This thesis presents an edition of some chapters of the English physician Edward Browne’s travel journal, A Brief Account of Some Travels in Hungaria, Servia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Thessaly, Austria...Show moreThis thesis presents an edition of some chapters of the English physician Edward Browne’s travel journal, A Brief Account of Some Travels in Hungaria, Servia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Thessaly, Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, and Friuli, published in 1685. It focuses on the author’s impressions while visiting the Hungarian cities, baths, and the northern gold, silver and copper mine region. The journal stands out as one of the most detailed descriptions of places and interesting observation of the era. The intention of the edition is to provide an introduction to the background of Edward Browne’s work, to edit the selected parts of the travel journal, and to design it in the form of a book in order to make it accessible to the general reader. This thesis comprises two parts. The first part introduces the reader to the historical background of travelling in seventeenth century, analyses the motives of Browne’s journey, describes his journal, and specifies the editorial methods. The second part consists of the selected chapters of his journal. Following the footsteps of Edward Browne, this book aims to provide an authentic reflection of his experiences, and a guide for those readers who wish to visit the country and the mentioned places today.Show less
Reading is an activity that is realised in a specific place and period by individuals with different backgrounds, interests, expectations, and degrees of literacy. Reconstructing reading and its...Show moreReading is an activity that is realised in a specific place and period by individuals with different backgrounds, interests, expectations, and degrees of literacy. Reconstructing reading and its different practices throughout history is therefore an elaborate task. This paper proposes the use of the 'reading spaces' model as a methodology to outline the reading possibilities for various social groups in specific historical periods and places. The study goes beyond the basic divide of the literate and the illiterate by considering a wider context and analysing the elements that can foster or limit reading. These influences have been determined through a review of existing historical reading studies and can be summarised into education, profession, socio-economic conditions, culture, and the legal and political system of any certain period. This particular approach to reading studies was developed as a method to study the activity of reading in seventeenth-century New Spain. The paper provides a theoretical framework for the reading spaces model as a basis and it then examines the various differentiators and conditions that influence reading in seventeenth-century colonial Mexico. Finally, it presents the analysis of three book inventories from that period and compares them to their corresponding reading spaces.Show less
