Edition Woldan

After the Austrian nobleman Georg Christoph Fernberger came to the Ottoman court as part of an embassy, he traveled to Egypt, Sinai and Mesopotamia from 1588 on and finally reached Hormuz. Here Fernberger, one of the first tourists of modern times, entered the world of the Portuguese Estado da India, where he was to stay for two years. The part of his Indian travelogue presented in this volume deals with the travel stage from the Indus to Malaysia. The detailed description of the Portuguese...

This annotated catalogue of the most precious books of the “Vienna Woldan Collection” on the subject of historical geography and travel literature from 1481–1630 includes over 250 titles that are presented in geographically connected sections following the systematics of the physical collection. Each catalogized work is presented with concise remarks on the content as well as the geographic-historical and literary significance of the text. The conclusion is formed by short biographies of the...

John Lesley (1527–1596), bishop of Ross, is the author of a Latin history of Scotland, first printed in Rome in 1578. Lesley’s elegant style and his detailed knowledge of Scottish history make „De Origine, Moribus et Rebus Gestis Scotorum Libri decem“ a work that merits the attention of both classicists and historians. This philological edition of the 8th book (which covers the years 1437 to 1513) contains an insightful introduction to Lesley’s life and his writings, a German translation, a...

In 1644 the monsoon winds held Polish Michael Boym, the great China-missionary, in southeast African Mozambique for some months. His since then unpublished report about the Country of the Kaffirs represents not only an important source for the local history of early modern Mozambique, but unfolds it´s significance particularly in Boym`s unusual criticism of the Portuguese colonial administration, a criticism consequently developed out of the basic attitude of his order, the Society of Jesus....

Amerigo Vespucci, the Florentine banker who was so filled with enthusiasm for the expeditions he financed that in the second half of his life he started studying cosmography and astronomy, played an important role as outsider and amateur in the history of early discoveries. He was one of the first scientifically interested Europeans to leave the safety of their studies to investigate and describe new and exotic realities at risk of life and limb. Thanks to his rich intellectual background and...

Für den modernen Leser offenbart die Lektüre von Blefkens Islandia (1607) den Eindruck eines von der Wildheit der fernen Insel positiv beeindruckten Autors. Wunderberichte halten sich bei weitem in den für die Zeit üblichen Grenzen und werden vom Autor immer mit kritischer Distanz vorgestellt. Weniges in Blefkens Bericht, wie z.B. das Grönlandabenteuer oder die Suche nach der Nordostpassage, mag – in heute unklärbarem Ausmaß – aus anderen Erzählungen zur Mehrung der Datendichte übernommen sein....

In the summer of 1989, the Austrian Academy of Sciences had an opportunity to take possession of a very important private library. Already while still alive Erich Woldan had provided for the fact that his library which shows one of the most extensive private collections in "Geographica" in Central Europe should go as a whole after his death to the Austrian academy of the sciences where it was made an inventory, finally, and was made to the public accessible. Today the collection named after...

The modern view on Magellan as the first man who sailed around the globe is a result of illuministic ideas that turned the Portuguese Spanish Conquistador into a hero of science. But in the autumn of the year 1522, shortly after the return of his flagship, Magellan, who had been killed during the voyage, has been seen in a critical light. This is mainly true for the first printed reports on Magellan’s voyage, all published in 1523 in Latin language. These texts criticize Magellan’s...

Die Thomas-Christen Südindiens, die ihre Kirche auf den gleichnamigen Apostel zurückführen, kamen um 1500 durch das Auftreten der Portugiesen in Malabar wieder in Kontakt mit ihren Glaubensbrüdern im Westen. Die Begegnung der beiden Kulturen - zunächst beiderseits mit großen Hoffnungen verbunden - sollte durch die portugiesische Politik gegen Ende des 16. Jahrhunderts eine unglückliche Wendung nehmen. Der Kirchenstaat der Thomas-Christen, die sich durch Jahrhunderte innerhalb eines...