Relation of Greenland

La Peyrère, Isaac de, 1594-1676Project Gutenberg · United StatesMar 2023

3.3

Word count: 151K words
Chapters: 16

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Relation du groenland by Isaac de La Peyr鑢eAuthor: La Peyr鑢e, Isaac de, 1594-1676,Language: French, Class: G: Geography, Anthropology, Recreation, Release Date: Sep 21, 2008

Editor's review

Relation du groenland is an account of Greenland by the seventeenth-century French scholar Isaac de La Peyrère (1594–1676), written in French and classified by Project Gutenberg under geography, anthropology, and recreation. Its value lies not in systematic geography in the modern sense but in offering a textual sample of early European observation of a northern island: written early, with a perspective shaped by the knowledge framework and limitations of its time, it is useful precisely for seeing how seventeenth-century Europe described distant regions and organized geographical information. For readers, this book is more a historical source and document than a light travelogue. The French original, with old spellings and proper names, sets a fairly high bar; it is best used by readers with some French or an interest in the history of Nordic geography and early travel writing. If you simply want a modern geographical overview of Greenland, this book is not suitable. Read it with maps and annotated editions, as a facet of early European geographical writing rather than a handbook of reliable geographical facts.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with French reading ability interested in early geographical texts
Scholars studying seventeenth-century European travel writing and knowledge of the North
Users of source materials collecting original accounts of Greenland’s history
Readers accustomed to old-spelling texts who can verify proper names themselves

Not a good fit for

Readers with no French who want a Chinese book on Greenland’s geography
Practical readers needing modern maps, climate data, and scientific conclusions
General readers expecting a light travelogue or an illustrated guidebook

Reading tips

Read the table of contents and preface first to understand the structure before choosing chapters for close reading.
Keep a map of Greenland and a table of early place names to verify names as you read.
Do not get stuck on old spellings word by word; grasp the main point of a paragraph first, then look up words.
Read alongside a modern geographical overview of Greenland to distinguish historical accounts from present-day facts.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What language is this book written in?

The text is in French. The Project Gutenberg entry lists the language as French and classifies it under G (geography, anthropology, recreation). There is no Chinese translation, so reading requires a foundation in French and an ability to adapt to seventeenth-century spelling and syntax.

Is it suitable as a travel guide to Greenland?

No. This is a seventeenth-century account, not a modern travel guide, and contains no contemporary transportation, accommodation, or practical geographical data. Its use is in understanding how early Europeans described Greenland, not in planning a trip.

Who was La Peyrère?

Isaac de La Peyrère (1594–1676) was a French scholar known for theological and historical writing. This book is his account of Greenland. The materials provide no further biographical details; readers may consult biographies elsewhere, but this is not a prerequisite for reading.

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About the author

La Peyrère, Isaac de, 1594-1676 Author

La Peyrère, Isaac de (1594–1676) was a seventeenth-century French scholar and writer, best known for two accounts of the Nordic world: Relation du groenland (A Relation of Greenland) and Relation de l’Islande (A Relation of Iceland). Drawing on voyages and materials available at the time, these works introduced European readers to the natural settings, customs, and local lore of Greenland and Iceland in clear prose that combines observation with commentary, making them significant early texts of European writing on the far north. Public information about his life is limited: his education, posts, and main activities still await further verification. The existing classification places him under inspirational growth, which does not fully match the subject matter of his principal works; readers should approach his writing through the texts themselves.