SAV Unveils Eighth Volume of National 'Encyclopaedia Beliana'

Bratislava, March 23 (TASR) – The eighth part of the twelve-volume Encyclopaedia Beliana, named after 17/18th century Slovak polymath Matthias Bel, was presented by the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV) on Thursday.

On 678 pages the latest volume explains more than 4,200 entries in alphabetic order from various spheres, beginning with Kalhana (the name of a historian from Kashmir) and ending with kokpit (cockpit).

“The letter K is so extensive that it spans three volumes of the encyclopaedia. Many of the entries are pretty comprehensive, appearing in this form in Slovak for the first time,” said SAV’s Encyclopaedia Institute director Zuzana Vargova.

“Our goal is to make the Beliana a national encyclopaedia. It’s been named after Matthias Bel, a noted Slovak polymath and encyclopaedia compiler,” said Vargova, adding that around 600 external authors, consultants and reviewers took part in drafting the text of the eighth volume, plus 35 creators of images.

When all twelve volumes are completed, the Beliana should contain as many as 150,000 entries, making it the first major general Slovak national encyclopaedia.