Mantykora
Manticore

The Early History of Encyclopedia

Author(s): Paweł Majewski
Subject(s): History, Language and Literature Studies, Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Philology, Theory of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: encyclopedia; encyclopedism; Pliny the Elder; Diderot; Benedykt Chmielowski
Summary/Abstract: The publication presents the early history of an encyclopedia in a detailed and multifaceted way, deepening the existing research on the issue. The author outlines the title metaphor of an encyclopedia as “manticore” – a hybrid entity composed of words imitating things, he thoroughly analyses theoretical problems of Western culture which are part of the encyclopedism, referring to its pre-modern realizations (from the lost work of Hippias of Elis to "Great Mirror" of Vincent of Beauvais and Benedykt Chmielowski’s "New Athens"). The books also explores Diderot’s "Encyclopédie" and the most important features of modern encyclopedias.

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