Dzikie ssaki Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego w pracach Jeana-Emmanuela Giliberta

• Autorzy: Samojlik T. , Daszkiewicz P.

Warianty tytułu

EN

Wild mammals of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the works of Jean-Emmanuel Gilibert

• Języki publikacji: PL

Abstrakty

EN

Among the many topics of lively scientific work that Jean Emmanuel Gilibert (1741-1814) conducted in Grodno and Vilnius, an important place is occupied by his observations of wild mammals. Royal patronage and care from Antoni Tyzenhauz, Treasurer of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the governor of Grodno, allowed Gilibert to keep and observe wild fauna captured by royal services in royal forests, including Białowieża Primeval Forest. Such was an origin of a female bison kept by Gilibert in Grodno. Its description, published in Indagatores naturae in Lithuania (Vilnius 1781) for decades became the primary source of information about the behaviour, food preferences and the anatomy of European bison. European science has just begun to take interest in European bison, therefore Gilibert’s account entered scientific circulation by way of French natural history encyclopaedias (mainly Georges Buffon’s Histoire naturelle) and works by Georges Cuvier or Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. Apart from the description of European bison, Gilibert left an entire series of observations of wild mammals inhabiting the forests of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. His accounts of moose were important in building a knowledge base for this species. In the first half of the 18th century, moose was known mainly from fantastic descriptions in Renaissance works and from prescriptions devoted to using moose hoof as the epilepsy treatment. Gilibert’s observations helped to overthrow such superstitions. Similarly, Gilibert’s first-hand information verified the widespread legends concerning brown bear (e.g. the belief that white bears, belonging to other species than polar bears, occur in Lithuania) . List of species kept and thoroughly watched by the scholar is much longer and includes lynx, wolf (and hybrids of wolves and dogs), beaver, badger, fox, hedgehog, and even white mouse. Also his comments on the species of mammals then absent in Lithuania but known either from farming or from the fur trade (wolverine, bobak marmot or steppe polecat). Also in these cases, Gilibert’s descriptions were often the first reliable information that entered the circulation in European science. His accounts were not free of errors and mistakes - but they resulted mainly from the pioneering role of his work. Some of his breeding experiments can arouse the reader’s sincere smile today, such as an attempt to feed a beaver with fish or serve cooked beans to a lynx In the margins of his mammal observations, Gilibert described also the place of their occurrence, extensive forests of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Read from the contemporary perspective, his thoughts are surprisingly relevant. In his praise of “primeval nature, free from human actions and not disturbed by accident or by the impatience of human desires” he sounds very similar to today’s eulogists of the primeval forest of Białowieża.

Słowa kluczowe

PL

Gilibert Jean Emmanuel; nauka polska; nauka litewska; historia nauki; ssaki

EN

Gilibert Jean Emmanuel; Polish science; Lithuanian science; history of science; mammals

• Wydawca: Instytut Historii Nauki im. L. i A. Birkenmajerów Polskiej Akademii Nauk
• Czasopismo: Kwartalnik Historii Nauki i Techniki
• Rocznik: 2015
• Tom: R. 60, nr 1
• Strony: 151--163
• Opis fizyczny: Bibliogr. 21 poz., il.

Twórcy

autor

Samojlik T.

• Instytut Biologii Ssaków Polskiej Akademii Nauk w Białowieży

autor

Daszkiewicz P.

• Service du Patrimoine Naturel, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paryż

Bibliografia

• W. Sławiński: Dr. Jan Emmanuel Gilibert, profesor i założyciel ogrodu botanicznego w Wilnie. „Ateneum Wileńskie”, 1925 9, s. 8-45.
• P. Daszkiewicz: Polityka i przyroda. Rzecz o Jean Emmanuelu Gilibercie. Wydawnictwo Neriton, Warszawa 1995.
• P. Daszkiewicz, B. Jędrzejewska, T. Samojlik: Puszcza Białowieska w pracach przyrodników 1721-1831. Wydawnictwo Naukowe Semper, Warszawa 2004.
• Jean-Emmanuel Gilibert: Le médecin naturaliste. Reyman et Compagnie, Croullebois, Lyon, Paris, 1800.
• P. Daszkiewicz, A. M. Bauer: Jean-Emmanuel Gilibert and a Lost Chapter in the history of Chelonian Anatomy. „Bibliotheca Herpetologica”, 2010 t. 8(2), s. 6-19.
• P. Daszkiewicz: List Jean-Emmanuel Giliberta (1741-1814) z Grodna do Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu (1748-1836) – nieznany, interesujący dokument historii nauk przyrodniczych w Rzeczpospolitej. „Kwartalnik Historii Nauki i Techniki ”, 2009 t. 54 (3-4), s. 211-221.
• P. Daszkiewicz, T. Samojlik, B. Bańka: Obserwacje litewskich niedźwiedzi Jeana Emanuela Giliberta. „Przegląd Zoologiczny” 2007, 3-4, s. 183-188.
• J.-E. Gilibert: Indagatores naturae in Lithuania, Wilno 1781.
• M. Krasińska, Z. A. Krasiński: Żubr. Monografia przyrodnicza. SFP Hajstra, Warszawa-Białowieża 2004.
• P. Daszkiewicz, T. Samojlik, M. Krasińska: Leopold Walicki’s Experiments on Cross-Breeding European Bison with Cattle in the Context of 19th century Biological Sciences. „Studies in the History of Biology” 2012 t. 4(1), s. 31-40.
• J. P. Beaude: Dictionnaire de médecine usuelle. Publié sous la direction de J.-P. Beaude par une société de professeurs, de membres de l’Académie royale de médecine, de médecins et de chirurgiens des hôpitaux, vol 2, Paris 1849.
• J.-E. Gilibert: Observatio de Alce [w:] Indagatores naturae in Lithuania. Wilno, 1781 s. 65-72.
• J.-E. Gilibert: Observatio II De Alce [w:] Opuscula phytologico-zoologica prima. Luguduni, 1892 s. 80-86.
• J.-E. Gilibert: Observation sur l’élan de Lithuanie [w:] Médecin naturaliste, ou Observations de Médecine et d’Histoire naturelle, par Jean Emmanuel Gilibert. Croullebois. Lyon, Paris, 1800,, ou des quadrupèdes et cétacées. Lyon-Matheron, 1802 s. 576.
• W. Kopaczewski: La Pologne et la science française. F. Alcan, Paris, 1918.
• J.-E. Gilibert: Abrégé du Système de la nature, de Linné, histoire des mammaires ou des quadrupèdes et cétacées: Contenant, 1. la traduction libre du texte de Linné et de Gmelin; 2. l’extrait des observations de Buffon, Brisson, Pallas, et autres célèbres zoologistes; 3. l’anatomie compare des principales espèces: le tout relatif aux quadrupèdes et aux cétacées les plus curieux et les plus utiles. Lyon 1802.
• P. Daszkiewicz, T. Samojlik, B. Bańka: Obserwacje litewskich niedźwiedzi Jeana Emanuela Giliberta. „Przegląd Zoologiczny” 2007, 3-4, s. 183-188.
• W. Kurowski: Myślistwo w Polsce i na Litwie. Poznań, 1865.
• P. Daszkiewicz, B. Jędrzejewska, T. Samojlik: Rosomak w Rzeczypospolitej w dawnych źródłach, „Przegląd Zoologiczny” 2005, 49(3-4), s. 167-172.
• J.-E. Gilibert: Démonstrations élémentaires de botanique. T. 1, Bruyset ainé & Co, Lyon, 1796.
• J. M. Gutowski, A. Bobiec, P. Pawlaczyk, K. Zub: Drugie życie drzewa. WWF, Warszawa-Hajnówka 2004.