English Travellers to Venice, 1450-1600

Journey to early-modern Venice through the eyes of English travellers. Discover the experiences of diplomats, pilgrims, spies, scholars, religious exiles and more at this free online talk.

Who was travelling to early-modern Venice from England and why?  

Join Professor Michael G. Brennan as he explores early-modern Anglo-Venetian relations between 1450 and 1600.  

This talk will focus on edited texts of all known accounts by English travellers from this period. These include those by pilgrims, diplomats, merchants, scholars, spies, religious exiles, mariners and young men undertaking educational ‘grand tours’.  

Discover highlights from the Leeds University Library Special Collections, including important fifteenth-century maps of Venice and rare books recording the diversity of Venetian life in this period.  

Professor Brennan is a Professor of Renaissance Literature at the University of Leeds. He is currently editing a volume on Anglo-Venetian relations between 1450 and 1600 for The Hakluyt Society, publisher of travel accounts since 1846. The objects discussed in this talk, from Leeds University Library Special Collections, will be included in the Hakluyt Society volume. 

This event will be hosted online on Zoom. The joining link will be emailed to registered attendees one day before the start time.  

If you experience any difficulties while registering for this event, please contact us at gallery@leeds.ac.uk so that we can assist you.