National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

The second Swedish map, which probably will be unknown to most of my
readers, is shown on Pl. L, and known by Swedish and Russian geographers
under the name of RENAT's map. This map was discovered by August Strindberg,
1879, in the Library of Linköping, and on the supposition that it would be of
greater interest to Russia than to Sweden he sent it to St. Petersburg, where it was
published by the Imperial Russian Geographical Society under the superintendence
of General O. E. VON STUBENDORFF. A text accompanies the map, compiled from
material collected by Strindberg.¹

In this text we are told that JOHAN GUSTAF RENAT was a lieutenant of ar-
tillery who was made prisoner in the battle of Poltava. In 1715—1716 he took
part in Buchholz' expedition. On the Irtish the convoy, 700 men, was attacked
by the Kalmuks. After a brave resistance the convoy was defeated and captured.
Then the text goes on: »Parmi ces prisonniers», dit Müller dans ses 'Notices sur le
sable d'or en Boukharie . . .', »se trouvait le sous-officier suédois Jean Renat, qui en-
seigna plus tard aux Kalmouks l'art de fondre le minerai de fer, fondit des canons
et des bombes, fut commandant en chef des troupes Kalmoukes qui étaient en guerre
avec la Chine; et après avoir amassé une quantité considérable d'or, d'argent et de
pierres précieuses, retourna en 1733 dans sa patrie, en passant par la Sibérie et la
Russie.»²

Renat brought a map of Central Asia back with him to Sweden, where it
attracted the intense interest of the two brothers Benzelius. These very enlightened
men hoped to get some important news about the east from their compatriot, who
had passed some years on campaigns, most of the time in Asia. Strindberg has
made some extracts from their correspondence. In March 1735 Bishop ERIC BENZE-
LIUS wrote from Linköping to his brother Censor Librorum GUSTAF BENZELSTIERNA
in Stockholm, and asked him to remind Lieutenant Renat that he had promised to
copy the Charta Geographica Calmachorum for Benzelius. He says that he has
taken notes of what he and Renat had been discussing at Linköping. »Without
questioning him one cannot get anything out of him, for he has no erudition at all.
May God grant you time, my dear brother, to speak with him.»

Professor BAYER in Petersburg wrote several letters to Bishop Benzelius and
asked him to do the utmost in his power to send to the Imperial Academy of
Science a copy of Renat's map, which Joseph Nicolas Delisle had had an occasion
to see when Renat passed through Russia. It is unknown whether this wish was
ever fulfilled.

However, we are indebted to the efforts of the brothers Benzelius and to a
third member of the same family, I. A. BENZELSTIERNA, that the map has been