Водка в "Великом искусстве артиллерии" Казимира Семеновича
ENIn 1650 in Amsterdam, a work Artis Magnae Artilleriae. Pars prima was published in Latin. It is a substantial tractate that first covered the theory and practice of pyrotechnics and the achievements of its applicability in the military, as well as the description of the developments in the artillery technique and the technology of explosives. It is substantiated by the laws of physics and mathematical calculations; the qualities of rockets and their constructions are also described. The work presents an exhaustive review of measurement units of different nations, the discussion on the qualities of metals and minerals and their interrelationship, etc. The author of the tractate is Casimir Siemienowicz - a nobleman, military officer, and artillery engineer of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1651 the work was translated into French and in 1676 - into German. In 1729 it was translated into English from the French publication and in 1963 it was translated into Polish from Latin. The present research paper focuses on one of the materials related mostly to the production of explosives, namely - alcohol. The aim of the research is to distinguish the use of strong alcohol as one of the substances in pyrotechnics as indicated by Casimir Siemienowicz and to analyse a possibility to name that alcohol in translations into the national languages of our areal as equivalents of the concept "vodka" [водка). For this reason, the original of Artis Magnae Artilleriae. Pars primais employed, as well as the translations to French, German, English, and Polish.The analysis of the 17t h century lexicographic material connected with this topic allows reaching a conclusion that the Latin words denoting a strong alcoholic drink - vinum adustum, vinum crematum, spiritus vini, aqua vitae, aqua ardens had equivalents of identical origin in the languages of the 17th century Eastern Europe-gorzalka, pdlinka, pdlenka, гарэлка, горшка, arielka, degtinė, akwawita (or okowita), wödka, водка and the Latvian degvīns or brandļaļvīns of a similar origin. The author of the tractate relates the use of vodka first of all to the production of explosives. Casimir Siemienowicz mentioned vodka in relation to the preparation of the pyrotechnical gunpowder, as well as when discussing the improvement of the quality of its constituent parts - saltpetre and sulphur. Vodka was also used for the sustainability of appropriate humidity of gunpowder and the mixtures of explosives and rocket charges. Vodka was used as a liquid for boiling or dissolving of certain substances, as well as in the preparation of pyrotechnical oakum for soaking, boiling, and sprinkling. Charged grenades wrapped in cloth or felt were also sprinkled with vodka.
