Les voyageurs français dans l'Orient européen : conférences faites en Sorbonne…
"Les voyageurs français dans l'Orient européen" by Nicolae Iorga is a historical study written in the early 20th century. It examines French travel narratives across the Balkans, Anatolia, and the Levant to reassess the Ottoman-ruled “Orient” of Europe, countering clichés about barbarian invasions and highlighting sustained, complex contacts between cultures. The work argues that travelers, more than chroniclers, capture both fresh facts and shifting French sensibilities—from medieval piety to early humanist curiosity.
The opening of the book reframes the 15th century by rejecting crude depictions of the Ottoman advance and by elevating travel reports as truer, livelier sources. Iorga sketches changing French mentalities, then samples key witnesses: Gilles le Bouvier’s wide-ranging pilgrimage with concrete notes on Syrians, Tatars, and Turks; Nompar de Caumont’s naïve yet telling glimpses; and the Boucicaut biography, which shows Ottoman power as ordered and civilized, especially at Nicopolis. He next uses Jean de Wavrin to illuminate a Burgundian-led Danube crusade and to offer a first vivid portrait of Wallachians, followed by Guilebert de Lannoy’s mission-route through Moldavia, Caffa, and Constantinople. Bertrandon de la Broquière’s overland trek in Turkish guise reveals charitable customs, disciplined marching, and pragmatic comparisons that often favor Turks over Greeks and Hungarians. The narrative then turns to the 16th century, outlining Suleiman’s imperial transformation and arguing that French observers, more than Venetian officials, grasped everyday Ottoman life, before introducing a new wave of travelers (such as the poet La Borderie) who record ceremonies, cities, and social habits with sharp, anecdotal detail. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Iorga, Nicolae, 1871-1940 |
|---|---|
| Title | Les voyageurs français dans l'Orient européen : conférences faites en Sorbonne : extraites de la Revue des cours et conférences |
| Original Publication | Paris: J. Gamber, 1928. |
| Credits | Laurent Vogel and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by the Biblioteca Centrală Universitară Carol I in Bucharest) |
| Language | French |
| LoC Class | G: Geography, Anthropology, Recreation |
| Subject | Voyages and travels -- Congresses |
| Subject | Middle East -- Description and travel -- Congresses |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 77907 |
| Release Date | Feb 10, 2026 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 311 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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