Images of Tatars in 16th Century Europe
50th Annual Meeting of the PIAC, Kazan 2007
In the course of the 16th century, Western Europe took an increasing interest in the East European states and the lands beyond. The establishment of regular diplomatic ties and the expansion of economic exchange led to the creation of a large corpus of written sources. Over the centuries and to this day, Historians have used this precious material to illuminate the development of Muscovy and its relationship with its neighbors, among them the various Tatar states. The written materials left by the inhabitants of these regions and the reports written by West Europeans complement each other to a certain extent. This paper explores the works of three well-informed West Europeans of the 16th century concerning the information they offer on “the Tatars”, as they call them rather indiscriminately. However, the focus is not so much on the information, Sigmund von Herberstein, Heinrich von Staden and Giles Fletcher provide as such, but rather on how and in what context they present the information. Do they convey a personal perception of these faraway peoples and their way of life? Do they refer to “classical” images, and can we detect the traces of a new humanistic curiosity?