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Den Menschen des Altertums und des Mittelalters war der Reiz der Erkundung unbekannter Regionen noch fremd, da ihr weltanschauliche, zumal religiöse Vorbehalte entgegenstanden. Erst seit Beginn der Neuzeit und der Epoche der Entdeckungen kommt ungehemmte Neugierde auf, die Grenzen des Bekannten zu überschreiten. Forschungs- und Erkenntnisinteressen werden damit ebenso befördert wie das Kolonisationsinteresse. Im Bestreben, Neues zu erfahren, zu erleben und sich durch Neuheit von der Langeweile des Alltags zu befreien, konstituiert sich eine Gesellschaft, die Mobilität nicht nur in räumlicher, sondern auch in zeitlicher und in geistig-seelischer Hinsicht praktiziert. Kein Wagnis wird gescheut, es wird in unwirtliche Höhen wie in unergründliche Tiefen gestiegen, – auch psychologisch, denn alles Reisen in der Moderne dient ebenso der Selbst- wie der Welterkundung. Textliche Grundlage dieser Studie ist eine exemplarische Auswahl sowohl authentischer wie fiktiver Reisedarstellungen und -reflexionen. In den Blick gerät dabei auch die Tatsache, dass Reisen in der Moderne zwar ein Massenphänomen der mobilen Gesellschaft geworden ist, aber auf der Erde inzwischen selbst die hintersten Winkel ausgekundschaftet sind: Alle Welt reist, aber die Welt ist, soweit deren Leben sich im Irdischen abspielt, nicht mehr erkundungsbedürftig. Die Bandbreite der behandelten Autoren reicht von Adam Olearius, Johann Georg Gmelin und Georg Wilhelm Steller über u.a. Nicolai, Seume, Sterne, Moritz, Goethe, Schiller, Herder, Novalis bis zu Alexander von Humboldt, Thomas Mann, Jules Verne, Christoph Ransmayr und Reinhold Messner. Lothar Pikulik, geb. 1936, war von 1973 bis zu seiner Emeritierung Professor für Neuere Deutsche Literaturwissenschaft an der Universität Trier. Autor zahlreicher Monographien und Aufsätze zur Literatur und Geistesgeschichte des 18. Jahrhunderts, zur Klassik, Romantik und Moderne sowie zur Form und Theorie von Drama und Theater. Im Georg Olms Verlag sind erschienen: Schiller und das Theater (2007), Thomas Mann und der Faschismus (2012) und Ästhetik des Interessanten (2014).

As the Age of Exploration came to a close, the world seemed to be a significantly smaller place than it once was, with more major landmasses identified on the global map. Yet questions and unknowns remained and details had yet to be filled in. Armed with greater knowledge and better equipment than their predecessors, explorers in the late Renaissance and Enlightenment eras took up the reins, with some discovering new routes and lands still while others carefully surveyed or settled lands already known. This lively volume details the lives of such individuals as Henry Hudson, Vitus Bering, James Cook, and Daniel Boone, among many others, as well as the explorations and discoveries of which they were a part.

The Age of Exploration, which spanned roughly from 1400 to 1550, was the first time in history that European powers—eyeing new trade routes to the East or seeking to establish empires—began actively looking far past their own borders to gain a better understanding of the world and its many resources. The individuals who set out on behalf of the countries they represented came from a variety of backgrounds, and included master navigators such as Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan—the latter of whom was the first to circle the globe—as well as the often ruthless conquistadors of the New World such as Francisco Pizarro and Hernan Cortes. The exciting and sometimes tragic lives and journeys of these and many others as well as the battles for empire that arose are chronicled in this engaging volume.

The great explorers were the celebrities of their day - the romance and danger of their daring expeditions captured the public imagination and the world's headlines to an extraordinary degree. Not all of them lived to tell the tale, of course, but those who emerged triumphant from jungle, desert or polar wasteland were hailed as if returning from beyond the grave. Journalists vied for their stories and publishers rushed their first-hand accounts of exciting and dangerous journeys into print for a wide and voracious readership. Acclaimed travel historian John Keay introduces this selection of.

Continues Second Series 15. Two further narratives, translated and edited, including one by Torquemada, and an appendix of letters and memoranda addressed to Philip III. The supplementary material includes the annual report for 1903. Contents: True acco

The Purchas Handbook follows the model of the Society's earlier Hakluyt Handbook in providing a reference guide to the works of the Reverend Samuel Purchas (1577–1626) and a critical evaluation of his achievements as collector, editor, and author of trave

This fascinating account offers a new understanding of Captain Cook's voyages and how they affected the European world view.

This detailed study shows how the medieval tradition of exploration was rooted in Classical ideas of the world, and how the age of the Vikings, Marco Polo, and the crusaders paved the way for the famous voyages of the Renaissance. In the world which saw the great journeys of Marco Polo and Eric the Red it was still believed that the equator was too hot to cross, that distant lands were populated by a breed of men who shaded themselves with one large foot, and that in Asia there lived a Christian king who would help Europe defeat its enemies. Yet this was also an age of expansion for the medieval world, with trade and travel between Europe and other continents flourishing as never before. These were the centuries in which the Vikings reached North America, the crusaders established states in Palestine and Syria, merchants and missionaries travelled to the Asian dominions ofthe Mongol Great Khans, and adventurers were lured by dreams of African gold and the quest for Prester John. In this detailed survey, Dr J.R.S. Phillips draws on a large, often controversial body of evidence to show how the medieval European tradition of exploration was rooted in Classical ideas of the world, and how it in turn paved the way for the great exploratory journeys of the Renaissance. The book includes maps showing the extent of medieval Europe.