This new book, edited by Ionuț-Alexandru Tudorie and Daniel Benga, brings together a collection of articles exploring the perceptions of Eastern Christians in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries as viewed by Western observers. The term ‘Eastern Christians’ primarily refers here to Orthodox communities, but also to Catholics, Armenians, Syriacs and various other denominations spread across the Ottoman Empire and neighbouring countries. Western travellers were predominantly individuals who journeyed to the East as part of diplomatic missions, which constituted the most common means of encountering ‘Eastern’ societies beyond Western Europe. However, among them were also intellectuals driven by personal scholarly pursuits and missionaries engaged in ecclesiastical endeavours.

The authors of the travelogues studied here belonged to various Christian confessions, both Catholic and Protestant, making it particularly valuable to compare their perceptions of the ‘East’ and the Eastern Christians. The voyages of French nationals were often linked to France’s policy of rapprochement with the Ottoman Empire, while German descriptions of this region were in a larger extent shaped by interactions of German Protestant clerics with Greek Orthodox communities. All Western authors, whose texts are analysed in the volume, share one common characteristic: all of them exhibit curiosity and strive to record their impressions of the ‘exotic’ ways of life of the peoples in the Ottoman Empire and principalities of Moldavia, Wallachia and Transylvania. In the case of the Ottoman Empire, some authors were often driven by genuine compassion for the Christians living under non-Christian rule.

Among the most well-known descriptions of Constantinople are those by Pierre Gilles, a French erudite of the sixteenth century, and Martin Kraus (Crusius), a German Lutheran whose fundamental work, Turcograecia, provides a remarkable depiction of the Greek world in the Ottoman era. However, the editors and authors of this volume have chosen to conduct in-depth analysis not of these famous texts, but of several lesser-known scholars, writers and diplomats who described their travels to the East. Thus, two intellectuals-companions, Hans Jacob Breuning from Tübingen and the French Jean Carlier de Pinon, appear in the book alongside the renowned French naturalist Pierre Belon, the Flemish scholar and diplomat Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq alongside the German theologian Stephan Gerlach, and the Jesuit missionary Giulio Mancinelli together with the famous Jesuit theologian and diplomat, Antonio Possevino. While the selection of figures and texts under study is not exhaustive and comprises both famous and less well-known figures, it enables a detailed exploration of ‘religious otherness’ and its practices, as perceived and recorded by nine travellers who visited the Ottoman Empire and the Romanian principalities between 1547 and 1585. A contemporary analysis of these texts not only provides additional insights into Eastern Christian traditions but also offers a deeper understanding of the religious interests, aspirations and ecclesiastical politics of Western societies in that period. By examining these accounts, scholars can trace how Western perceptions of Eastern Christianity were shaped by theological debates and diplomatic engagements in early modern Europe.

Thanks to the spread of the printing press at that time, the travellers’ lived experiences could be more widely shared, and published travelogues influenced subsequent descriptions of the Orient. The European intellectual interest in antiquity led travellers to draw not only on contemporary sources but also on ancient texts. Some authors explicitly mention in their narrations that they relied on both classical writers and their contemporaries to describe the territories they visited. Thus, Hans Jacob Breuning (as discussed in the article by V.-A. Carabă) cites Pierre Belon and other sources which he appears to have consulted. Similarly, Jean Palerne (examined in the article by B. Tătaru-Cazaban) borrowed some facts for his own account from other French travellers who had recorded their peregrinations or provided descriptions of the République des Turcs. In some cases, Palerne used these already published texts as actual guidebooks, visiting the same monuments in Constantinople, most notably the Hagia Sophia, which, even as a mosque, remained an awe-inspiring site for numerous foreign visitors.

Among the concerns of Western visitors to the Sublime Porte was the question of church union, as European Protestant circles sought further dialogue in their search for allies against the papacy. In his study, D. Benga examines German Protestant observations on Orthodox piety, highlighting their attempts to define the distinctive features of Eastern Christianity. Stephan Gerlach, who played a key role in the relations between the Tübingen theologians and Patriarch Jeremias ii of Constantinople during his stay in the Ottoman capital (1573–8), described some of particularities of Orthodox rituals and church services as ‘papal’ in nature, suggesting a similarity to the practices of the Latin Church. The ‘Byzantine mysticism’ of the Greeks appeared unfamiliar to Lutherans, who compared it with what they considered the ‘true Church’, where the Christian assembly receives the preaching of the Gospel and the administration of the sacraments without the same emphasis on ritual and venerated artefacts. Protestant authors such as Gerlach or Salomon Schweigger regarded these practices as superstitious, criticising the veneration of saints and icons, as well as the length and complexity of Orthodox liturgical celebrations.

The descriptions of the confessional diversity among Eastern Christians, as recorded by Western travellers in the sixteenth century, are analysed in several articles in the volume. Jacob Breuning, according to V.-A. Carabă, demonstrated a keen interest in this diversity, mentioning in his account not only Orthodox Greeks but also various other Eastern Christian communities, including Georgians, Maronites, Copts, Syriacs, Armenians and others. Pierre Belon, as examined by S.-L. Nazâru, provided his readers with information on various Christian denominations in the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire and in Egypt. Mount Athos, Mount Sinai and the Holy Land remained significant centres of pilgrimage and were frequently described by travellers such as Pierre Belon, Jacob Breuning or Jean Palerne. As discussed by S.-L. Nazâru, V.-A. Carabă and B. Tătaru-Cazaban, these locations attracted the attention of Western observers due to their connections with biblical events, ancient religious traditions or particularities of monastic life within the Eastern Christian world.

G. O. Sferlea and O.-V. Olar dedicate their articles to two Jesuit missionaries, Antonio Possevino and Giulio Mancinelli, who travelled to the Romanian principalities with the aim of performing church services for Catholics and promoting the Catholic faith to counter the spread of Protestant influence, which was particularly strong in Transylvania. Possevino, who was involved in diplomatic negotiations with Protestant countries and with Muscovy, left commentaries on the religious landscape of the countries he visited, offering observations on various Protestant denominations. O.-V. Olar, drawing also on previously unpublished material from Roman archives, brilliantly examines the complex experiences of Mancinelli and other missionaries in this region. His analysis highlights a defining characteristic of its religious landscape: its multiethnic and multiconfessional nature.

Travel diaries became a significant source of information on life in the Orient, but inevitably, while the information circulated, these travelogues started to be filled with some stereotypes. Many travellers, fascinated by ancient Greek culture, encountered significant disappointments. As noted by V.-A. Carabă, Jacob Breuning and Jean Carlier de Pinon, who travelled together, both observed the extent of change over time. Classical Athens, once the revered centre of antiquity, had become ‘an ugly spot’, while the Greeks appeared ignorant and uncultured in comparison with their ideas of how ‘Ancient Greece’ should look. For a Protestant like Breuning, it was astonishing to observe that even the clergy did not have sufficient knowledge of the Bible, and both travellers regretted that the population lacked opportunities for education. The Catholic Jean Palerne, presented in the article by B. Tătaru-Cazaban, likewise expressed a negative view of contemporary Greeks, describing them as stubborn, ignorant and heretical. Such an attitude on the part of Western travellers was largely based on confessional differences and the perceived ‘exoticism’ of local religious practices, as not all Europeans could demonstrate the same respectful approach toward Orthodox rituals as Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq. This Flemish Catholic diplomat, as noted by I.-A. Tudorie, moved beyond the prevailing notion of the Greek community as an enslaved and uncultured group, developing a more nuanced understanding of Ottoman society and the role of the Orthodox Church within it.

Several articles in the volume highlight the fascination of Western intellectuals with manuscript treasures, a fascination undoubtedly linked to their interest in ancient history, monuments and the pursuit of classical texts. Pierre Belon (as noted by S.-L. Nazâru) expresses concern that the monks of Mount Athos were reluctant to disclose their manuscript collections to foreigners. Meanwhile, Stephan Gerlach (as shown in D. Benga’s article) successfully acquired Greek codices from the library of Michael Cantacuzenus, a Greek aristocrat and influential political figure at the sultan’s court. Busbecq, who visited the Ottoman Empire on a diplomatic mission around the same time, was fortunate enough to assemble a significant collection of Greek manuscripts, now preserved in the Austrian National Library in Vienna. As indicated by I.-A. Tudorie, Busbecq, like many other travellers and diplomats, established connections with local intellectuals, such as Metropolitan Metrophanes of Caesarea, the future pro-Latin Patriarch of Constantinople and founder of the renowned library at the Holy Trinity Monastery on the island of Halki.

By analysing the travelogues and other documents, this new research sheds light on perceptions and interpretations of the ‘manifold’ religious and complex cultural landscape of South-Eastern Europe and the Ottoman Empire by representatives of the ‘Western world’. Through this lens, the volume contributes to a deeper understanding of early modern European attitudes toward religious diversity and interactions in a contested spiritual and political space.