The Great Historical, Geographical, Genealogical and Poetical DictionaryLouis Moréri et al., English edition, 1701 (as of 1688)

Some time ago we realized we had no accounts contemporaneous with the 17th century, when Latvians and Estonians (Livonia) were subjects of the Swedes, and Rīga was the largest city of that empire. Latvians regard it as their first golden age: serfdom was eased, the power of the Germanic robber-barons diminished; most significantly, schools were established for the peasantry, and Johann Ernst Glück↗ published the Bible translated into Latvian (1694).

Louis Moréri
(Lewis Morery)

Jeremy Collier

Our hunt for sources yielded Louis Moréri's↗ Le Grand Dictionaire historique, ou le mélange curieux de l'histoire sacrée et profane↗ ("The Great Historical Dictionary, or Curious Anthology of Sacred and Secular History"). Moréri's Grand Dictionnaire appeared in numerous French editions between 1674 and 1759, growing in size with each edition. Moréri himself died after preparing materials for the second edition (1681). Thereafter, other Francophone scholars took charge of the compilation, notably Jean Le Clerc↗. The Grand Dictionnaire was also published in German, Dutch, Spanish, and English — Jeremy Collier↗ translated and expanded the edition presented here.

We sifted through all the entries related to today's Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to assemble a view of the Baltics contemporaneous with 1688, now three hundred and thirty-eight years ago, the "up to date as of" year of the 1701 English language edition.

Among the most intriguing entries is the one for Demetrius Griska Utropoja, an impostor to the Russian crown who through conquest over Boris Godunov↗ was briefly appointed Tsar (in 1605, after Godunov's death from illness and murdering his widow and son Feodor II↗) and equally briefly, before a messy end, united the Polish Vaivode of Sandomir (today's Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship↗, at the time similar to a duchy) with Russia through marriage. Demetrius passed through Riga, and thus was caught in our net.

Louis Moréri (1643-1680) was a French priest and scholar whose work laid the foundation for modern encyclopedias. 1

A groundbreaking work: His great achievement was the Grand Dictionnaire historique, first published in Lyon in 1674. This was not just a simple dictionary; it was a pioneering attempt to compile all human knowledge—historical, geographical, and biographical—into a single, alphabetically organized reference work. It is considered one of the first modern encyclopedias. 2

A European bestseller: The Grand Dictionnaire was an immense success. It was frequently updated, expanded, and reprinted throughout Europe, becoming a standard reference for scholars and the educated elite for generations. The fact that our English rendition is based on the "eighth edition corrected and enlarged by Monsieur Le Clerc" shows just how quickly and thoroughly Moréri's work was being revised to keep it current. 3 Moréri himself died young at the age of 37, but his work lived on, with other scholars like Jean Le Clerc continuing to update it. It was this influential, ever-expanding French work that Jeremy Collier brought to an English audience.

Jeremy Collier (1650-1726) was a man of many parts: a clergyman, a political firebrand, a moral crusader, and a tireless scholar. His life was marked by controversy and significant literary achievement. 4

Early career and a crisis of conscience: Collier was educated at Cambridge and ordained as a priest in 1677. His life took a dramatic turn with the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which deposed the Catholic King James II in favor of the Protestant William III and Mary II. Collier, a high-churchman who believed in the divine right of kings, refused to swear allegiance to the new monarchs. This made him a "Nonjuror," a position that led to his imprisonment in Newgate for publishing a pamphlet in support of James. He was arrested again in 1692 on suspicion of treasonable correspondence with the exiled king. 5

Theatrical crusade: Collier is perhaps best known today for his ferocious attack on the immorality of the Restoration stage. In 1698, he published A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage. In it, he excoriated the leading playwrights of the day—such as William Congreve, John Dryden, and John Vanbrugh—for their plays' profanity, indecency, and mockery of the clergy. What made his attack so potent was that he was a high-church Tory, not a Puritan, so his criticisms couldn't be dismissed as the ravings of a religious extremist. The pamphlet sparked a ten-year pamphlet war and is credited with helping to shift public taste away from the bawdy comedies of the Restoration toward a more moralistic and sentimental style of drama. 6

Scholarly works: Amidst all this political and religious turmoil, Collier produced his most lasting scholarly contributions. From 1701 to 1721, he worked on his Great Historical, Geographical, Genealogical and Poetical Dictionary, the very work you're interested in. 7 It was, as the title page states, "founded on, and partly translated from" Moréri's Dictionnaire historique, but significantly expanded with a "Supplement" on British nobility, history, and geography to make it relevant for an English readership. At the same time, he was also compiling his monumental Ecclesiastical History of Great Britain (1708–1714), a work that, while controversial itself, became a standard reference. His dictionary even "set the tone for later encyclopedias." 8

Later life as a Nonjuring↗ bishop: Collier's fidelity to the Nonjurors' cause only deepened. In 1713, he was consecrated as a bishop in the separated Nonjuring church. He continued to write on religious matters, including proposals to restore certain ancient practices to the Church of England's liturgy, which unfortunately led to a split within the small Nonjuring community itself. He remained active and outspoken until his death in London in 1726. 9

The dictionary front-piece and article excerpts follow. Owing to their size, Muscovy, Poland, and Sweden appear on their own dedicated pages.