World) from 1564 by the Polish historian Marcin Bielski (1495–1575). This work is considered one of the most important chronicles of the Jagiellonian era. It is also the first so-called “universal history” (or “universal chronicle”) published in Polish vernacular. It is, however, based on numerous, mostly Latin sources by other authors, such as Pliny (23–79), Jordanes (6th century), Casiodorus (485–583) and Sebastian Münster (1488–1552). Aiming at universality, the historical account presented in this work attempts to embrace all written information about certain events, geographical and historical realities and the origin of nations, and to treat them in accordance with the scientific methods available at that time. Kronika wszytkiego świata (henceforward: Kronika) is an invaluable source of information regarding Scandinavia, its inhabitants, riches, etc., although the description is not complete. In order to reconstruct a more comprehensive picture of the Nordic countries, further research is required in analogous Polish and Scandinavian sources of that time.