Summary: First published in 1549, von Herberstein’s account of Moscow (and Russia more generally) was the main early European source of information on Russia in the sixteenth century.
The city of Moscow then, the capital and metropolis of Russia, together with the province itself, and the river which ?ows by it, have but one and the same name, and in the vernacular language of the people are called Mosqwa. Which of the three gave its name to the other two is uncertain; but it is likely that the name was derived from the river. For although the city itself was not formerly the capital of the nation, yet it is evident that the name of Muscovites was not unknown to the ancients. […]
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