Ранните ренесансови представи за Европа
Early Renaissance Notions of Europe

Summary/Abstract: The methods and sources which scholars employed in order to further develop the knowledge of the Old Continent, gained in earlier centuries, are traced out in the article. The 15th century marked the beginning of the Great Geographic Discoveries, consequently here an attempt is made to provide an answer to the question: is there a connection between the modern notions of Europe and the broadening of the geographical horizons of the world. Special stress is laid on the problem of the influence which knowledge of the Balkans and the Bulgarian lands brought to bear on the overall picture of Europe. In the 14th century knowledge of geography was not given in a pure form: it was founded upon a certain number of authorities from the antiquity and the Middle Ages, and where positive knowledge was missing, it was added to by fantastic elements and legends. To the humanists in the 15th century the ancient authors were indisputable authorities, above all the „newly discovered“ Claudius Ptolemeus and Strabo. The critical attitude towards the old authorities took its first steps, with fiction and adherence to the legendary not being completely overcome. Quite the contrary, in place of the old legends new ones settled. The greatest progress was marked by cartography which afforded an opportunity of depicting in a comparatively accurate manner the interior of the Old Continent. The comparison of the state of the lands and peoples of the Balkan Peninsulain ancient times with the one in modern times contributed to the development of the geographical notion of Europe.

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