Author: CORYATE, THOMAS
Title: Coryat's Crudities; Reprinted from the Edition of 1611. To which are now added, his Letters from India &c. and extracts relating to him from various authors: being a more particular Account of his Travels (mostly on foot) in Different Parts of the Globe.
Description: London, W. Cater; Samuel Hayes; J. Wilkie; and E. Easton. 1776, Reprint. Full-Leather, 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Book, three volumes. Volume one: unpaginated introductions, forewords, dedications etc, 304 pages, frontispiece, one plate, one woodcut; volume two: 484 pages, 5 plates; volume three: unpaginated, 1 plate, 5 woodcuts, index and list of plates. Original or temporary leather bindings, marbled endpapers, bookplates of William Twopenny, leather cracked on spines but covers attached except front cover of volume two, spine of volume one repaired. The book is an account of a journey undertaken, much of it on foot, in 1608 through France, Italy, Germany, and other European countries. Coryat (sometimes also spelled "Coryate" or "Coriat") conceived of the 1,975-mile (3,175 km) voyage to Venice and back in order to write the subsequent travelogue dedicated to Henry, Prince of Wales, at whose court he was regarded as somewhat of a buffoon and jester, rather than the wit and intellectual he considered himself. The extent to which Coryat invited such ridicule in pursuit of patronage and court favor is unclear. Among other things, Coryat's book introduced the use of the fork to England and, in its support of continental travel, helped to popularize the idea of the Grand Tour that rose in popularity later in the century. The book also included what is likely the earliest English rendering of the legend of William Tell. The work is particularly important to music historians for giving extraordinary details of the activities of the Venetian School, one of the most famous and progressive contemporary musical movements in Europe. The work includes an elaborate description of the festivities at the church of San Rocco in Venice, with polychoral and instrumental music by Giovanni Gabrieli, Bartolomeo Barbarino, and others. Good.

Keywords:


See more books from our catalog: History