New Methods and Old Records: Awareness and Perceptions of the Near East in Hans Tucher’s Account of his Journey to the Holy Land and Egypt

Abstract

Recent German studies on travelogues have shown that the old verdict against this genre of literature to be stereotypical and monotonous is un-justified: A closer look at the texts reveals a broad variety of the travellers’ interests and perceptions, and at the same time an awareness of the outsider’s distinct ability of perception. These disparities have often been interpreted as different authors’ varying powers of observation. Using the example of Hans Tucher’s (1428–91) travelogue, written in 1482 and printed in several editions, this article suggests that the modes of perception could vary even within one text. For that reason, the article compares the passages about Jerusalem as a typical place of (mass) pilgrimage and the later station Cairo, where Hans Tucher and his group had departed from the well-known routes.