A Guide to A Voyage Through the Low Countrys Germany Italy and France Begun in the Yeare 1669 Ended in 1671, 1669-1671
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The Special Collections Department
Accession Number 6846-dl
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Preferred Citation
A Voyage Through the Low Countrys Germany Italy and France Begun in the Yeare 1669 Ended in 1671, Accession #6846-dl, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.
Acquisition Information
This travel account was given to the Library by Mr. S.F. Parham of Buena, Virginia, through the Rare Book Department, on May 28, 1987.
Scope and Content Information
This collection consists of a 312-page manuscript travel account titled, "A Voyage Through the Low Countrys Germany Italy and France begun in the yeare 1669 ended in 1671," kept by an Englishman, Thomas Style. The manuscript, apparently unpublished, was entered into a bound book specially prepared for this purpose and contains engraved title and section heading pages bearing engravings of maps, by the French royal geographer Pierre du Val.
Style's account is a good early example of the genre of travel literature that became popular in the eighteenth century. Like many of his countrymen, Styles chose to visit the more easily accessible countries of Europe such as the Low Countries (Holland), Germany, Italy, and France, during his Grand Tour. His reasons for attempting his journey were very similar to those extolled in Philostratus's maxim, "If a young man is ambitious to raise a reputation in the world, or to improve in knowledge and wisdom, he should travel into foreign countries." For as Style makes clear in his introductory section, "Travel in Generall," travel was considered by his contemporaries to be the best method of education for a young man. Style uses this introduction to provide his reader with his own philosophy of travel and its benefits, discussing the various attitudes of the ancients to travel, the advantages to a young man, and the necessary skills and improvements required for a traveller, such as painting, music, riding, dancing, fencing, and languages (pages 3-18).
He is careful to give the details of his itinerary, describing each town or area that he visited, what he saw or did at each place, as well as any antiquities or notable structures visible to the traveller. He also wrote of each area's government, employment, types of people, customs, religion, accomodations, and prices of both food and merchandise.
A partial list of notable passages describing cities, events and other related information and the pages of the journal on which they occur include the following:
The Low Countries (pp. 23-52)
The journey began on July 4, 1669, from Harwich,
England, where Styles, accompanied by a Mr. Coxe, boarded a
packet boat after spending the night at Colchester "much
ruined by our late wars." They sailed for Holland on July 6th,
encountering a storm, but arriving safely at La Brill (p. 24),
continuing on to Rotterdam (p. 26), Delft (p. 26), and seeing
storks (p. 27), The Hague (pp. 28-30), Ambassador Sir William
Temple (p. 28), Leiden University with a description of its
displays, rarities, and curiosities (p. 30), Amsterdam (pp.
32-38) and supplying a detailed description of Amsterdam's
magazine of the Admiralty and fire-fighting control system (p.
33), the West India House (p. 34), and the Townhouse (p. 34).
He also described Breda (pp. 40-42), Utrecht (pp. 44-45),
tobacco plantations (p. 45), the seven United Provinces and
their government (pp. 48-50), religion (pp. 50-51), and taxes
(p. 51).
Germany, with a Map (pp.
56-119)
He began this section with a grim picture of the German
Woods and their dangerous reputation among travellers,
especially due to the various people attracted by the
Frankfort Fair (pp. 57 & 70), a description of the
possessions of the Elector of Brandenburg (pp. 58-59),
reference to "one suspected a Jew," (p.59), various government
headquarters in [Cologne ?] and its churches (pp. 60-64), and
noted that Jews could note enter the city without the payment
of an impost (p. 63).
His group continued on to Bonn (pp. 64-66), Wiesbadan Forest, where they came across the remnants of two men broken on the wheel and met up with an armed man, illustrating the types of danger that a group travelling in a foreign country might encounter (pp. 69-72), Wiesbadan town with other stories concerning the danger of the woods (p. 73), Mainz (pp. 73-74), with a description of hunting hare (p. 74), the Frankfort Fair (pp. 74-75), Heidelburg (pp. 76-82), Worms (pp. 83-84), and Spire (pp. 84-85).
He also described Strasburg (pp. 85-87), a silver mine at Fridenstadt worked by prisoners of war and condemned criminals (pp. 87-89), Stuttgart (pp. 89-91), Augsburg (pp. 93-94), Munich (pp. 94-99), the Jesuit's College (pp. 94-95), including an anachronistic reference to the Gunpowder Plot (p. 94), Ratisbon (pp. 99-102), and Vienna and the Emperor's Palace (pp. 103-119). Vienna's description included a zoo of wild beasts (p. 105), the Treasury (p. 105), saints' relics and other treasures (p. 106), a rare day when the Emperor dined publicly (pp. 106-107), the encountering of two Englishmen, Sidney Montague and Clement Cotterell in Vienna (p. 107), the influence of the Jesuits (p. 110), history of the election of the Emperors (pp. 112-119), and the eight Electors, the Archbishops of Mainz, Trier, and Cologne, the King of Bohemia, the Duke of Bavaria, the Duke of Saxony, the Marqrave of Brandenburg, and the Count Palatine of the Rhine (p. 115).
Hungary, with a map (pp.
124-157)
While still in Vienna, the party heard of the fall of
Candia, Crete, to the Turks. Style reports that the people
feared a Turkish attack upon the Continent, but they decided
to continue their trip to Hungary, staying in a band to
discourage an attack by the Hussars (p. 125).
Style writes concerning Altemburgh (p. 126), Latin appearing as an universal European language (p. 127), Raab (p. 127), a description of fortifications, Turkish prisoners, and the warlike character of the city (p. 127), fear of attack by local inhabitants solicitous of their plans, and the Count's offer of bodyguards (pp. 128-129), Commorra (p. 130), dissatisfied Hussar bodyguards threatening the group, who risk travel through Turkish territory to avoid them (p. 131), passing the scene of recent wolf attacks and a challenge by the Turks (p. 132), seeing the manufacture of poisoned arrows by the Turks (pp. 132-133), Islamic ritual bathing in the Danube (p. 133), mineral deposits of the region and the privilege of trial by combat for nobles (p. 137), history of the area (pp. 138-141), and a description of the lesser nobility called Hussars (p. 141).
Esclavonia, with a map (pp.
143-157)
This region was known in ancient times as Illyria. Style
described Stiria (pp. 147-148), a monastery which fell prey to
bandits in the middle of a huge forest and Marpurg (p. 149),
Croatian friars (p. 151), the fortifications of Palma Noua (p.
152), the danger of Turkish pirates to travellers (p. 153), a
hermit and his abode (p. 154), the history of Esclavonia (pp.
156- 157), and a note that the Esclavonians make the best
galley slaves in the Mediterranean (p. 156).
Italy, with a map (pp. 163-258)
The group crossed the adriatic Sea to Venice, and began
their Italian tour at Padua (pp. 163-167), where Style
commented on the scholarly dissension at the University of
Padua (pp. 164-165), Vicenza (pp. 167-168), Verona and its
amphitheater (pp. 168-169), Brescia (p. 170), Milan (pp.
172-175), a visit to the versatile Cannonico Settala, his
laboratory, and curiosities (pp. 172-173), the churches of
Milan (pp. 173-174), a hospital (pp. 174-175), fortifications
(p. 175), the death of the Pope Clement IX on December 8, 1669
(p. 178), Parma (pp. 178-180), Modena (p. 181), Mantua (pp.
181-182), Venice (183-191), the Armamentarium in Venice,
equipped with many curiosities, including a pocket church book
with a pistol hidden in the binding, and other such
innovations (p. 187), Bologna (p. 192), Ancona (p. 193), and
Lorretto (pp. 194-195).
Style also visited Rome, its antiquities and art works (pp. 198-206, & 218-222), the Pallazzo Medici (p. 199), the Vatican and its library where he saw the letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn (pp. 201-202), the Villa Borghese (p. 204), and St. John Laterans (p. 205).
They undertook a voyage from Rome to Naples, which was very dangerous because of bandits (p. 206), and saw the Kingdom of Naples (pp. 208-210), Old Capua (p. 210), Naples (pp. 210-211), Vesuvius (p. 212), The experiments with noxious fumes at the Grotto del Cane (p. 215), laborers pillaging for ancient coins (p. 217), Frescati (p. 219), Trivoli (p. 220), the coronation of the new Pope, Clement X (pp. 221-222), Siena (p. 224), saint's relics (p. 225), Florence (p. 226), the Duke's Galleries (pp. 226-227), the funeral of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand II, who died on May 27, 1670 (p. 231), Pistoia (p. 233), Lucca (pp. 233-234), Pisa (p. 235), the Medici family (p. 237), and Tuscany history (p. 238).
Style's party decided to go to Genoa by sea but was forced into the harbor at Monte Rosa by a terrible storm (pp. 239-241), they arrived at Genoa by a land route (p. 241), saw Genoa and its villas (pp. 242-247), and Style gave a summary of the history of Italy (pp. 248-258).
Savoy, with a map (pp. 262-272)
Style wrote of Turin (pp. 263-265), the superstitions of
the people (p. 267), Aix (p. 268), their arrival at Geneva (p.
269), and the history of Savoy (pp. 269- 272).
Geneva, with a map (pp.
276-280)
This section contains a brief history of the city (pp.
277-280), and tells of Style contracting smallpox (p.
280).
France, with a map (pp.
281-312)
They visited Lyons (p. 286), the mechanical gadgets and
experiments of Monsieur de [Sevier] (p. 287), Valence (p.
288), Orange (p. 288), Avignon (p. 289), mentioned that Jews
are obliged to hear a friar only once a week (p. 289),
Aix-en-Provence (p. 290), Marseilles (p. 290), mentioned
Nostradamus, the prophet (p. 291), Arles (p. 291), Montpellier
(p. 293), a vault of the Duarade Church in Toulouse with
preserved corpses on display (p. 296), Mantauban (p. 296),
Cadillac (p. 297), Bordeaux (p. 298), La Rochelle (p. 299),
Richelieu (p. 301), Poitiers (p. 302), Tours (p. 302), Orleans
(p. 304), Paris (pp. 305-306, & 311-312), Notre Dame (p.
305), the Louvre (p. 306), and Chantilly (p. 309).
The account ends while Style is still in France and does not apparently include material on places visited in 1671, as the title suggests.