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HALE, J R & LINDON, M A (ED. & TRANS.) The Travel Journal of Antonio De Beatis Germany, Switzerland, The Low Countries, France and Italy 1517-1518
Hakluyt Society, Cambridge, 1979. Hardcover, second series, b&w maps and illustrations. Toned page edges. Lightly scuffed dustwrapper with edge and corner wear; professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good otherwise. In May 1517, Luigi of Aragon, one of the most wealthy, cultivated and well-connected of Italian cardinals, left Italy for a leisurely tour through Germany, Switzerland, the Low Countries and France which lasted until January 1518. Too grand to keep a record of his own movements, he was well-served by his chaplain and amanuensis, Antonio De Beatis, who day by day kept a steadily enthusiastic record of the scenes they passed amongst. The range of De Beatis's interests was quite remarkably wide. His descriptions of individuals, landscapes, towns, of whole regions and the characters and customs of their inhabitants, of churches, palaces, relics and works of art provide one of the clearest impressions we have of the physical quality of life in north-western Europe in the Renaissance. Without the Cardinal he would not have had the organs played in the churches they visited, would not have watched Raphael's tapestries being woven in Brussels, nor met Leonardo da Vinci at Amboise. But it owes still more to traditions which, by 1517, suggested not only what a curious traveller should look at, but the way in which he might organise his impressions, and express them in writing. For this reason most of the editor's introduction is devoted to providing a pioneering account of the evolution of the Renaissance travel journal.
Offered for AUD 36.75 = appr. US$ 38.30 by: Lamdha Books - Book number: 51664