Bloody summer. A trip to Germany during the Thirty Years War

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Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, Surrey & Norfolk (painting by PP Rubens )

Bloody summer. A trip to Germany during the Thirty Years' War (in the English original: A true relation of all the remarkable places and passages observed in the travels of the right honorable Thomas Lord Hovvard, Earle of Arundell and Surrey, Primer Earle, and Earle Marshall of England, ambassadour extraordinary to his sacred Majesty Ferdinando the second, emperour of Germanie, anno Domini 1636. By Wiliam Crowne Gentleman. ) is a travel report by William Crowne from 1637 . Crowne was the secretary and companion of Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel , who had traveled through Central Europe in 1636 as a special envoy for the German Emperor Ferdinand II (HRR) during the Thirty Years War . His mission was to restore the family of Friedrich V (Palatinate), who died in 1632, to their traditional rights. But this failed. Students from the Gymnasium an der Stadtmauer translated the original text into German in 2011 as part of an award-winning project.

content

The execution of Martin Aichinger , who was present at the delegation, on the Linz main square on June 20, 1636, drawing by Wenzel Hollar
View of Donaustauf with Arundel's boat in the foreground, by Wenceslaus Hollar

Crowne describes in great detail the journey of the almost hundred armed delegation, including the famous Bohemian draftsman Wenzel Hollar from Cologne , through Central Europe. They pass areas depopulated by the plague (e.g. between Cologne and Frankfurt am Main ) and ravaged villages, cities and castles. They also observe sieges and battles. Three members of the delegation are attacked, murdered and mutilated by highwaymen not far from Nuremberg . They witnessed executions several times. So one is about Lutherans hanged, and the group is in Linz witnessed the quartering of Martin Aichinger and six of his followers.

Crowne gains insight into politics as he accompanies the Earl of Arundel on several occasions on his visits. He met electors and bishops, kings and emperors.

If possible, visit rare sights. For example, they visit the collection of Rudolf II in Prague , which includes the Codex Gigas . The City Council of Nuremberg presents the Earl with two works by Albrecht Dürer .

The German edition also contains various drawings by Wenceslaus Hollar that he made on the trip.

Stations of the journey

The following incomplete list contains - without chronological order - places which the tour group passes.

output

A German edition commented on by the Bad Kreuznach pedagogues Alexander Ritter and Rüdiger Keil with the help of students was created as part of a school project at the high school on the city wall in Bad Kreuznach and in 2012 received the special prize " DIE ZEIT " of the German Teacher's Prize .

  • William Crowne: Bloody Summer . A trip to Germany during the Thirty Years War. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft , Darmstadt 2011, ISBN 3-534-24296-3 (English: A true relation of all the remarkable places and passages observed in the travels of the right honorable Thomas Lord Hovvard, Earle of Arundell and Surrey, Primer Earle, and Earle Marshall of England, ambassadour extraordinary to his sacred Majesty Ferdinando the second, emperour of Germanie, anno Domini 1636. By Wiliam Crowne Gentleman. Translated by Alexander Ritter and Rüdiger Keil).

review

Ulrich Baron described the work in his review for Deutschlandradio as a “ real treasure trove ” of war and cultural history. In addition, he expressly praises the creation of the German edition, which he considers to be an " example of building a bridge between high school, academic and publishing work that is worth emulating ".

Web links

  • Original text in Google Book Search
  • Bloody summer. In: Homepage of the grammar school on the city wall. December 16, 2011, accessed on October 17, 2013 (report on the occasion of the presentation of the student-teacher project Bloody Summer ).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Ulrich Baron: Supper in the plague house. In: Deutschlandradio . May 17, 2012, accessed September 24, 2013 .
  2. ↑ William Crowne: Bloody Summer . A trip to Germany during the Thirty Years War.
  3. ↑ Special award “DIE ZEIT”: Bloody Summer. (pdf; 190 kB) In: Homepage of the German Teacher Award . Retrieved October 17, 2013 .