Thomas Hoby's Life and Travels 1547-1564

With Diverse Things Worth Noting, Written by Himself
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-1-916931-31-2
Verlag: Boydell & Brewer

Buch, Englisch, Band 46, 251 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 172 mm x 244 mm

Reihe: Hakluyt Society Third Series

Thomas Hoby's Life and Travels 1547-1564, the first text of The Grand Tour.

This is a rare autograph journal preserved in the British Library, recording the experiences of the 16th-century traveller, scholar, and diplomat Sir Thomas Hoby. Beginning his travels at 17, Hoby documents his studies in Paris and Padua, his journeys across Italy as far as Sicily, and his engagement with European culture, language, and diplomacy.

His account combines detailed itineraries, observations of people and places, and insights into major political and religious events of the time. It also reflects his intellectual interests, including classical sources and contemporary Italian literature, as well as his early work translating Castiglione's Book of the Courtier.

Rich in historical and social detail, the journal offers a valuable record of mid-16th-century Europe and is considered a precursor to later Grand Tour narratives.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Bartlett, Kenneth

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Maps and Illustrations x
Preface and Acknowledgements xi

INTRODUCTION

The Hobys of Bisham Abbey xiii
A Booke of the Travaile and Lief of Me, Thomas Hoby xix
The Manuscript of The Travaile and Lief of Me, Thomas Hoby xxx
A Note on Editorial Principles xxxi

A BOOKE OF THE TRAVAILE AND LIEF OF ME THOMAS HOBY, WITH DIUERSE THINGES WOORTH THE NOTINGE 1

BIBLIOGRAPHY 197

INDEX 203

Über Autor(innen)

Bartlett, Kenneth
Kenneth Bartlett is Professor Emeritus of History and Renaissance Studies at the University of Toronto (Victoria College). A former editor of *Renaissance and Reformation/Renaissance et Réforme* and President of the Canadian Society for Renaissance Studies, he has authored and edited numerous works on the Renaissance, including *The Renaissance in Italy* (2019) and *The European Experience, 1350-1950* (2021).

He has also co-edited and translated key texts by Giovanni Della Casa, Pope Pius II, and Ruzzante, and published around 50 scholarly articles. In addition, he has produced several educational lecture series on Italian and European history.

Professor Bartlett is widely recognised for his teaching, receiving multiple awards including the 3M National Teaching Fellowship. Most recently, in 2023, he was honoured for his contributions to Italian culture by the Centro Scuola e Cultura Italiana.