Written by Janez Bogataj, 1989
Abstract
The methods and techniques used by Valvasor in his work have hardly been studied by ethnologists until now. Results of such study, however, could be of great benefit to our understanding of the historical development of ethnological methodology. On reading Valvasor’s The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola one can notice the application of methods and techniques, which are of interest from the viewpoint of the historical development of technology as well as its modern trends.
The basic feature of his method was to gather information in the field. Working in the field was thus of primary concern to Slovene ethnology at its very beginnings. Fieldwork, as the main aspect of ethnological work, has been the most important method throughout the historical development of this field. It is evident from Valvasor’s work, as well as from the work of all subsequent specialists involved in ethnology in Slovenia, that at first, fieldwork typically involved description of the field itself and what is going on in the field. It was based on autopsy without entailing any higher objectives, as to the analysis of collected material. Yet, Valvasor’s description included all those aspects of culture and way of life, which are central to modern ethnological systematics (e.g. descriptions of people’s behaviour, descriptions of urban life). Valvasor was also the first in the Slovenia of that time to introduce certain techniques of ethnological drawing in particular.
His graphic work (i.e. the output of his workshop confirms the claim, still true nowadays that much more can be expressed through drawing than a description, however good the latter is. His drawings assumed the role of story- teller. They played a role similar to that of photography in this field today. Valvasor’s main stimulus, methodically and technically, came from the development of the natural sciences, which was the main feature of the era, i.e., the 17th century.