Literature Matters: Renaissance Travel Guides: Pilgrims and Sailors and Merchants, Oh My!
Become a Renaissance armchair traveller with Rob Imes as he explores long-ago versions of tourist guidebooks.
Literature Matters
Talks by members of the Department of English
Renaissance Travel Guides:
Pilgrims and Sailors and Merchants, Oh My!
by Rob Imes, PhD Candidate
Wednesday, February 14, 2018 | 7:30 pm
Grace-Westminster United Church
(Social Hall, 505 10th Street East)
All are welcome.
As the precursors of today’s guidebooks for tourists (e.g. Lonely Planet, Frommer’s, Michelin, etc.), instructional guides for English travelers flourished in the 1500s as foreign travel became more commonplace in print and in practice. This talk will survey guides written for specific types of travelers, including pilgrims, mariners, and merchants, before examining the emergence of guidebooks for general travelers. Of especial interest will be the ways that Renaissance travel guidebooks seek to transform travelers into travel writers capable of preparing detailed written accounts of their journeys and the places that they visited.