'When a European speaks of Tatars, no one knows who is meant'
Editorial contextFischer complains that Europeans mispronounce the name as 'Tartar', perhaps imagining it comes from Tartarus, an allusion he says is common in old and new histories. Worse, they give it to every Asian people beyond Persia and India up to the Pacific, however different in looks, way of life, religion and language. He even doubts whether any single people ever properly bore the name, noting that Batu's army that invaded Hungary were Mongols, not Tatars.
Perhaps they imagined that the name comes from Tartarus. … So it happens that when a European speaks of Tatars, one does not know whom he means. Because this name is so very general, I have often hesitated whether there was ever a particular people on earth that bore the proper name Tatar.
Working translation
Original wording
Vielleicht haben sie sich eingebildet, daß der name von Tartarus herkomt. … Solcher gestalt geschiehet es, daß wenn ein Europäer von Tataren redet, man nicht weiß von wem die rede ist. Weil dieser name so gar allgemein ist, so habe ofters bei mir angestanden, ob auch jemals ein besonder volk auf dem erdboden gewesen sei, das den eigentümlichen namen Tatar geführet.
About 'Tatars' as a European catch-all; Mongols of Batu
Continue in this sourceFischer's Siberian History1500 to 1747 · 4 passages
