The Life and Letters of Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, Volumes 1 and 2

FOOTNOTES:

1 See Prescott, Philip II., book iv. chap. i.

2 The Society of Sciences, Agriculture, and Arts at Lille has for several years been offering a prize for an essay on Busbecq’s life.

3 See Appendix, List of Editions.

4 MÊlanges À Histoire et de LittÉrature, vol. i. p. 48, edition of 1702. The author is Noel d’Argonne, who wrote under the assumed name of de Vigneul-Marville.

5 The sweet or aromatic flag.

6 See Fourth Turkish letter ad finem.

7 Monsieur RouziÈre being a complete stranger to the neighbourhood, Monsieur Jean Dalle, the present Maire of Bousbecque, acted as his cicerone. Before going away, Monsieur RouziÈre selected an old house in Comines to which he attached his legend; this house is now shown as the birthplace of the Ambassador, on the authority of a man who could have had no acquaintance with the traditions of the place. On the other hand, Monsieur Dalle’s family have resided in the neighbourhood from time immemorial, and Monsieur Dalle himself has for the last twenty years taken the keenest interest in the subject. He tells us that there is not the slightest evidence connecting the house with Busbecq, and that no one ever heard of the story till after the publication of Monsieur RouziÈre’s brochure in 1860.

8 That the name of Busbecq’s father was George—and not, as usually supposed, Gilles (Ægidius)—is established by the deed of legitimation, a copy of which is given in the Appendix.

9 See letter to Boisschot, appended to the Elzevir edition of Busbecq’s letters from France.

10 See Appendix, Patent of knighthood.

11 Ogier is the name of an old Norse hero, who figures prominently in the Carlovingian epic cycle. Jean Molinet says of some Burgundian archers, who displayed great courage at a critical moment, ‘Et n’y avoit celui d’entre eux qui ne montrast mine d’estre ung petit Ogier.’ (Molinet, chap. xxx.) It was Latinised into Augerius, hence some write Auger.

12 Bousbecque takes its name from a tributary of the Lys, which is still called Becque des bois.

13 For this and other documents quoted in this section see Monsieur Dalle’s Histoire de Bousbecque.

14 Some few traces, showing the high position of the early Seigneurs, are still to be found in Bousbecque; among these is the beautiful cross, of which we have been enabled by the kindness of Monsieur Dalle to give a representation in the frontispiece of the Second Volume. Monsieur Dalle considers it to be ‘la croix d’autel mobile qui Était sans pied et sans hampe, qui l’on portait de la sacristie À l’autel au moment du saint sacrifice, et qui se plaÇait sur un pied prÉparÉ d’avance.’—Histoire de Bousbecque, chap. xxxviii.

15 For the pedigree of the Ghiselins see Monsieur Dalle’s Histoire de Bousbecque, chap. iv. In consequence of there being several seigneurs of the same name it will be necessary to speak of them as Gilles Ghiselin I., &c.

16 Marie, daughter of Gilles Ghiselin I., became Abbess of Messines. The following is an extract from L. Guicciardini’s Description de tout le PaÏs Bas, Antwerp, 1567. ‘Messine ha une tres-bonne et tres-ample Abbaye de femmes, de laquelle l’Abbesse est Dame du lieu, et de sa jurisdiction, tant au temporel qu’au spirituel.’

17 Jeanne de la Clite was married to Jean Halluin (Halewin), Seigneur of Halluin, the relation and near neighbour of the Busbecqs of Bousbecque. The families had been connected from a very early date by the marriage of Roger Halluin to Agnes de Bousbecque; it will be noticed that the grandmother of George and Gilles Ghiselin was also a Halluin; moreover in consequence of this alliance the Busbecqs quartered the Halluin arms. We should have been afraid, however, to state positively that a relationship existed between them and Jean Halluin, husband of Jeanne de la Clite, had not Monsieur Leuridan, who is the chief authority on genealogies in the North of France, most kindly investigated the question for us. The result of his researches has placed the matter beyond doubt; Jean Halluin and George and Gilles Ghiselin had a common ancestor in Jacques Halluin, Seigneur of Halluin in the fourteenth century. As far as mere cousinship is concerned they were but distant relations, still it is easy to understand that two seigneurs, in the fifteenth century, living within two miles of each other, would value and appreciate any blood relationship however slight.

18 For this battle see Philippe de Comines, book vi. chap. 5, and Molinet, chap. lxvi. Jean Molinet was chronicler to the Court of Burgundy from 1474 to 1506. He is a most painstaking writer, and of great value on account of the graphic details to be found in his narratives. Unfortunately for his reputation as an annalist, he here and there inserts chapters of pedantic nonsense, in which frequent references are made to the saints of the calendar and the heroes of mythology. But it is only fair to observe that the quantity of wheat to be found is greatly in excess of the chaff, and that he keeps his wheat and chaff separate and distinct. In his historical chapters he never indulges in these vagaries. Possibly the court fashion required him to write such pieces, for Molinet was by no means blind to the faults and errors of his patrons, and could also see the humorous side of their misfortunes. The following description of Maximilian’s imprisonment in Bruges, is to be found in Recollection des merveilles advenues en nostre temps, written by Molinet.

‘Les moutons dÉtentÈrent
En son parc le berger,
Les chiens qui le gardÈrent
Sont constraint d’eslonger.
Le berger prist figure
D’aigneau, mais ses brebis,
Dont il avait la cure,
Devindrent loups rabis.’

19 See Molinet, chap. clxii.

20 See Molinet, chap. clxiii.

21 See Molinet, chap. clxiv.

22 See De Barante, Histoire des Ducs de Bourgogne, vii. 428.

23 The Flemings having objected to the introduction of German troops into their country this order was most impolitic.

24 ‘Le bourreau, qui volontiers entendit ces mots pour son gaing, et afin que la chose ne demourast À faire pour faulte de lui, monta soudainement sur le hourd oÙ se firent les executions, et en attendant sa proie, estoit sorti d’espÉes et de bandeaux.’—Molinet, chap. clxvii.

25 Those called up were Jehan van Ninove Wautergrave, Victor hoste de la Thoison, Peter d’Arincq et deux autres. Molinet, chap. clxix. A comparison of this list with the names of those brought out for execution will show that the two others (deux autres) were George Ghiselin and Bontemps.

26 Many expressions used by Philippe de Comines, which are supposed to be obsolete, are simply the idioms of Comines and its neighbourhood, where the historian spent the early part of his life, and may still be heard at Bousbecque, Wervicq, Halluin, and other villages on the banks of the Lys.

27 ‘Nul prince ne le passa jamais de dÉsirer nourrir grans gens et les tenir bien reglez.’—Philippe de Comines, book v. chap. 9.

28 See Molinet, chap. i.

29 The reader will remember Scott’s description of the battle of Nancy in Anne of Geierstein; the Burgundians were surprised in the night and cut to pieces by the Swiss.

30 Another memorial of Gilles Ghiselin II. is to be found in the inscription on the beautiful Bousbecque Chasse, considered by antiquarians to be the work of the twelfth or thirteenth century. ‘En ceste fiertre a de le sainte vraie crois et biaucop d’autres dimtes, laquelle a faict rÉparer noble homme Gilles Gisselins: proÉs pour lui.’

31 For an account of Jeanne de la Clite see page 27.

32 For an account of the office of Écuyer trenchant see page 59.

33 Leonora (as she is called by Busbecq), otherwise Eleanor, was married, 1519, to Emanuel, King of Portugal, and was left a widow with only one daughter in 1521. She married Francis I., King of France, in 1530, lost her second husband, 1547, and died February 1558.

34 Elizabeth, or Isabella, married Christian II. of Denmark in 1515, and died 1526.

35 An interesting document is given by Dupont (MÉmoires de Philippe de Comines, iii. 180), which connects George Halluin with Philippe de Comines. The latter had been the ward of George Halluin’s great grandfather, but the accounts as regards the administration of his property had never been closed. This no doubt was owing to Philippe de Comine’s desertion, and the disturbed state of Flanders, but on July 7, 1519, George Halluin paid over the balance due, after deducting the expenses of his education, and received an acquittance for the same.

36 These particulars as to the family of Philippe de Comines, Jeanne de la Clite, and George Halluin, we owe to the kindness of Monsieur Leuridan, Archiviste of Roubaix. The accounts hitherto published contain manifest errors. For instance, Dupont represents Jeanne de WaziÈres as Dame de Comines et de Halewin, and when the property comes to Jeanne de la Clite she is only Dame de Comines, and as such marries the Seigneur of Halewin (Halluin). Monsieur Leuridan’s account of the Seigneurs of Comines will appear shortly in the fourteenth volume of the Bulletin de la Commission historique du Nord, under the title of Recherches sur les Sires de Comines.

37 De Barante, Histoire des Ducs de Bourgogne, xi. 196.

38 Philippe de Comines, book vi. chap. 2.

39 Molinet, chap. lix.

40 The Halluins formed a numerous and powerful family, of which the Seigneur of Halluin was the head. At the battle of Gavre, 1453, Jean Halluin, husband of Jeanne de la Clite, is said to have brought forty-four knights on to the field, every one of the blood and every one of the name of Halluin. Le Glay, Catalogue descriptif des manuscrits de la BibliothÈque de Lille, preface, xviii.

41 Jeanne de la Clite had been created Vicomtesse de Nieuport.

42 George Halluin was sent on one occasion as Ambassador extraordinary to Henry VIII. of England. Like Veltwick (see p. 54) he was, it would appear, the joint envoy of the brothers Charles V. and Ferdinand. Foppens, in his Bibliotheca Belgica, says he was sent by the Emperor. With this statement compare the following extract of a letter from Lord Berners to Wolsey dated Calais, June 29, 1524. ‘On this Wednesday, the 29th, there came to Calais, Mons. de Halwyn from the Archduke of Ostrych (Ferdinand) with 20 horse.’ Halluin asks Berners to inform the Cardinal of his arrival, and intends crossing as soon as he can obtain a safe conduct. See Brewer’s Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII., vol. iv. part 1, p. 191.

43 Published at Strasburg, 1512.

44 The following inscription was placed over the tomb of Despauteres in the church of Comines:—

Epitaphium doctissimi viri JOHANNIS DESPAUTERII,
quondam hujus oppidi ludi-magister.
Hic jacet unoculus visu prÆstantior Argo,
Flandrica quem Ninove protulit et caruit.
Obiit 1520. Requiescat in pace.

The following is a free translation of his epitaph somewhat amplified.

Underneath this stone doth lie
The famous master of one eye,
That eye it served him for a hundred,
To catch his scholars when they blundered.
His birthplace is at Ninove seen,
His fame and glory in Comines.

45 The famous ??????? ????a?, dedicated to Sir Thomas More. George Halluin published a French translation of the work.

46 This visit to Erasmus at Louvain is mentioned in Strauss’s Life of Ulrich von Hutten, English translation, p. 215.

47 These notes are still preserved in the library of the cathedral at Arras.

48 See Monsieur Dalle, Histoire de Bousbecque, chap. vi.

49 See page 141.

50 The object of this statement is to show that Daniel de Croix had no intention of attacking Desrumaulx. The account is evidently drawn up so as to represent the young Seigneur’s case in the most favourable light possible.

51 De Lickerke, after the capture of Courtrai (see page 17), slew the Seigneur of Heulle, who had seized the castle while the former was engaged in superintending an execution. Jean Molinet is greatly moved at the thought of his dying before he could be confessed. ‘Lui fÉru d’une espÉe trois cops en la teste, tellement qu’il morut illec sans confession, qui fut chose piteuse et lamentable.’—Molinet, chap. clxiii.

52 This was not the first time that a Ghiselin of Bousbecque had ventured to differ with his Count. See page 25.

53 A copy of the deed is given in the Appendix.

54 The monuments in Bousbecque Church show that after Busbecq’s death the Hespiels were in fairly good circumstances; one of them was burgomaster of the village. From this Monsieur Dalle concludes that Busbecq was not forgetful of his mother’s family.—Histoire de Bousbecque, chap. xxvii.

55 See Motley’s Rise of the Dutch Republic, i. 6.

56 ‘Guere loing de Messine sur la Lisse est le village de Commines, avec un bon chasteau, ou y ha une tres-belle et tres-noble librairie, rassemblee par George, Seigneur de Hallewin et de Commines, gentilhomme tres-docte, lequel entre ses autres oeuvres plus dignes et louables entretenoit et carressoit continuellement gens doctes et vertueux.’—L. Guicciardini, Description de tout le PaÏs bas, page 311.

57 An attempt is here made to give the views of Erasmus as they would present themselves to such a mind as George Halluin’s. The ideas are in a great measure adopted from Nisard’s Renaissance et RÉforme, to which a little local colouring has been added, and are offered as an explanation of Busbecq’s neutrality with regard to the religious differences, which sent his countrymen into opposite camps.

58 ‘Le moine est inquiet, furieux, au milieu de cette universelle renaissance des lettres et des arts; il baisse sa lourde paupiÈre devant la lumiÈre de l’antiquitÉ resuscitÉe, comme un oiseau de nuit devant le jour.’—Nisard, Renaissance et RÉforme, i. 55. ‘Le gÉnie de l’antiquitÉ chassant devant lui les Épaisses tÉnÈbres de l’ignorance.’—Renaissance et RÉforme, i. 66.

59 ‘Mais ce qui rendit surtout Érasme odieux aux moines ce fut son rÔle littÉraire, si brillant et si actif. Chose singuliÈre, il excita peut-Être plus de haines par ses paisibles travaux sur l’antiquitÉ profane, que par ses critiques des moeurs et des institutions monacales, ses railleries contre l’Étalage du culte extÉrieur, ses insinuations semi-hÉrÉtiques contre quelques dogmes consacrÉs mÊme par les chrÉtiens d’une foi ÉclairÉe. A quoi cela tient-il? Est-ce que la science fait plus peur À l’ignorance que le doute À la foi? Est-ce que la foi des moines, extÉrieure, disciplinaire, pour ainsi dire, mais nullement profonde, Était plus tolÉrante que leur ignorance? Enfin, y avait-il moins de pÉril pour eux dans le tumulte des dissensions religieuses, que dans l’Éclatante lumiÈre rÉpandue par les lettres sur le monde moderne, rentrÉ dans la grande voie de la tradition?’—Renaissance et RÉforme, i. 63-4.

60 Erasmus was by nature extremely timid, ‘animo pusillo,’ as he describes himself to Colet (Ep. xli.). When writing to George Halluin he seems delighted at his having translated the ??????? ????a?, but he was by no means willing to stand the odium which arose on the publication of his satire in French. He shifts the responsibility entirely on to his friend. No doubt he thought that the shoulders of the Seigneur of Comines were broader than his own. (See Ep. cclxxxiv. to Abbot Antony de Berges.) ‘Post hÆec accepi a nonnullis, quod me vehementer commovit, te mihi nescio quid subirasci, opinor ob Moriam, quam vir clarissimus Georgius Haloinus, me dehortante ac deterrente, fecit Gallicam, hoc est, ex meÂ suam fecit, additis detractis et mutatis quÆ voluit.’ December 13, 1517.

61 See Appendix. Legitimation of Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq. The Patent is dated November 24, 1540. It is interesting to know that just before that date Charles had been making a progress throughout the neighbourhood of Bousbecque. He was at Ghent November 1, at Oudenarde on the 2nd, at Courtrai on the 3rd, at Tournai on the 5th, at Lille on the 7th, and at Ypres on the 9th. (Journal des Voyages de Charles Quint. Par J. de Vandenesse.) Probably Ogier’s father took advantage of the opportunity to procure from the Emperor the grant of Legitimation.

62 One of the most remarkable applications of this theory is with regard to the military art. Busbecq wrote a treatise on the Art of Warfare against the Turks. In it he constantly quotes as his authorities the great captains of Greece and Rome; some may smile on reading his work, and imagine that the tactics of CÆsar and Alexander are out of place in the days of gunpowder and cannon balls, but the following passage will show how one of his countrymen successfully followed out the principle, which he may possibly have taken in the first instance from Busbecq’s work. ‘Lewis William of Nassau had felt that the old military art was dying out, and that there was nothing to take its place. He had revived in the swamps of Friesland the old manoeuvres, the quickness of wheeling, the strengthening, without breaking the ranks or columns, by which the ancient Romans had performed so much excellent work in their day, and which seemed to have passed entirely into oblivion. Old colonels and ritt-masters, who had never heard of Leo the Thracian or the Macedonian phalanx, smiled and shrugged their shoulders ... but there came a day when they did not laugh, neither friends nor enemies.’—Motley, United Netherlands, iii. 4; see also United Netherlands, iv. 34.

63 His contemporary, L. Guicciardini, says of him in his book, published 1567, ‘Il est homme sage et prudent: a cause dequoy il ha este envoyÉ plusieurs fois ambassadeur par les Princes en divers endroicts, pour tres-grans affaires et mesmes par l’Empereur Fernand, a Soliman Empereur des Turcs, ou il traicta, par l’espace de huict ans continuels les affaires de la ChrestientÉ, avec telle fidelitÉ et loyautÉ que outre le grÉ qu’il acquit empres de son Seigneur, fut surnommÉ par les Turcs mesmes, Homme de bien.’—Description de tout le PaÏs bas, p. 311.

64 On his way to Constantinople some of his escort complained of his servants not paying proper respect to paper—an unpardonable offence in the eyes of a Turk. Another might have argued the question, but Busbecq thoroughly appreciated the men he was dealing with. He tacitly admitted the heinousness of the offence; ‘but,’ added he, ‘what can you expect of fellows who eat pork?’ This argument was in their eyes unanswerable.

65 Roostem once sent a fine melon to Busbecq, telling him that there was plenty of such fruit at Belgrade; the melon was supposed to represent a cannon-ball, and the message was tantamount to a threat of war. Busbecq thanked him warmly for his present, and at the same time took the opportunity of observing that the Belgrade melons were very small compared to those produced at Vienna!

66 Don Pedro Lasso de Castilla was grandson of Don Pedro de Castilla, who claimed to be descended from an illegitimate son of Pedro the Cruel, King of Castile. The grandfather married Catalina Lasso, and was living at Madrid in 1494. His son, Don Pedro Lasso de Castilla, married a lady of the noble family of Haro, and three of their children were in the service of Ferdinand and his son. Francisco was Mayor-domo Mayor of Maria the wife of the Emperor Maximilian, and accompanied his daughter, Anne of Austria, to Spain in 1570. Diego was at one time Ferdinand’s ambassador at Rome, while Pedro served Ferdinand from his childhood, and accompanied him to Germany, when he left Spain after the death of his grandfather Ferdinand. He became his Master of Horse, and governor to his son Maximilian, in whose household he subsequently held the post of Mayor-domo Mayor. He was created a Knight of the Order of Santiago, at Brussels, by a Patent dated March 26, 1549. (See Quintana, Historia de Madrid.) This account has been given at greater length because it has been frequently stated that Busbecq’s chief was Pierre Lasso, a native of Lille; we can find no trace of any such person.

On the other hand, Ferdinand’s ambassador is frequently spoken of in the Calendar of State Papers of the reign of Mary (vol. ii. pp. 78, 90, 94, &c.), as Don Pedro Lasso de Castella (Castilla). See also Viage de Felipe Segundo Á Inglaterra by MuÑoz. This rare work, written by a contemporary, was republished at Madrid 1877, under the supervision of Don Pascual de Gayangos, to whose kindness we are indebted for the reference.

67 See Calendar of State Papers of the reign of Mary, vol. ii. p. 90.

68 See page 75.

69 This letter is dated Dover, October 6, 1554. See Calendar of State Papers of the reign of Mary, vol. ii. p. 125.

70 See Appendix. Sketch of Hungarian History; see also Itineraries.

71 See Sketch of Hungarian History.

72 Compare the pardon of Jean Dael in the Appendix with the story of the Greek steward and the snails, page 122.

73 L. Guicciardini says of the Netherlanders, ‘La pluspart des gens ont quelque commencement de Grammaire, et presque tous, voire jusques au villageois, sÇavent lire et escrire.’—Description de tout le PaÏs bas, p. 34.

74 Quacquelben means fowler, or bird trapper; the name is still common at Courtrai.

75 We take this opportunity of explaining how it comes to pass, that in this Life of Busbecq, in which so much space is assigned to an account of his relations, so small a portion comparatively is devoted to the man himself. Busbecq’s letters are to a great extent an autobiography. It would be impossible to anticipate their contents without robbing them of their freshness.

76 See Appendix Itineraries.

77 He was Ambassador for the two Queens, i.e., Mary Queen of Hungary and Leonora Queen of Portugal and France, sisters of Charles V. and Ferdinand, who after their widowhood lived together in the Netherlands till the abdication of Charles V., when they accompanied their brother to Spain.

78 Ecuyer (escuier) trenchant. The first of these words supplies the derivations for two English titles (1) squire, (2) sewer; the first being the equivalent of Écuyer, and the second of Écuyer trenchant. The office of sewer (Écuyer trenchant) is alluded to by Milton, Paradise Lost, ix., where the poet speaks of

Marshall’d feast

Served up in hall by sewers and seneschals.

‘Here,’ says Todd in his note, ‘is an allusion to the magnificence of elder days; the marshal of the hall, the sewer and the seneschal having been officers of distinction in the houses of princes and great men. From Minshew’s Guide into Tongues it appears that the marshal placed the guests according to their rank, and saw they were properly arranged, the sewer marched in before the meats and arranged them on the table, and the seneschal was the household steward, a name of frequent occurrence in old law books, and so in French “le grand Seneschal de France,” synonymous with our “Lord High Steward of the King’s household.”’ Busbecq himself held the offices of sewer and seneschal. See Appendix, Sauvegarde &c., where Parma gives him the title of ‘Grand maistre d’hostel de la Royne Isabelle.’

79 See page 9.

80 See Lipsius’ Letters, Centuria i. 5: ‘Prandium mihi hodie apud heroem nostrum (non enim virum dixerim) Busbequium. Post prandium longiusculÆ etiam fabulÆ; sed de litteris ut apud eum solet.’ Vienna, June 13, 1572. It was at Vienna that Lipsius first made Busbecq’s acquaintance (Lipsius, Cent. iii. 87); they afterwards corresponded with each other (Cent. i. 17, 18, 34, 63). Lipsius felt his death deeply, and wrote of him in the strongest terms of affection and regret. (Cent. ii. ad Belgas, 78). The following inscription is from his hand:—

In Augerii Gisleni Busbequii tristem mortem et situm.

Augerius istic est situs Busbequius.
Quis ille? Quem virtutis et prudentiÆ,
HabuÊre carum, gratiÂ, ipsi CÆsares.
Hunc aula eorum vidit, aula et extera
AsiÆ Tyranni. QuÆ viri felicitas!
Probavit hÆc et illa: in omni tempore,
In munere omni, Nestorem se prÆbuit
LinguÂ atque mente. Jam quies eum sibi
Et patria hÆc spondebat; ecce sustulit
Viam per ipsam miles incertum an latro.
Sed sustulit, simulque sidus BelgicÆ,
Quod nunc choreas fulget inter astricas.
Justus Lipsius magno amico exiguum
monumentum P.

81 Busbecq’s letters to Maximilian appear to have altogether escaped the notice of historians and biographers. They are printed only in one rare book, Howaert’s second edition of Busbecq’s letters from France, 1632. In the same edition are to be found five more letters to Rodolph, written during the wars of the League. It seems impossible to suppose that Motley knew of them, for they contain some of those striking details which the historian of the Netherlands would certainly have appropriated—for example, the chain shot, the musket balls joined together with copper wire, and the fences of rope, with which Parma prepared to encounter the cavalry of Henry of Navarre.

82 It is impossible to regard Motley as fair in his treatment of Matthias. The historian of the Netherlands evidently considers that he holds a brief for William of Orange; if the great patriot fails to act wisely and rightly, some justification must be made out! Matthias accordingly is treated as a meddlesome interloper, for venturing to accept the invitation of a large body of the leading men of the Netherlands—amongst whom were some of Orange’s friends—to come amongst them as their governor. And yet Matthias was a descendant of their last native sovereign, Mary of Burgundy, and brother of the head of that Empire of which the Low Countries formed part. Motley cannot call in question his courage, his humanity, or his honourable conduct, but he damns him with faint praise, dismissing him with these words: ‘It is something in favour of Matthias that he had not been base, or cruel, or treacherous.’—Rise of the Dutch Republic, part vi. chap. 4.

83 See Fourth Turkish Letter.

84 The deed by which this transfer was effected is dated December 18, 1587. It will be found in the Appendix.

85 No doubt the garden was such as Erasmus loved. See Nisard: ‘Au sortir de table, on va s’asseoir dans le jardin, au milieu des fleurs ÉtiquetÉes, portant des inscriptions qui indiquent leurs noms et leurs qualitÉs mÉdicinales.’—Renaissance et RÉforme, i. 60.

86 Elizabeth of Austria having died January 22, 1592, Busbecq’s duties as her seneschal had come to an end, but he was still acting as Rodolph’s representative. It is probable that he took his holiday as soon as he had wound up the affairs of his late mistress.

87 Large sums were paid on this occasion; the accounts are still preserved among the archives of Bousbecque.

88 The word used by Busbecq is ‘iter,’ the best equivalent to which in English is perhaps ‘itinerary.’ This first letter was originally published by itself as an itinerary, under the title Itinera Constantinopolitanum et Amasianum. The writing of itineraries, which were generally in Latin Verse, was a special feature among the students of Busbecq’s days; for an account of them, see Appendix Itineraries.

89 These letters were written to Nicolas Michault. See page 58.

90 The wedding took place at Winchester, July 25, 1554. The ambassador was Don Pedro Lasso de Castilla, a Spaniard, who held a high post in Ferdinand’s household. ‘Ajour d’huy (June 26, 1554) sont arrivez en ceste ville (London) dom Pietro Lasso et dom Hernando Gamboa, ambassadeurs de la part des roys des Romains et de Bohesme, lesquelz ont estÉ saluez de l’artillerie de la Tour, ce quel’on a trouvÉ fort estrange comme fabveur qui ne fust oncques faicte À aultres ambassadeurs.’—Noailles, iii. 262. See also p. 52.

91 The Busbecq family had a magnificent hotel at Lille; his grandmother, Agnes Gommer, had lived there after the death of her husband, and his aunt, Marie Ghiselin, was probably living there at this time.

92 Veltwick (Velduvic) went as ambassador to Constantinople A.D. 1545. An account of his embassy is given in the Iter of Hugo Favolius. See Appendix Itineraries.

93 For an explanation of these transactions, see Sketch of Hungarian History.

94 Here and elsewhere Busbecq calls Ferdinand ‘CÆsar.’ He was not Emperor till 1558, but the title of CÆsar belonged to him as King of the Romans; so also at the end of the Fourth Turkish Letter Maximilian is spoken of as ‘CÆsar’ on his election as King of the Romans.

95 Busbecq’s miles are German Stunden, each equal to about 2-1/2 English miles.

96 Busbecq’s explanation is correct. The word may possibly be a corruption of the Latin signum. It is now applied to the district which was formerly governed by a Sanjak-bey, i.e., Lord of the standard. Busbecq writes the word Singiaccus, Von Hammer uses the form Sandjak, while Creasy prefers Sanjak.

97 See Creasy, History of the Ottoman Turks, chap. ii.: ‘The name of Yeni Tscheri, which means “new troops,” and which European writers have turned into Janissaries, was given to Orchan’s young corps by the Dervish Hadji Beytarch. This Dervish was renowned for sanctity; and Orchan, soon after he had enrolled his first band of involuntary boyish proselytes, led them to the dwelling-place of the saint, and asked him to give them his blessing and a name. The Dervish drew the sleeve of his mantle over the head of one in the first rank, and then said to the Sultan, “The troops which thou hast created shall be called Yeni Tscheri. Their faces shall be white and shining, their right arms shall be strong, their sabres shall be keen, and their arrows sharp. They shall be fortunate in fight, and shall never leave the battle field save as conquerors.” In memory of that benediction the Janissaries ever wore as part of their uniform a cap of white felt like that of the Dervish, with a strip of woollen hanging down behind, to represent the sleeve of the holy man’s mantle, that had been laid on their comrade’s neck.’ See also Gibbon, chap. lxiv.

98 At Mohacz, A.D. 1526. See Sketch of Hungarian History.

99 The Princes of Servia were styled Despots in Greek, and Cral in their native idiom. See Gibbon, chap. lxiii. note.

100 ‘A little below Orsova the Danube issues from the Iron Gate, and at a village called Severin, where it expands to a width of 1,300 yards, the foundations of the piers, corresponding in number with the statement of the historian, have been seen when the water was more than usually low. Here, then, as is now generally agreed, stood the bridge of Trajan’s architect, Apollodorus.’—Merivale, History of the Romans, chap. lxiii.

101 Galen, the great physician, who flourished in the second century of our era. Busbecq’s allusion to him is quite in accordance with the fashion of his day. See Ranke’s Civil Wars and Monarchy in France, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, chap. xix. ‘Peter de la RamÉe wished to forsake in all things the path hitherto trodden, to alter the entire system of doctors and professors in the university, and to make the works of the ancients the immediate text-books of the different branches of study,—the codex of the civil law in jurisprudence, Galen and Hippocrates in medicine, and in theology the Old and New Testaments.... Physicians arose who brought into practice once more the deserted rules of Hippocrates; and it soon went so far, as Ambrose ParÉ, the reformer of surgery, said, that people were not content with what they found in the ancients, but began to regard their writings as watch-towers, from which more might be discovered.’ For Busbecq’s application of these principles see the Life.

102 An ‘aspre’ or ‘asper’ is still the lowest coin in Turkey. At the present rate of exchange a penny is worth nearly 100 aspres, but in Busbecq’s time the Turkish coinage had a considerably higher value.

103 See Ranke’s Civil Wars and Monarchy in France, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, chap. xiv. ‘As he (the Prince of CondÉ) had distinguished himself by his bravery in the field, he now desired to shine through his versatility, by taking part in the knightly festivities of the court, in which it was the fashion to represent the heroic fables of the Greeks.’ It would seem that it was the fashion in high circles to appear on certain occasions in the dress and character of Greek heroes and heroines.

104 John Cantacuzenus became Emperor 1341, and abdicated 1354. His son Matthew was associated with him. His descendants have given many princes to Moldavia and Wallachia. The PalÆologi held the Empire 1282-1453 (see Gibbon, chap. lxii., and following chapters). Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, when banished from his kingdom became a schoolmaster at Corinth.

105 See Freeman’s Essays, Series iii. p. 418. ‘The Bulgarian land on the Volga—Great Bulgaria—kept its name long after the New or Black Bulgaria arose on the Danube. It remained Turanian; it became Mahometan; it flourished as a Mahometan state, till in the 15th century, it yielded to the advance of Russia, and gave the Russian Czar one of his endless titles.’ Mr. Freeman here quotes ? p??a? ?a?????? e???? ?????a??a from Theophanes. This is an oversight, the words are not taken from Theophanes, though he uses a similar expression, but from Nicephorus of Constantinople.

106 Baldwin, tenth Count of Flanders, was elected Emperor 1204, and taken captive by Bulgarians 1205. He died a prisoner, but that he was put to death is by no means certain. He was succeeded by his son Baldwin, eleventh Count and second Emperor of that name. See Gibbon, chap. lxi. Busbecq would naturally take great interest in the Sovereign of his ancestors.

107 The Rascians and Servians were distinct tribes in Busbecq’s time and long afterwards; see page 165, where he notices that at Semendria the Servians leave off and the Rascians begin; they are now both included under the name of Servians.

108 This pass is commonly known as ‘Trajan’s Gate,’ or the ‘pass of Ichtiman.’ It is a point on the frontier between Bulgaria and East Roumelia.

109 For an account of Selim, who at last succeeded in dethroning his father, see Creasy, History of the Ottoman Turks, chap. vii., and Von Hammer, book xxi. He was father of the Sultan to whose court Busbecq was accredited. His successful rebellion against his father has an important bearing on the events of which Busbecq was about to be a spectator.

110 Buyuk TchekmedjÉ and Kutchuk TchekmedjÉ. The bridges were constructed by Solyman.

111 Of the two women mentioned here, one is called Bosphorana by Busbecq and the other Roxolana. Bosphorana means a native of the kingdom of the Bosphorus—not the Thracian Bosphorus near Constantinople, but the Cimmerian Bosphorus, now called the straits of Caffa—which included the Crimea and the Caucasus. Roxolana means Russian; she was always spoken of by contemporaneous Venetian ambassadors as ‘la Rossa,’ and Creasy in a note (p. 182), says that ‘La Rossa’ was euphonised into Roxolana; the mistake is obvious, for Roxolana is the classical equivalent for a Russian woman (see Smith’s Classical Dictionary, s.v. Roxolani), and it is to Busbecq that she owes the name by which she has become famous. Her real name was Khourrem, i.e., ‘the joyous one.’ See Von Hammer, book xxxi. vol. v. p. 538. A curious story is told of how Roxolana prevailed on Solyman to make her his wife. Having borne a son to the Sultan, she became entitled, according to the Mahometan law to her freedom; this she claimed, and then refused to allow Solyman the rights of a husband unless he married her. She cleverly pointed out to the Sultan, that though she had lived with him as a slave without the bond of marriage, as a free woman she could not feel justified in doing so any longer. Solyman, as Busbecq’s letters will show, was the very man to be influenced by such an argument, and being unwilling to give her up, he consented to her taking the position of a lawful wife.

112 See Creasy, Ottoman Turks, chap. iii., Von Hammer, book vii., and Gibbon, chap. lxv. Tamerlane is a corruption of Timour lenk, i.e., Timour the lame.

113 During the Russo-Turkish war, 1877-8, a paragraph appeared in a paper published at Constantinople, professing to give an account of Mr. Gladstone, late Prime Minister of England. It described him as originally ‘a pig-driver.’ This created great amusement in England, but to the countrymen of Roostem there seemed no inherent absurdity in the statement.

114 Busbecq is in error here, for Solyman was encamped at Eregli, in Karamania, about 250 miles from Amasia. Von Hammer takes our author to task for laying the scene at Amasia; but Busbecq nowhere commits himself to this statement.

115 Ghemlik, on the Sea of Marmora, called Prusias by Busbecq. It was originally called Kios, and about B.C. 200, Prusias, King of Bithynia, gave it his own name. See Strabo, 563-4.

116 The legend of Orpheus being torn to pieces by the women of Thrace was a favourite with the ancients. See Virgil, Georgic IV., &c.

117 See Tacitus, Annals, xii. 63. Herodotus, iv. 144.

118 The bronze serpents, which are still on the same site, are three, and not two in number. See Gibbon, chap. xvii., where he describes these serpents, and proves that they form the serpent pillar mentioned by Herodotus, ix. 81; on it was placed the golden tripod, made of part of the spoil taken at the battle of PlatÆa B.C. 479, and dedicated to Apollo. It was removed from Delphi to Constantinople by order of Constantine.

119 ‘The centre of the Forum was occupied by a lofty column, of which a mutilated fragment is now degraded by the appellation of the burnt pillar. This column was erected on a pedestal of white marble 20 feet high, and was composed of ten pieces of porphyry, each of which measured about 10 feet in height and about 33 in circumference. On the summit of the pillar, above 120 feet from the ground, stood the colossal statue of Apollo. It was of bronze, and had been transported either from Athens or a town in Phrygia, and was supposed to be the work of Phidias. The artist had represented the god of day, or, as it was afterwards interpreted, the Emperor Constantine himself, with a sceptre in his right hand, the globe of the world in his left, and a crown of rays glittering on his head.’ Gibbon, chap. xvii.

120 A similar story is told of the obelisk in front of St. Peter’s at Rome.

121 The battle of Tschaldiran, August 23, A.D. 1514. See Creasy, History of the Ottoman Turks, chap. viii.; Von Hammer, book xxii.

122 Busbecq is alluding to the then recent conquests of Mexico and Peru. When he penned these lines only thirty-four years had elapsed since Cortez conquered Mexico, and twenty-four since Pizarro made himself master of the kingdom of the Incas; the tide of adventurers was still pouring into those unhappy lands.

123 Busbecq is evidently referring to the exploits of his countrymen in the days of the Crusades. ‘At the same time’ (A.D. 1200), says Gibbon (chap. lx.), ‘Baldwin, Count of Flanders, assumed the Cross at Bruges, with his brother Henry, and the principal knights and citizens of that rich and industrious province.’ See also page 105.

124 Properly, the name of the islet at Alexandria on which the lighthouse stood; hence the name was given to any lighthouse.

125 A Dalmatian fortress captured by the Spaniards in the autumn of A.D. 1538, and recaptured by the Turks in the following August. Von Hammer, book xxix.

126 ‘The straits of the Bosphorus are terminated by the Cyanean rocks, which, according to the description of the poets, had once floated on the face of the waters. The deception was occasioned by several pointed rocks alternately covered and abandoned by the waves. At present there are two small islands, one towards either shore; that of Europe is distinguished by the pillar of Pompey.’ Gibbon, chap. xvii.

127 P. Gilles (or Gyllius) was born at Albi in 1490. He was sent by Francis I. to the Levant; the remittances he expected having miscarried, he was obliged to enlist in Solyman’s army and served against the Persians. In 1549 he received money from his friends, with which he purchased his discharge. He returned home in 1550, and died at Rome in 1555, the year that Busbecq wrote this letter. Besides other works he published three books on the Thracian Bosphorus, and four on the Topography and Antiquities of Constantinople. Gibbon quotes him frequently, and speaks of his learning with great respect.

128 This passage appears to be founded on a mistranslation of Herodotus, iii. 104.

129 ‘In the deep gullies and broad plateaus of Angora is bred the finest species of the mohair goat; its long silky and lustrous fleece is the principal export of the country, so much so that it is a common saying that “mohair is the soul of Angora,” without which it would have become a desert long ago. The mohair is forwarded on mule and camel back (in its raw state) to Constantinople, and thence, per steamer, to Liverpool; it all finds its way to Bradford to be manufactured. The export in this article alone was valued at 462,550l. for the year 1877, and in years of greater prosperity and higher values, this amount has been nearly doubled.’ Extract from the letter of the correspondent to the Standard newspaper, dated, Angora, October 1, 1878.

130 The province of Angora occupies almost the same area as the ancient Galatia.

131 See Herodotus, iii. 113. These sheep are very common in Asia and Africa. Great numbers are to be found at the Cape of Good Hope, whence they are called ‘Cape sheep.’

132 Pierre Belon (Bellonus) was a contemporary of Busbecq’s, having been born about 1518. He travelled in Greece, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Palestine, and Asia Minor. By profession a physician, he devoted himself to the pursuit of Natural Science. He published several books, and is generally considered to have been the founder of the science of Comparative Anatomy. Busbecq corrects Belon, but his own account of the hyena is wrong. It has vertebrÆ in the neck, and also an array of teeth. If he had been able to procure a specimen we should have had an accurate description. The Sultana, therefore, is indirectly responsible for the errors.

133 The KanÛns formed a kind of Domesday Book, drawn up by the direction of Solyman, who thence received the name of Solyman KanÛni.

134 A full account of the inscription is to be found in Merivale’s History of the Romans, chap. xxxviii. ‘Augustus employed the next few months in compiling a succinct memorial of his public acts to be preserved in the archives of the state, a truly imperial work, and probably unique of its kind. The archives of Rome have long mouldered in the dust, but a ruined wall in a remote corner of her empire, engraved with this precious document, has been faithful to its trust for eighteen hundred years, and still presents us with one of the most curious records of antiquity. The inscription, which may still be read in the portico of a temple at Ancyra, attests the energy, sagacity, and fortune of the second CÆsar in a detailed register of all his public undertakings through a period of fifty-eight years,’ &c. In a note Dr. Merivale states that it was first copied by Busbecq in 1544. This is incorrect; Busbecq had it copied by his servants, and the date should be 1555.

135 ‘Reges amici atque socii, et singuli in suo quisque regno, CÆsareas urbes condiderunt; et cuncti simul Ædem Jovis Olympii, Athenis antiquitus inchoatam, perficere communi sumptu destinaverunt, genioque ejus dedicare.’—Suetonius, Octavius, chap. lx. Augustus directed a decree granting especial privileges to the Jews to be inscribed ?? ?p?s??t?t? t?p? ?e?????t? ?? ?p? t?? ?????? t?? ?s?a? ?? ??????.—Josephus, Antiquities, xvi. 6.

136 Menin (near Bousbecque) and its neighbourhood were famous for their capons. See L. Guicciardini, Description de tout le PaÏs bas, p. 311.

137 There are different versions of this story, see Von Hammer, book v. and Gibbon, chap. lxiv. Creasy says that Amurath was killed by a Servian noble, Milosch Kabilovitsch. Being mortally wounded, Amurath died in the act of sentencing Lazarus, Despot or Cral of Servia, to death.

138 The permanent corps of paid cavalry in the Turkish army was divided into four squadrons, organised like those which the Caliph Omar instituted for the guard of the Sacred Standard. The whole corps at first consisted of only 2,400 horsemen, but under Solyman the Great (Busbecq’s Sultan), the number was raised to 4,000. They marched on the right and left of the Sultan, they camped round his tent at night, and were his bodyguard in battle. One of these regiments of Royal Horseguards was called the Turkish Spahis, a term applied to cavalry soldiers generally, but also specially denoting these select horseguards. Another regiment was called the Silihdars, meaning ‘the vassal cavalry.’ A third was called the Ouloufedgis, meaning ‘the paid horsemen,’ and the fourth was called the Ghourebas, meaning ‘the foreign horse.’ See Creasy, History of the Ottoman Turks, chap. ii.

139 Evelyn, who no doubt took the hint from Busbecq, induced Charles II. to adopt the Eastern dress. Diary, p. 324.

140 See page 102 and note 1.

141 See Creasy, History of the Ottoman Turks, chap. viii.: ‘The schism of the Sunnites and the Schiis (the first of whom acknowledge, and the last of whom repudiate the three immediate successors of the Prophet, the Caliphs Abubeker, Omar, and Othman) had distracted the Ottoman world from the earliest times. The Ottoman Turks have been Sunnites. The contrary tenets have prevailed in Persia; and the great founder of the Saffide dynasty in that country, Shah Ismael, was as eminent for his zeal for the Schii tenets, as for his ability in council, and his valour in the field. The doctrine of the Schiis had begun to spread among the subjects of the Sublime Porte before Selim came to the throne; and though the Sultan, the Ulema, and by far the larger portion of the Ottomans, held strictly to the orthodoxy of Sunnism, the Schiis were numerous in every province, and they seemed to be rapidly gaining proselytes. Selim determined to crush heresy at home before he went forth to combat it abroad, and in a deliberate spirit of fanatic cruelty he planned and executed a general slaughter of such of his subjects as were supposed to have fallen away from what their sovereigns considered to be the only true faith.’ This massacre took place in 1513. The Selim here mentioned was the father of Solyman. See Creasy, History of the Ottoman Turks, chap. viii. There was not much to choose between Philip of Spain in the West and Selim in the East! See Motley, Dutch Republic, part iii. chap. 2.

142 Scordium, or water germander, is mentioned in Salmon’s Herbal as a sudorific, &c.; he notices that it has a smell of garlic, and that it is a specific against ‘measles, small-pox, and also the plague or pestilence itself.’ The plague is a form of blood poisoning; a medical friend whom we consulted considered that the symptoms indicated only a mild form of the disease; he also entirely approved of the physician’s treatment of the case.

143 See note page 254.

144 An electuary is a medicine of a pasty consistence composed of various ingredients. The one mentioned in the text was invented by the celebrated physician Frascatorius. It contained scordium, from which its name is derived. The prescription for it may be found in Larousse’s Dictionnaire Universel, vii. 3117. Evelyn went to see the severall ‘drougs for the confection of Treacle, Diascordium, and other electuaries.’—Diary, p. 262.

145 See Sketch of Hungarian History.

146 See Sketch of Hungarian History.

147 See page 90.

148 Rakos is the name of a plain near Pesth; the greater extraordinary Hungarian Diet used to assemble on this plain after the manner of the Polish Diet which met near Warsaw. The Turks continued to use the place for mustering their militia.

149 The Emperor Claudius was murdered by his wife Agrippina, who gave him poison in a dish of mushrooms. Tacitus, Annals, xii. 67.

150 In all the Latin editions of Busbecq the date is given as September 1, 1554. This is manifestly wrong, as may be shown by internal evidence, as for example the date of the marriage of Philip and Mary, July 25, 1554. Busbecq was present at this marriage, and was not summoned to Vienna till November 3, 1554, see page 77. He must, therefore, have returned in 1555.

151 At Augsburg.

152 See page 190.

153 See Sketch of Hungarian History.

154 Roxolana, see note, page 111.

155 I.e., the modern Bulgaria.

156 See page 115.

157 I.e., the Crimea and adjacent countries, the birthplace of Mustapha’s mother, see page 111.

158 The Turkish historians do not mention Bajazet’s connection with the attempt of the Pseudo-Mustapha. Busbecq’s account, therefore, fills an important gap. Von Hammer would discredit all statements that are not confirmed by Eastern writers, but surely the evidence of the Austrian Ambassador deserves as much consideration as that of Ottoman Ali. See note 1, page 264.

159 All the Latin editions have July 14, 1555. See note, page 173.

160 ‘The regular answer of the ancient Sultans, when requested to receive an embassy, was, “The Sublime Porte is open to all.” This, according to the Turkish interpretation, implied a safe conduct in coming, but gave no guarantee about departing.’—Creasy, History of the Ottoman Turks, chap. xviii.

161 ‘The intruding Ottoman himself, different in faith as well as in blood, has more than once declared himself the representative of the Eastern CÆsars, whose dominion he extinguished. Solyman the Magnificent assumed the name of Emperor, and refused it to Charles V.’—Bryce, The Holy Roman Empire, p. 407.

162 Compare Johnson’s Vanity of Human Wishes:—

‘Condemned a needy suppliant to wait,

While ladies interpose and slaves debate.’

163 The great Council of State was named the Divan; and in the absence of the Sultan the Grand Vizier was its president. The other Viziers and the Kadiaskers, or chief judges, took their stations on his right; the Defterdars, or treasurers, and the Nis-chandyis, or secretaries, on his left. The Teskeredyis, or officers charged to present reports on the condition of each department of the State, stood in front of the Grand Vizier. The Divan was also attended by the Reis-Effendi, a general secretary, whose power afterwards became more important than that of the Nis-chandyis, by the Grand Chamberlain, and the Grand Marshal, and a train of other officials of the Court. (Creasy, History of the Ottoman Turks, chap. vi.)

164 ‘The Sultan (Bajazet I.) had at this time 7,000 falconers, and as many huntsmen. You may suppose from this the grandeur of his establishments. One day in the presence of the Count de Nevers, he flew a falcon at some eagles; the flight did not please him, and he was so wroth, that, for this fault, he was on the point of beheading 2,000 of his falconers, scolding them exceedingly for want of diligence in their care of his hawks, when the one he was fond of behaved so ill.’—Froissart, iv. 58.

165 The reference is to the Digest or Pandects of Justinian, liber xxxix. titulus 4, De Publicanis et Vectigalibus et Commissis, where ‘BabylonicÆ pelles’ are mentioned in a catalogue of taxable articles.

166 See Homer’s Iliad, iii. 2-6, and compare Milton, Paradise Lost, i. 575:

‘That small infantry

Warred on by cranes.’

167 These stories of the lynx and crane are quoted by Burton in his Anatomy of Melancholy.

168 Gibbon’s reference to this passage is not fair. He says (chap. lxviii. note), ‘Busbequius expatiates with pleasure and applause on the rights of war, and the use of slavery among the ancients and the Turks.’ In the first place Busbecq merely throws out a suggestion, which he would be sorry for his friend to take in sober earnest. Secondly, we must remember the evils existing in Busbecq’s days, which slavery would have remedied; (i.) it was the common practice to put to death all prisoners of war, who could not pay ransom; e.g. see Busbecq’s letter of November 13, 1589, to Rodolph. Slavery in this case would be a mitigation of their fate, (ii.) At that time death or mutilation were the punishments for almost every offence. Busbecq’s project is an anticipation of the more merciful system of modern times which has introduced penal servitude, which is really ‘a just and mild form of slavery.’

169 Shooting with the crossbow has been a custom at Bousbecque from very early times. The village had a guild of crossbowmen in the times of Charles V., which was reconstituted in 1715. A society of the kind still exists there. See Histoire de Bousbecque, p. 170.

170 This passage occurs in the life of Saturninus, who uses it in support of an invective against the Egyptians. The quotation is from a letter of Hadrian’s preserved in the works of his freedman Phlegon. (Vopiscus, in HistoriÆ AugustÆ Scriptores, ii. 719, in the Leyden edition of 1671.) The Egyptians still hatch chickens in ovens, but the heat is supplied by a fire, and not by the hot-bed mentioned in the text. The process is described in Wilkinson’s Ancient Egyptians, ii. 450.

171 Axylos, a woodless tract in Asia Minor, ‘northward of the region of lakes and plains, through which leads the road from Afioum Karahissar to Koniah, a dry and naked region, which extends as far as the Sangarius and Halys.’—Leake, Asia Minor, p. 65.

172 Evelyn narrates how he went to see some Turkish horses captured at the siege of Vienna; he admired their spirit, and says they were, ‘with all this, so gentle and tractable as called to mind what I remember Busbequius speaks of them to the reproch of our groomes in Europe, who bring up their horses so churlishly as makes most of them retain their ill habits.’—Evelyn, Diary, p. 461, Chandos Edition.

173 ‘They were shod with yron made round and closed at the heele with a hole in the middle about as wide as a shilling. The hoofes most intire.’—Evelyn, Diary, p. 462.

174 See note 2, page 299.

175 Cyrus, in his expedition against his brother Artaxerxes, took with him 400 waggons loaded with barley and wine that, in case provisions should be very scarce, he might have the means of supplying the Greeks, who were the flower of his army.—Xenophon, Anabasis, i. 10.

176 The quotation is from Suetonius, Life of Julius CÆsar, chap. 67. Suetonius observes that sometimes CÆsar, after a great victory, relaxed the strict rules of discipline, and allowed his army to abandon themselves to the utmost license, boasting that ‘his soldiers, even if perfumed for a banquet, would fight well.’ The conference with Ariovistus is described in CÆsar de Bello Gallico, i. 43-45, and in Merivale, chap. vii.: ‘Each was attended by a squadron of cavalry of equal numbers. CÆsar had no Roman cavalry, nor could he safely confide in his Gaulish auxiliaries: yet he would not reject the arrangement proposed by his adversary, nor betray any appearance of distrust or dread. He caused a party of Gauls to dismount, and placed upon their horses the infantry of his favourite legion’ (the tenth). The conference was interrupted by the impatience of the German horse, who suddenly assailed the Romans with stones and arrows. See also pages 48 and 49.

177 The Venetian ambassador to the Porte bore the title of Bailo or Baily. This title was probably given to him on account of the protection and jurisdiction he exercised with regard to the persons and goods of all Venetian subjects, who lived and traded in all the factories of the Levant. He, with the ambassadors of the Pope and the Emperor, took precedence of all other ambassadors. On account of the importance of the post, appointments to it were not made by the Senate, but by the Great Council. Marc Antonio Barbaro, the subject of Yriarte’s interesting work, La Vie d’un Patricien de Venise, was appointed to this office in 1568.

178 This story is referred to by Bacon, Essays, XIII.: Of Goodness and Goodness of Nature. ‘The inclination to goodness is imprinted deeply in the nature of man; insomuch that if it issue not towards man, it will take unto other living creatures; as it is seen in the Turks, a cruel people, who nevertheless are kind to beasts, and give alms to dogs and birds; insomuch as Busbechius reporteth, a Christian boy in Constantinople had like to have been stoned for gagging in a waggishness a long-billed fowl.’ Bacon, in his Essays, also alludes to Jehangir, Solyman’s son, to Roxolana, to Selim, and to the fate of Mustapha.

179 Busbecq’s countrywomen enjoyed great liberty. ‘Les femmes, oultre ce qu’elles sont de belle et excellente forme, sont de beau maintien et gracieuses; car elles commencent dÉs leur enfance, selon la coustume du paÏs, À converser librement avec un chacun.’—L. Guicciardini, Description de tout le paÏs bas, p. 38.

180 The festival called by Busbecq the Turkish Easter was that of Bairam. It succeeds Ramazan, the month of abstinence, which he terms their Lent. It lasts three days, and seventy days later is the Kourban Bairam, or Feast of Sacrifice, which lasts four days.

181 See Thirty Years in a Harem for a description of taking off the veil.... It was the conclusion of the marriage, and the Bridegroom made a present to the Bride on the occasion.

182 See note, page 161.

183 See Sketch of Hungarian History.

184 Ten years later Solyman died while besieging this place.

185 See note 1, page 196.

186 See note 1, page 196.

187 The Turks could hardly object to the use of ‘villainous saltpetre’ as by its aid Solyman’s father, Selim I., had been enabled to crush the Mamelukes. See Creasy, History of the Ottoman Turks, chap. viii. After the battle ‘Koort Bey poured forth a brilliant eulogy on the valour of the Mamelukes, and spoke with contempt and abhorrence of guns which, he said, killed so cowardly, and so like an assassin.’

188 Arslan was Sanjak-bey of Stuhlweissenburg and Veli of Hatwan.

189 Compare BrantÔme, Discours sur Duels, vi. p. 151.

190 Of the nations mentioned in this passage the Mingrelians live along the coast from the Turkish frontier to Sukhum Kaleh; the Iberians correspond to the modern Imeritians, while the ancient Albanians lived in what is now the part of Georgia that borders on the Caspian and in Daghestan, the country of the Lesghians. According to Mr. Bryce (Transcaucasia and Ararat, p. 99) the modern Mingrelians correspond to Busbecq’s description of their ancestors. ‘They are the ne’er-do-wells of the Caucasian family. All their neighbours, however contemptible a Western may think them, have a bad word and a kick for the still more contemptible Mingrelian. To believe them, he is lazy, sensual, treacherous and stupid, a liar and a thief. Lazy the Mingrelian certainly is, but in other respects I doubt if he is worse than his neighbours; and he lives in so damp and warm a climate that violent exercise must be disagreeable.’ According to Malte Brun, ‘the Prince of Mingrelia assumes the title of Dadian or Master of the Sea, though he possesses not even a fishing-boat: he generally moves about with his suite from place to place, and his camp is the scene of licentiousness as well as poverty.’ The Caspian Gates mentioned in the text are probably the Dariel Pass. ‘There were three passes, between which boundless confusion has arisen: first, the Dariel, sometimes called the Caucasian, sometimes the Caspian, sometimes the Iberian Gates; second, the pass between the mountains and the sea near Derbend, where is the wall of Gog and Magog, called sometimes the Caucasian, sometimes the Caspian, sometimes the Albanian Gates; third, a pass somewhere on the south coast of the Caspian, which was really visited and fortified by Alexander the Great.’—Bryce, Transcaucasia and Ararat, p. 76.

191 ‘A plant of the millet kind, differing from it in the disposition of the flower and seeds, which grow in a close thick spike. It is sown in parts of Europe as corn for the sustenance of the inhabitants.’—Johnson’s Dictionary.

192 Medea was a Colchian, i.e. Mingrelian.

193 M. GÉnin, in the introduction to his edition of the Song of Roland, the most famous hero of the Carlovingian epic cycle, speaking of the wide-spread popularity of the legend, quotes this passage. He also mentions that Bellonus, or Belon (see note, page 140), states that the Turks preserved at Broussa the sword of Roland, who, they declared, was one of their countrymen. This illustrates what Busbecq in his first letter says of the way in which the Turks identified St. George with one of their own legendary heroes. Godfrey de Bouillon was one of the leaders of the first Crusade, and the first Christian King of Jerusalem.

194 See note, page 229.

195 The chief production cf Lemnos was a red earth called Terra Lemnia, or sigillata, which was employed by the ancient physicians as a remedy for wounds and the bites of serpents, and which is still much valued by the Turks and Greeks for its supposed medicinal virtues. It is dug out of a hill, made into small balls, and stamped with a seal which contains Arabic characters. Mattioli, in his letter to Quacquelben (see note 1, page 415), asks him for information about this earth, and requests him to procure some for him. See also page 416.

196 The reference is to Terence, Heauton timorumenos, 3. 1. 48.

197 This was before March 13, 1559, as Verantius, in a letter of that date, mentions that Hooz, Busbecq’s secretary, had been taken prisoner with his Turkish escort by some Hungarians and brought to Kaschau, and that he had said that Baldi was then on his way back.—Katona, Historia Regum HungariÆ, xxiii. 227.

198 In 1540, Luigi Badoer was sent as ambassador to treat for peace on the basis of the status quo ante bellum, and the payment of 30,000 ducats, but was forbidden in any case to cede Malvasia and Napoli di Romania. Such were the instructions of the Senate, but the Council of Ten gave him in addition secret instructions, empowering him to surrender these places, if he found it impossible to obtain a peace on easier terms. The brothers Cavezza, of whom one was secretary to the Senate, and the other to the Council of Ten, betrayed the secret, probably through a French diplomatist, to the Porte. The consequences are described in the text. See Daru, Histoire de Venise, book xxvi. p. 82, Von Hammer, book xxix., and CharriÈre, NÉgociations de la France dans le Levant, i. 548.

199 See page 79.

200 Some further details as to the intrigues which caused Bajazet’s ruin may be gathered from the history of Ottoman Ali, who had been secretary to Lala Mustapha. The latter was a protÉgÉ of Achmet, the Grand Vizier, and was on that account hated by Roostem, who, knowing he was a friend of Bajazet’s, hoped to ensure his ruin by getting him appointed Governor of Selim’s household. Lala saved himself by betraying his former master. With Selim’s approval he encouraged the unfortunate Prince to attack his brother, and caused some of the Sultan’s messengers to be murdered in such a manner as to make it appear that Bajazet was responsible for the crime, and thus widen the breach between him and his father. It is the evidence of the secretary of this double-dyed traitor that Von Hammer prefers to Busbecq’s. He may have had more information than our writer; the question is, was he as likely to speak the truth? See Von Hammer, book xxxii.

201 See page 189.

202 This was a very serious step. See page 187.

203 See page 188.

204 See page 116.

205 The allusion is to the ancient and famous oracle of Zeus at Dodona in Epirus, which is mentioned in the Iliad and the Odyssey. The god, according to one legend, was said to dwell in an ancient oak tree, and to give oracles by the rustlings of the branches. These ‘talking oaks’ are alluded to by Æschylus in the Prometheus Vinctus, and by Sophocles in the TrachiniÆ. Busbecq’s Latin, ‘A quo in rebus dubiis responsa petuntur,’ is suggested by Virgil’s lines—

‘Hinc ItalÆ gentes omnisque Œnotria tellus
In dubiis responsa petunt.’
Æneid, vii. 85.

206 Koniah was the ancient Iconium.

207 The Arabic word Memlook or Mameluke means a slave. The first caliphs formed their body-guard of slaves, and in the decadence of the caliphate these slaves, like the Roman prÆtorians, played a principal part in the numerous revolutions that occurred. It was in Egypt, however, that the Mamelukes attained their highest power. They were Sovereigns of that country for more than 250 years, from the fall of the dynasty of Eyoub to the Ottoman conquest, and even after that event were the real rulers of Egypt till their massacre in the present century by Mehemet Ali. They were composed of three bodies, the Mamelukes, properly so-called, who were of pure Circassian blood; the Djelbans, who were mostly composed of Abyssinian slaves, and the Korsans, an assembly of mercenaries of all nations. They were governed by twenty-four beys, over whom was a Sultan. Their dominion extended over Egypt and Syria with the holy cities of Mecca and Medina and the adjacent parts of Arabia. Selim I., Solyman’s father, after his victorious campaign against Shah Ismael attacked the Mamelukes, defeated and killed their Sultan, Kausson Ghawri, near Aleppo (Aug. 24, 1516), and, marching into Egypt, defeated Touman Bey, the new Sultan, at Ridania (January 22nd), and added Syria and Egypt to his empire. When in Egypt, he induced the last of the Fatimite caliphs, who had been a puppet in the hands of the Mamelukes, to transfer that dignity to himself and his successors. It is in virtue of this transaction that the present Sultan and his predecessors since the time of Selim have claimed to be the head of the Mahommedan faith throughout the world. See Von Hammer, book xxiv.

208 The Kurds are descended from the Carduchi or GordiÆans of the ancients. (See Xenophon, Anabasis, iv.) They have gradually advanced from their original mountain homes into the plains in the south-east of Armenia and the north of Mesopotamia. They are a warlike race, and much addicted to brigandage.

209 See note, page 108.

210 ‘The most remarkable building in Koniah is the tomb of a saint, highly renowned throughout Turkey, called Haznet Mevlana, the founder of the Mevlevi Dervishes. His sepulchre, which is the object of a Mussulman pilgrimage, is surmounted by a dome, standing upon a cylindrical tower of a bright green colour.’—Leake, Asia Minor, p. 50.

211 May 29, 1559, was the date of the battle.

212 See note 2, page 153.

213 Compare the account of the Turkish horses and equipments seen by Evelyn in 1684:—

‘It was judged by the spectators, among whom was the King, Prince of Denmark, Duke of York, and several of the Court, that there were never seene any horses in these parts to be compar’d with them. Add to all this, the furniture, consisting of embroidery on the saddle, houseings, quiver, bow, arrows, scymetar, sword, mace or battle-axe À la Turcisq, the Bashaw’s velvet mantle furred with the most perfect ermine I ever beheld; all which, yron-worke in common furniture, being here of silver, curiously wrought and double-gilt, to an incredible value. Such and so extraordinary was the embrodery, that I never saw anything approching it. The reins and headstall were of crimson silk, cover’d with chaines of silver gilt. There was also a Turkish royal standard of an horse’s taile, together with all sorts of other caparisons belonging to a general’s horse, by which one may estimate how gallantly and magnificently those infidels appeare in the field, for nothing could be seene more glorious.’—Evelyn, Diary, p. 461.

214 See note, page 87.

215 In Busbecq’s time it was the fashion in Europe to wear clothes with slashes or eyelet-holes. Compare page 155.

216 See note, page 229.

217 See page 101.

218 ‘Cedo alteram,’ the original Latin, is a quotation from Tacitus. (Annals, i. 23).

219 See Sketch of Hungarian History.

220 The Persian dominions were bounded on the east by the country now known as Afghanistan, which then formed part of the empire of the Mogul Emperors, or Padischahs, of Delhi, the second of whom was Humayoum, the father of the famous Akbar. During his life of forty-nine years Humayoum experienced extraordinary changes of fortune, losing his throne, and being obliged, after undergoing the greatest hardships and dangers in his flight through the desert, to take refuge with Shah Tahmasp. Eventually he regained his dominions, and at his death in 1556 was the ruler of Cabul and Candahar, and also of the Punjaub, together with Delhi and Agra and the adjoining parts of India.

221 Shah Ismael was the founder of the dynasty of the Sofis or Saffis, so called from Sheik Suffee-u-deen of Ardebil, a devotee renowned for his sanctity, from whom Shah Ismael was the sixth in descent. His father, Hyder, on the death of his uncle and father-in-law Uzun Hussun, the prince of the dynasty of the White Sheep, invaded Shirwan at the head of a body of partisans. He made his troops wear red turbans, whence, according to one account, comes the name of Kizilbash (Red Heads), by which the Persians were known among the Turks. Hyder was killed in battle, and his sons were thrown into prison, but they afterwards escaped. The eldest was killed in battle, the second died in Ghilan, Ismael, the youngest, in 1499, at the age of fourteen, took the field against the Turkomans, who were then in possession of the greater part of Persia, and in the course of four campaigns succeeded in establishing his authority throughout the country. His family claimed descent from the seventh Imaum, and their great ancestor, Ali, was the special object of their reverence. The very name of Schiah, which means a sectary, and which Ismael’s enemies had given him as a reproach, became a title in which he gloried. When Sultan Selim I. massacred his co-religionists (see note page 161), the natural consequence was a war between Turkey and Persia. The Turkish army advanced through Kurdistan and Azerbijan on Tabriz, which was then the Persian capital. They were much embarrassed by want of provisions, as the Persians retired, laying waste the country in their retreat. A threatened mutiny among the Janissaries was quelled only by Selim’s presence of mind and resolution. Ismael at last abandoned his Fabian tactics, and took up a position in the valley of Tschaldiran, some 30 miles south-east of Bayezid. A bloody and fiercely contested battle (August 23, 1514) ended in the complete victory of Selim, which he owed mainly to his artillery and the firearms of the Janissaries. This success was followed by the occupation of Tabriz, but Selim was obliged by the discontent of his troops to return homewards. The acquisition of Diarbekir and Kurdistan was, however, the result of this campaign. Apart from his defeat by Selim, Ismael reigned with unbroken success till his death in 1523. He was succeeded by his son Shah Tahmasp.—See Malcolm, History of Persia, i. ch. 12.

222 See Sketch of Hungarian History.

223 See note, page 229.

224 ‘The youths among the Christian tribute children most conspicuous for birth, talent, and beauty were admitted into the inferior class of agiamoglans or the more liberal rank of ichoglans, of whom the former were attached to the palace and the latter to the person of the prince.’—Gibbon, ch. lxv. Busbecq, in his Art of War against the Turks, gives an account of the method by which the Turkish army was recruited from the children of Christians. Every year the Sultan sent to his different provinces, and took one out of every three or four of the boys. When they arrived at Constantinople, the handsomest and cleverest were placed in the households of the Sultan and Pashas. Of the rest some were hired out to farmers, &c., and the remainder employed in public works. The former were fed and clothed by their masters, till they grew up, when they were drafted into the ranks of the Janissaries, as vacancies occurred. Those who were placed in the Sultan’s household often rose to the highest offices of the state. The last of these levies of Christian children was made in 1638.—Von Hammer, book xlviii. tome ix. p. 325.

225 In the account of the Shah’s dealings with Bajazet, we have followed the readings given in all the editions prior to the Elzevir. See Appendix, List of Editions.

226 ‘The Persians dwell with rapture on the character of Ismael, deeming him not only the founder of a great dynasty, but the person to whom the faith they glory in owes its establishment as a national religion.’—Malcolm, History of Persia, i. p. 328. On his accession Ismael declared Schiism to be the national religion. See also note 2, p. 299 and note p. 161.

227 For a fuller account of the siege and capture of Gerba or DjerbÉ or Gelves the reader is referred to Prescott’s Philip II., vol. ii. book iv. chap. 1, and Von Hammer, book xxxiii. The Spanish historians cited by Prescott are so conflicting that he defies the reader to reconcile them, but Busbecq’s narrative, as far as it goes, may be considered of the highest authority, as no doubt it was founded on what he heard from his friend Don Alvaro de SandÉ, who commanded the garrison. In the spring of 1559 the Duke of Medina Celi, the Viceroy of Sicily, was ordered to fit out an expedition against Tripoli and its corsairs, to which Tuscany, Rome, Naples, Sicily, Genoa, and Malta furnished contingents. John Andrew Doria, nephew of the great Andrew Doria, commanded the Genoese forces. The fleet consisted of more than 100 sail, including 54 galleys, and had 14,000 troops on board. The armament assembled at Syracuse, from which they sailed in November. They met with such bad weather, however, that they were forced to put into Malta, where they stayed more than two months refitting. So much time had now been lost, that they gave up the attempt on Tripoli as hopeless, and attacked DjerbÉ instead. They took it without much difficulty on March 14, and spent two months there fortifying it, and placed in it a garrison of 5,000 men, commanded by Don Alvaro de SandÉ. As the troops were preparing to re-embark, news was brought of the approach of the Turkish fleet. A council of war was held, in which opinions were divided; but the arrival of the Turkish fleet under the command of PialÉ, which included 86 galleys, each with 100 Janissaries on board, saved them the trouble of deciding (May 14). The Christians were seized with panic. Many of their ships were sunk, and many more surrendered. A few took refuge under the guns of the fortress. The Duke of Medina Celi and Doria were among those who escaped, and they took advantage of the darkness of the following night to fly to Sicily in a frigate. Next morning PialÉ commenced the siege. After a breach had been made, he assaulted the fortress, but was repulsed with great loss, and several other attacks of the Turks met with the same fate. The siege lasted nearly three months, although at the end of six weeks provisions and water had begun to fail. On July 31, 1560, two hours before dawn, Don Alvaro, accompanied by hardly 1,000 men, sallied out and tried to cut his way through, with the intention of seizing a vessel and escaping, but the attempt proved unsuccessful, and the same day the rest of the garrison surrendered. On September 27 the victorious fleet returned to Constantinople, as described in the text. Don Alvaro lived to take ample vengeance for all he had suffered. When the Spaniards raised the siege of Malta in 1565 Don Alvaro, as second in command, again encountered his old opponent PialÉ. The gallant Spaniard was in the thick of the fighting, had a horse killed under him, and was one of those who contributed most to the defeat of the Turks.

228 Chios was first brought under the immediate dominion of the Sultan by PialÉ Pasha in 1566, though it had previously acknowledged his suzerainty and paid tribute. It had been conquered by the Genoese admiral, Simon Vignoso, in 1346. The form of government was so peculiar as to deserve some notice. It is the first example of the territorial administration of a mercantile company of shareholders exercising in a distant country all the duties of a sovereign. Of this form of government the East India Company is the best known specimen. The Genoese treasury in 1346 was so exhausted that the funds for fitting out the twenty-nine galleys of Vignoso’s fleet were raised by private citizens, who subscribed the money in shares. The Republic promised to secure them against all loss, and pledged a portion of its annual revenue to pay the interest. After the conquest of Chios, Vignoso, in virtue of the full powers with which he was invested, established a committee of the subscribers, who administered the Government of Chios, and collected the revenues under the sovereignty of the Republic of Genoa. The contributors had formed themselves into a joint-stock company, according to the established usage at Genoa; and this society or maona assumed the name of the Maona of Scio. The Republic being unable to repay the advances, a convention was concluded between the State and the Maona, by which the shareholders were recognised as the lawful proprietors and administrators of Chios, subject to the terms on which the Greek population had capitulated, for a term of twenty years, during which the Republic reserved the right of resuming possession of the island on repayment of the sum advanced. This, however, the Republic was never able to do, so the arrangement became permanent. The greater part of the shares passed into the hands of the family, or, more correctly speaking, the firm of the Justiniani, and the Joint-Stock Company of Scio was generally called the Maona of the Justiniani. For further details as to the Government of Scio while held by this company, see Finlay, History of Greece, vol. v. ch. ii., from which this note is taken. It must, however, be added that the Government of the company, notwithstanding its defects, was for a long period the least oppressive in the Levant.

229 Petremol, the French chargÉ d’affaires, mentions some Spanish slaves being brought to Constantinople from Chios. The Sultan, it was said, did not intend to keep them in servitude, but wished to see whether Roostem’s contention was true, namely, that PialÉ had stolen all the prisoners of high rank, and had presented to the Sultan, under the names of the different officers, common soldiers who could pay no ransom. CharriÈre, NÉgotiations de la France dans le Levant, ii. 671.

230 Adam von Dietrichstein was born in 1527. He accompanied Maximilian on his journey to Spain, when he went to marry his cousin, the Infanta Maria. In 1561 he was sent by Maximilian to the Pope as ambassador. Maximilian appointed him his High Chamberlain in 1563, and sent him to conduct his sons to Spain as head of their household. Busbecq therefore served under him on this mission (see page 61). About the same time Ferdinand appointed him his ambassador to Spain, and after Ferdinand’s death he remained there as Maximilian’s representative. In this post he had the delicate task of keeping the bigoted Philip and the tolerant Maximilian on friendly terms. In 1573 he escorted the Archdukes home, and was appointed Privy Councillor and Governor of Rodolph’s household. He died in 1590, and was buried at Prague, at the feet of his master Maximilian. He married in 1555 Margaret, daughter of Don Antonio de Cardona.

231 In Wervicq Church, about a mile from Busbecq’s home, stands a life-size figure of a galley-slave, with this inscription: ‘Vrais ChrÉtiens, soyez touchÉs de coeur À faire charitÉ aux esclaves ChrÉtiens.’ The utter, hopeless misery there depicted illustrates the force of this appeal.

232 July 8, 1561.

233 See page 157.

234 One of the Princes’ Islands in the Sea of Marmora, where the British Fleet was stationed during the spring of 1878.

235 We have here a good description of a serious attack of the plague. Compare pages 163-4.

236 Busbecq went there in the beginning of August 1561. He was accompanied by a cavasse, and twenty Janissaries as a guard. CharriÈre, NÉgotiations de la France dans le Levant, ii. 668-9.

237 These references are to Cicero, De NaturÂ Deorum, ii. cap. 48, and De Finibus, iii. cap. 19; Pliny, Natural History, ix. cap. 66, and AthenÆus, iii. p. 93. For descriptions and figures of the pinna and pinnophylax or pea-crab, see Wood’s Natural History, pages 422 and 588. They are frequently found in the shells of bivalves. The real reason for this habit is not certainly known. For an account of Belon, see note, page 140.

238 This passage illustrates the statement in the Life, pages 50, 51.

239 In ancient times, and now in the English Church, the title of Metropolitan (Archbishop) was confined to the chief bishop of a province; but in the Greek Church at the present day the title is given to many ordinary bishops.

240 See pp. 113, 114.

241 After the Spaniards, in 1533, abandoned the fortress of Coron in the Morea, some Greeks, who had taken their part, fled with them to Charles V. Among them was one James Heraclides, whose ancestors had been Despots, or Lords, of Samos and Paros. In his suite was a lad named John Basilicus, the son of a ship-captain in Crete. He took a fancy to the young man, and had him educated, and for some years he worked as a copyist in the Vatican library. On the death of his patron, John persuaded his household to acknowledge him as the nephew of their deceased master by allowing them to take possession of the property left by him, only keeping for himself all the diplomas, title-deeds and other documents he could find. Many years afterwards he repaired to Charles V. in his retirement at Yuste, and obtained from him an acknowledgment that he was nephew and heir of Heraclides, and as such was recognised by him as Despot of Samos and Paros. Charles V. also acknowledged the good service he had done while in the Albanian light cavalry attached to the Spanish army, and according to some accounts gave him the right of conferring the degree of Doctor and creating Notaries and Poet-Laureates. Armed with these credentials he repaired to Wittenberg, where he became acquainted with Melancthon, published an historical work in Latin, and with the Emperor’s consent exercised his powers by creating some Poet-Laureates. At Lubeck he assumed the character of a prince banished by the Turks, and thence repaired to the courts of Denmark and Sweden, and next went by Dantzic to Albert of Brandenberg, the first Duke of Prussia. He then visited Nicholas Radzivill at Wilna, who introduced him to Sigismund, King of Poland. To gain Radzivill’s favour he professed himself a Protestant. In Poland he heard of the disturbed state of Moldavia, and found that the wife of the Hospodar Alexander was a kinswoman of his pretended uncle. Armed with letters of recommendation from Radzivill and the King, he entered Moldavia, assumed the name of James Heraclides, and on the strength of a forged pedigree, passed himself off as a descendant of the ancient Moldavian dynasty of that name. He applied himself to learn the language and to gain the affections of the nobles. Thereon Alexander, who at first had received him well, tried to poison him, but he escaped to Upper Hungary; here he obtained the assistance of Albert Laszky and would have invaded Moldavia through Ruthenia, if the Palatine had not stopped him by the King of Poland’s orders. He then retired to Kaschau, where he gained the confidence of Busbecq’s old colleague Zay, then Governor of Upper Hungary. Having come to an understanding between themselves, they wrote to Ferdinand, who entered into a secret agreement to assist Basilicus with money, and allow him to levy troops in his dominions. To lull the suspicions of Alexander, a report of Basilicus’s death was circulated, and his funeral was actually performed by Laszky at Kesmark, the capital of the County of Zips. His second invasion proved more successful. In November, 1561, he defeated Alexander near Suczawa, who fled to Jassy, and thence to Constantinople. There he endeavoured to prejudice the Sultan against him, and spread reports that he was about to invade Thrace with his German mercenaries. Though Solyman was much annoyed at these events, and had commenced to assemble an army to attack the Despot, yet he deemed it wiser to dissemble his vexation, and, yielding to the representations of the Despot’s envoys, which were supported by a judicious administration of bribes, he conferred on him the vacant dignity. The Despot, however, soon made himself unpopular by raising the taxes, which he was obliged to do in order to provide the increased tribute he had agreed to pay, Alexander having carried off all the money in the treasury. Moreover, to save expense he dismissed his German and Italian troops, retaining only Hungarians. The priests and common people were alienated by his religious innovations, especially as they could not refute his arguments, ‘having learnt to worship God with more zeal than knowledge.’ He declared his intention of abolishing vain ceremonies and false doctrines, and introduced Calvinist preachers from Poland, who ridiculed the mass-books, expressed their abhorrence of all ceremonies, destroyed images, and, in the words of the episcopal historian, had the arrogance to affirm that their doctrines agreed with the testimony of the Scriptures. He began to plunder the churches of their treasures, plate, &c., which made the priests fear their turn would come next. His crowning act of sacrilege was to melt down certain silver crosses, venerable both from their age and the relics they contained, and to coin them into pieces bearing his image and superscription. The nobles were further estranged by his projected marriage with the beautiful Christina, daughter of Martin Zborowski, Castellan of Cracow, a man of great influence in Poland, and the leader of the Protestant party. Accordingly, they conspired against him, treacherously surprised and killed most of his foreign guards, his other partisans, and his infant child, and besieged him in Suczawa. After three months his Hungarian troops mutinied and surrendered the fortress, and he was cruelly murdered by Tomza, the leader of the conspirators.

242 See note, page 226.

243 The farewell audience took place on the Tuesday before September, 10, 1559. Apparently, however, it was on June 6 that Lavigne procured the release of the prisoners. The Baily, Marini di Cavallo, was much annoyed at the favour, which had been refused to his entreaties and bribes, being granted to Lavigne. ‘Et il ne s’est peu tenir, tout saige et cavallo qu’il est, de se faire cognoistre fol et asino: car usant de paroles magnifiques et de ceste bonne crÉance de Realto contre moy, au lieu de me louer et vous faire remercier par sa seigneurie d’une si bonne oeuvre qu’il n’eust jamais sceu mectre À fin, soubz main il a taschÉ de faire dresser les commandements desdits pellerins en son nom, et de corrompre l’ambassadeur du roy des Romains (Busbecq) affin qu’il escripvit À l’empÉreur que c’estoit À la requeste de ladicte seigneurie qu’ils avoient estÉ dÉliverez.’—CharriÈre, NÉgociations &c., ii. 584.

244 It is curious to find that some Goths still existed in the Crimea so late as Busbecq’s days. They occupied the south coast from Balaklava to Sudak, and the mountains north of the latter, and the Genoese officer who governed this coast in the fifteenth century, bore the title of Capitanus GotiÆ. They are mentioned by the monk Rubruquis, who was sent in 1253 by Saint Louis to the Great Khan, and also by Marco Polo, (book iv. c. 24, Yule’s edition, ii. p. 421 and note). The traveller Pallas, at the end of the last century, could find no traces of them or of their language, so that he thinks (Travels, vol. ii. p. 358), that Busbecq’s belief in their existence must have arisen from some German, Swedish, or other captives being found in the Crimea. Busbecq, however, is not the only writer who notices these Goths, and it is not difficult to understand that the tribe may have disappeared before the time of Pallas in the numerous wars which devastated the Crimea. The ruins of Mancup still remain, four leagues south of Simferopol, and nearly due east of Sebastopol. It is an almost inaccessible fortress, on a high isolated rock. Pallas describes the ruins of it in the second volume of his Travels. One of Gibbon’s numerous references to Busbecq is found in a note to Chapter xl., where he alludes to ‘these unambitious Goths.’

245 The Flemish is not given by Busbecq, but has been taken by the translators from an article on Busbecq in Les Voyageurs Belges, ii. p. 30, by the Baron de Saint-GÉnois,

246 This is a mistake on Busbecq’s part. The first German immigrants came to Transylvania at the invitation of Geisa II., king of Hungary, in the times of Conrad III. and Frederick Barbarossa, i.e., about the middle of the twelfth century. Most of them came from the Lower Rhine. They still form distinct communities, marrying only among themselves, and are known as Saxons.

247 See note 1, page 415.

248 A similar legend is told of St. Raymond, a Spanish saint, who lived in the thirteenth century. He was confessor to Don James, King of Aragon. In the words of Mrs. Jameson (Legends of the Monastic Orders, p. 421), ‘the latter’ (the King) ‘had but one fault; he was attached to a certain beauty of his court from whom Raymond in vain endeavoured to detach him. When the King summoned his confessor to attend him to Majorca, the saint refused unless the lady were left; the King affected to yield, but soon after their arrival in Majorca, Raymond discovered that the lady was also there in the disguise of a page; he remonstrated; the King grew angry; Raymond intimated his resolution to withdraw to Spain; the King forbad any vessel to leave the port, and made it death to any person to convey him from the island. The result is thus gravely related: St. Raymond, full of confidence in God, said to his companion, “An earthly King has deprived us of the means of escape, but a heavenly King will supply them!” Then walking up to a rock which projected into the sea, he spread his cloak on the waters, and setting his staff upright and tying one corner to it for a sail, he made the sign of the cross, and boldly embarked in this new kind of vessel. He was wafted over the surface of the ocean with such rapidity that in six hours he reached Barcelona. This stupendous miracle might perhaps have been doubted, if five hundred credible witnesses had not seen the saint land on the quay at Barcelona, take up his cloak, which was not even wetted by the waves, throw it round him, and retire modestly to his cell; more like an humble penitent than one in whose favour Heaven had so wonderfully wrought.’

249 This feat is by no means impossible. See Hone’s Everyday Book, ii. p. 771-9.

250 A receipt by which this feat may be accomplished is given in the Booke of Secrets of Albertus Magnus, imprinted at London by H. Jackson. ‘Take the juice of Bismalua, and the white of an egge, and the seed of an herb called Psillium, also Pulicarius herba, and break it into powder, and make a confection, and myxe the juice of Radysh with the white of an egge. Anoynt thy body or hand with this confection, and let it be dryed, and after anoynte it againe; after that thou mayest suffer boldely the fire without hurt.’ (See Hone’s Everyday Book, ii. p. 774.) Similar feats were performed before Evelyn. (Diary, p. 370.)

251 See note, page 226.

252 Treaty of Cateau CambrÉsis, concluded between France and Spain, April 3, 1559.

253 ‘Alvaro de SandÉ fit tres bien À la bataille de Gerbes, lÀ oÙ combattant vaillamment il fut pris et menÉ À Constantinople en signe de triumphe et presentÉ au grand Solyman, qui le fit garder fort curieusement et estroictment, en faisant serment sur son grand dieu Mahom(!) qu’il ne luy feroit jamais plus la guerre, et qu’il vieilliroit et mourroit en prison sans le vouloir jamais mettre À ranÇon; car il sÇavoit bien que le roy d’Espagne son maistre le rechapteroit de beaucoup. Enfin, voyant que pour or ny argent il ne le pouvoit faire ranÇonner ny avoir, il envoya prier avec grande suplication le roy Charles, son beau et bon frere, par le moyen de ceste bonne Reyne d’Espaigne sa soeur, d’envoyer une ambassade vers le Grand Seigneur pour le luy demander et le luy donner; dont le Roy (comme je le vis moy estant lors À la Cour) despescha aussitost M. le chevalier de Salvyaty, qui a estÉ depuis premier escuyer de la reyne de Navarre, homme fort digne pour ceste charge, et fort habile, qu en fit l’ambassade, avec danger de sa vie, pourtant qu’il courut par les chemins, me dict il À son retour. Le Grand Seigneur du commancement en fit un peu de refus À ce qu’il me dict; mais vaincu par prieres du Roy, il ne l’en voulut refuser, et le luy accorda pour la premiere demande qu’il luy avoit faicte, parce que c’estoit son avenement À la couronne: outre plus, luy envoya les plus belles offres du monde. Par ainsy ledict chevalier s’en retourna libre avec son prisonnier, qui ne pensoit rien moins À cela devoir À nostre Roy sa vie et sa libertÉ.’—BrantÔme, i. 218.

It is needless to point out the absurdities and gross inaccuracies of this account, which is given by Salviati’s friend. It is contradicted by the despatches of the French representative at Constantinople, which show that Salviati’s mission was a complete failure: ‘Solyman ne se souvenant plus de ses parolles et de ce qu’il avoit escrit au roy derniÈrement par M. le chevalier Salviati, que sa foy ne permettoit point de dÉlivrer les chrestiens pris en bataille, accorda la dÉlivrance desdits trois chevaliers espagnols, À la premiere requeste et instance que Ferdinand luy en a faicte soubz ombre de cent cinquante esclaves turcqs qu’ilz ont promis dellivrer.’—CharriÈre, NÉgotiations de la France dans le Levant, ii. 704.

254 ‘Quant À l’aultre point des chevalliers espagnols dÉlivrez, Ali me dit que certainement leur foy ne permettoit point dÉlivrer les chrestiens pris en bataille, mais que le Grand Seigneur ayant remis ce peschÉ sur ses bassats, ils avoient trouvÉ par leur loy que pour eschange d’esclaves en tel nombre que les Espagnols promettent, et faire un bien public comme la paix, leur foy, comme par une indulgence spÉcialle, permettoit ladite dÉlivrance.’—CharriÈre, ii. 706.

255 See page 156.

256 These ants are mentioned first by Herodotus, iii. c. 102, where he gives an account of the stratagem by which the Indians steal the gold thrown up by them as they burrow. The most plausible conjecture is that which identifies this animal with the Pangolin or Ant-eater. See Blakesley’s and Rawlinson’s notes on the passage, in the latter of which the statement in the text is referred to.

257 This headdress must have resembled that of the Janissaries Busbecq saw at Buda. See p. 87 and note.

258 Aleppo is really a considerable distance from the Euphrates.

259 The date of Bajazet’s death was September 25, 1561.

260 See note, page 108.

261 See Sketch of Hungarian History.

262 Compare page 159.

263 Theriac, the original form of the word treacle, is derived from ??????, i.e. a venomous serpent (see Acts xxviii. 4). It originally meant a confection of vipers’ flesh, which was popularly believed to be the most potent antidote to vipers’ poison. Hence the word came to mean any antidote against poison.

264 The value of this balsam is illustrated by the amusing account of the adventures in Ireland of Jean de Montluc, Bishop of Valence, given by Sir James Melville in his Memoirs (page 10, Bannatyne Club edition). Like his friend Busbecq (see vol. ii. p. 34, Letter to Maximilian, XI.) he had been ambassador at the Turkish Court, and was afterwards sent in the same capacity to Scotland. On his return he paid a visit to Ireland to intrigue with the chieftains who were hostile to England. Melville, then a boy of fourteen, was sent back with him by Mary of Guise, the Queen Regent, to be a page to her daughter Queen Mary. They landed on Shrove Tuesday, 1550, in Lough Foyle, and were taken to Odocarte’s house. A woman, who had been brought to entertain the bishop, and was kept quietly in his chamber, ‘found a little glass within a case standing in a window, for the coffers were all wet by the sea waves that fell in the ship during the storm. But she believed it had been ordained to eat, because it had an odoriphant smell; therefore she licked it clean out; which put the bishop in such a rage that he cried out for impatience.... But the Irishmen and his own servants laughed at the matter, for it was a phial of the only most precious balm that grew in Egypt, which Solyman the great Turk had given in a present to the said bishop, after he had been two years ambassador for the King of France in Turkey, and was esteemed worth two thousand crowns.’

265 See p. 86.

266 Here we part from the gallant Spaniard. For his future career see note p. 317. He was finally Governor of Oran, ‘oÙ il a finy ses jours fort vieux et cassÉ.’—BrantÔme, i. 219.

267 The then Duke, or rather Elector, of Saxony, was Augustus the Pious, who succeeded his brother, the famous Maurice, in 1553, and died in 1586. The Duke of Bavaria was Albert III., surnamed the Magnanimous, who reigned from 1550 to 1579. His wife was a daughter of Ferdinand. William the Rich was then Duke of Juliers, Cleves and Berg, &c. He reigned from 1539 to 1592, and he also had married a daughter of Ferdinand. He was younger brother of Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII.’s fourth wife.

268 Ferdinand might have defended himself by the example of his predecessor Sigismund. See the story in Carlyle’s Frederick the Great, i. 187, of his speech at the Council of Constance. “‘Right Reverend Fathers, date operam ut illa nefanda schisma eradicetur,’ exclaimed Sigismund, intent on having the Bohemian schism well dealt with,—which he reckons to be of the feminine gender. To which a Cardinal mildly remarking, ‘Domine, schisma est generis neutrius (Schisma is neuter, your Majesty),’ Sigismund loftily replies, ‘Ego sum Rex Romanus et super grammaticam (I am King of the Romans, and above Grammar)!’”

269 An allusion to Horace, Odes, iii. 3, 1-10.

270 In the battle of Nicopolis, A.D. 1396, Bajazet defeated Sigismund, King of Hungary (afterwards Emperor), and a confederate army of 100,000 Christians, who had proudly boasted that if the sky should fall, they would uphold it on their lances. Among them was John, Count of Nevers, son of Philippe-le-Hardi, Duke of Burgundy, afterwards the Duke known as Jean Sans-Peur, who led a contingent of French knights. In the battle of Varna, A.D. 1444, Ladislaus, King of Hungary and Poland, was defeated, and killed by Sultan Amurath II. For Mohacz, see Sketch of Hungarian History.

271 Compare Camoens: ‘Eu nunca louvarei o general que diz “Eu nÃo cuidei.”—I will never praise the general who excuses himself by saying, “I thought not.”’

272 See Sketch of Hungarian History.

273 The Suleimanyeh, or mosque of Solyman, is the most glorious masterpiece of Ottoman architecture. It is built after the pattern of St. Sophia, and was intended to surpass it. As regards the regularity of the plan, the perfection of the individual parts, and the harmony of the whole, that intention appears to have been fully attained. It was begun in 1550 and finished in 1555.

274 Johann Trautson von Matray, Freiherr von Sprechenstein, &c., descended from an ancient Tyrolese family, was Governor of the Tyrol, and Privy Councillor and Lord High Chamberlain to Ferdinand, who created him a Baron. Leonard von Harrach, a member of an ancient Bohemian family, Privy Councillor and Court Chancellor of Ferdinand, is probably the person meant.

275 Mattioli or Matthioli, an Italian physician, was one of the founders of modern botany. He was born at Siena in 1500, and died at Trent in 1577. He was educated at Venice and Padua, and afterwards lived at Siena and Rome, but was compelled by the sack of the latter city to retire to Trent, from which he removed to Goritz. In 1562 he was summoned by Ferdinand to his Court, where for ten years he was first physician to Maximilian. His most celebrated work is his Dioscorides and his Commentary on that author. In this he made especial use of two MSS. discovered at Constantinople by his intimate friend Busbecq, one of which is presently mentioned in the text.

Mattioli in his Commentaries, continually refers to the specimens and information he had received from Quacquelben, Busbecq’s physician. He gives a figure and description of the Acorus, the plant mentioned in the text, which Busbecq had had collected for him from the Lake of Nicomedia, and also mentions the Napellus under the head of Aconite. Apparently there were two species known by that name, one of which was extremely poisonous. Mattioli gives instances of experiments tried with it upon condemned criminals, some of which proved fatal. Mattioli also describes and gives figures of the horse-chestnut and lilac, taken from branches and seed sent him by Busbecq.

Quacquelben took advantage of the return of Busbecq’s colleagues in August 1557, to send Mattioli a box of specimens accompanied by a long letter, which, with Mattioli’s reply, is printed among the letters of the latter.

276 The sweet or aromatic flag was used as a medicine in cases of bites from mad dogs, &c. See Salmon’s Herbal. It was also used for scenting rooms, and for ornamental purposes. See Evelyn’s description of Lady Clarendon’s seat at Swallowfield: ‘The waters are flagg’d about with Calamus aromaticus, with which my lady has hung a closet that retains the smell very perfectly,’ Diary, p. 490. See also Syme’s English Botany, vol. ix. p. 11.

277 See page 389.

278 Matarieh, a village near Cairo, occupies the site of the ancient On or Heliopolis, where Cleopatra’s Needles originally stood.

279 See page 256 and note.

280 This MS. was purchased by the Emperor, and is still preserved at Vienna. It is one of the most ancient and remarkable MSS. in existence. It was written at Constantinople, towards the end of the fifth century, for Juliana Anicia, daughter of the Emperor Olybrius, who died A.D. 472. On the second and third pages are two miniatures, each representing seven famous botanists and physicians assembled in consultation. Among those represented in the second are Dioscorides himself and Cratevas. On the fifth page is a picture of Dioscorides engaged in the composition of his work. Visconti considers that the resemblance of the two portraits of Dioscorides proves that they were taken from a real original, and are not imaginary. On the sixth page is a picture of Juliana Anicia seated on a throne between two allegorical figures of Wisdom and Magnanimity. A winged Cupid, above whom is written ‘The Love of the Creator of Wisdom,’ is presenting her with an open book, while a kneeling figure entitled Gratitude is kissing the feet of the princess. Engravings of these pictures, which, apart from their antiquity, are remarkable as works of art, are given by Visconti, Iconographie Grecque, vol. i. ch. 7, and by Montfaucon, PalÆographia GrÆca, bk. iii. ch. 2. Throughout the MS. the description of each plant is illustrated by a figure.

Dioscorides was a famous botanist and physician, who wrote a celebrated treatise on Materia Medica. Cratevas was a Greek herbalist, who is supposed to have lived about the beginning of the first century B.C. The great work of Busbecq’s friend, Mattioli (see note 1 page 415), was his edition of Dioscorides.

END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

LONDON: PRINTED BY
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OGIER GHISELIN
DE BUSBECQ
VOL. II.

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CROSS OF BOUSBECQUE.
THIRTEENTH CENTURY.

THE
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OGIER GHISELIN DE BUSBECQ

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THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF OGIER GHISELIN DE BUSBECQ

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