Eastern Christians and the Republic of Scholars (16th-18th century)

Marcello Garzaniti, Vassa Kontouma and Vasilios N. Makrides (eds.)
Eastern Christians and the Scholars' Republic (16th-18th centuries)
(series: Europe in between. Histories, cultures and languages from Central Europe to the Eurasian Steppes)
Firenze University Press, 2024
ISBN: 979-12-215-0645-7
eISBN: 979-12-215-0646-4
510 pages

The Republic of Letters was a network of scholars, scientists, artists, and other actors that emerged in Western Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries as a space for communication, dialogue, and debate. Gradually, an Eastern Republic of Letters also took shape, engaging in a multifaceted exchange with its Western counterpart. Due to the asymmetry between them, various Western actors tended to criticize the general "inferiority" of the Eastern world. However, this situation was counterbalanced by other factors such as linguistic proficiency and access to new sources. This multilingual and multidisciplinary volume brings together the expertise of scholars to develop a new approach to the network of Eastern Christians in their multiple interactions with the Western Republic of Letters, thus transcending the European continent’s geographical, cultural, political, and religious divisions.