Chapter 12

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

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

39Molinet, chap. lix.

40The 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.

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

42George 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 hisBibliotheca 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’sLetters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII., vol. iv. part 1, p. 191.

43Published at Strasburg, 1512.

44The 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 lieThe 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.

44The 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 lieThe 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.

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.

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

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

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

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

49See page141.

50The 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.

51De 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.

52This was not the first time that a Ghiselin of Bousbecque had ventured to differ with his Count. See page25.

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

54The 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.

55See Motley’sRise 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 œuvres plus dignes et louables entretenoit et carressoit continuellement gens doctes et vertueux.’—L. Guicciardini,Description de tout le Païs bas, page 311.

57An 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’sRenaissance 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 mœurs 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.

60Erasmus 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 Ἐγκώμιον Μωρίας, 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.

61See 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.

62One of the most remarkable applications of this theory is with regard to the military art. Busbecq wrote a treatise on theArt 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 manœuvres, 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 alsoUnited Netherlands, iv. 34.

63His 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 tellefidelité et loyautéque 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.

64On 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.

65Roostem 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!

66Don 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 theCalendar of State Papers of the reign of Mary(vol. ii. pp.78,90,94, &c.), as Don Pedro Lasso de Castella (Castilla). See alsoViage de Felipe Segundo á Inglaterraby 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.

On the other hand, Ferdinand’s ambassador is frequently spoken of in theCalendar of State Papers of the reign of Mary(vol. ii. pp.78,90,94, &c.), as Don Pedro Lasso de Castella (Castilla). See alsoViage de Felipe Segundo á Inglaterraby 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.

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

68See page75.

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

70See Appendix.Sketch of Hungarian History; see alsoItineraries.

71SeeSketch of Hungarian History.

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

73L. 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.

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

75We 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 anautobiography. It would be impossible to anticipate their contents without robbing them of their freshness.

76See AppendixItineraries.

77He 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.

78Ecuyer (escuier) trenchant.The first of these words supplies the derivations for two English titles (1) squire, (2) sewer; the first being the equivalent ofécuyer, and the second ofécuyer trenchant. The office of sewer (écuyer trenchant) is alluded to by Milton,Paradise Lost, ix., where the poet speaks ofMarshall’dfeastServed up in hall bysewersandseneschals.‘Here,’ says Todd in his note, ‘is an allusion to the magnificence of elder days; themarshal of the hall, thesewerand theseneschalhaving been officers of distinction in the houses of princes and great men. From Minshew’sGuide into Tonguesit 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.’

Marshall’dfeastServed up in hall bysewersandseneschals.

Marshall’dfeast

Served up in hall bysewersandseneschals.

‘Here,’ says Todd in his note, ‘is an allusion to the magnificence of elder days; themarshal of the hall, thesewerand theseneschalhaving been officers of distinction in the houses of princes and great men. From Minshew’sGuide into Tonguesit 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.’

79See page9.

80See Lipsius’ Letters,Centuriai. 5: ‘Prandium mihi hodie apudheroemnostrum (non enim virum dixerim) Busbequium. Post prandium longiusculæ etiam fabulæ; sedde 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 exteraAsiæ Tyranni. Quæ viri felicitas!Probavit hæc et illa: in omni tempore,In munere omni, Nestorem se præbuitLinguâ atque mente. Jam quies eum sibiEt patria hæc spondebat; ecce sustulitViam per ipsam miles incertum an latro.Sed sustulit, simulque sidus Belgicæ,Quod nunc choreas fulget inter astricas.Justus Lipsius magno amico exiguummonumentum P.

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 exteraAsiæ Tyranni. Quæ viri felicitas!Probavit hæc et illa: in omni tempore,In munere omni, Nestorem se præbuitLinguâ atque mente. Jam quies eum sibiEt patria hæc spondebat; ecce sustulitViam per ipsam miles incertum an latro.Sed sustulit, simulque sidus Belgicæ,Quod nunc choreas fulget inter astricas.Justus Lipsius magno amico exiguummonumentum P.

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.

81Busbecq’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.

82It 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.

83SeeFourthTurkish Letter.

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

85No 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.

86Elizabeth 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.

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

88The 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 titleItinera 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 AppendixItineraries.

89These letters were written to Nicolas Michault. See page58.

90The 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.

91The 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.

92Veltwick (Velduvic) went as ambassador to ConstantinopleA.D.1545. An account of his embassy is given in theIterof Hugo Favolius. See AppendixItineraries.

93For an explanation of these transactions, seeSketch of Hungarian History.

94Here 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.

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

96Busbecq’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.

97See 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.

98At Mohacz,A.D.1526. SeeSketch of Hungarian History.

99The 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.

101Galen, 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’sCivil 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.

102An ‘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.

103See Ranke’sCivil 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 torepresent 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.

104John 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.

105See Freeman’sEssays, 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 ἡ πάλαι καλουμένη μεγάλη Βουλγαρία from Theophanes. This is an oversight, the words are not taken from Theophanes, though he uses a similar expression, but from Nicephorus of Constantinople.

106Baldwin, 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.

107The Rascians and Servians were distinct tribes in Busbecq’s time and long afterwards; see page165, where he notices that at Semendria the Servians leave off and the Rascians begin; they are now both included under the name of Servians.

108This 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.

109For 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.

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

111Of 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’sClassical 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 himas a slavewithout the bond of marriage,as a free womanshe 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.

112See 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.

113During 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.

114Busbecq 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.

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