Thomas Coryat

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Thomas Coryat
Bornc. 1577 (1577)
Died1617 (aged 39–40)
Burial placeRajgari near Suvali, India (uncertain)
NationalityEnglish
Other namesThomas Coryate
Occupation(s)traveller and writer
Known forintroducing words into English
Notable workthe words "fork" and "umbrella"
Parent
  • George Coryate (father)

Thomas Coryat (also Coryate) (c. 1577 – 1617) was an English traveller and writer of the late

Jacobean age. He is principally remembered for two volumes of writings he left regarding his travels, often on foot, through Europe and parts of Asia. He is often credited with introducing the table fork to England, with "Furcifer" (Latin: fork-bearer, rascal) becoming one of his nicknames.[1] His description of how the Italians shielded themselves from the sun resulted in the word "umbrella" being introduced into English.[1]

Life and writings

Replica of Thomas Coryat's shoes in the Church of St Peter and St Paul, Odcombe, Somerset.
Title page of Coryat's Crudities, 1611.

Coryat was born in

James I as a sort of "court jester" from 1603 to 1607, alongside Ben Jonson, John Donne and Inigo Jones.[1]

From May to October 1608 he undertook a tour of Europe, somewhat less than half of which he walked. He travelled through France and Italy to Venice, and returned via Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands.[1] He published his memoirs of the events in a volume entitled Coryat's Crudities hastily gobbled up in Five Months Travels in France, Italy, &c (1611).[1][5] This volume gives a vivid picture of life in Europe during the time.[6]

The work is particularly important to music historians for giving extraordinary details of the activities of the

polychoral and instrumental music by Giovanni Gabrieli, Bartolomeo Barbarino, and others. In 1611 he published a second volume of travel writings, this one entitled Coryats Crambe, or his Coleworte twice Sodden. Coryat's letters from this time refer to the famous Mermaid Tavern in London, and mention Ben Jonson, John Donne and other members of a drinking club named the "Fraternity of Sireniacal Gentlemen" that met there.[7]

Ever restless, he set out once again in 1612, this time on a journey that would ultimately lead to Asia, visiting

madrigal, had already been in vogue for more than twenty years. He is considered by many to have been the first Briton to do a Grand Tour
of Europe; a practice which became a mainstay of the education of upper class Englishmen in the 18th century.

Tomb

The place of his tomb is uncertain. As there was no regular English cemetery at Surat then, his body was buried north of the town on the western side of road leading to

Legacy

British travel writer and historian

William Dalrymple cites Coryat as 'one of my travel-writing heroes' in his first book In Xanadu (1989).[12]

British travel writer and humorist Tim Moore retraced the steps of Coryat's tour of Europe, as recounted in his book Continental Drifter (2000). In 2008 Daniel Allen published an account of his nine-month cycle trip following Coryat's journey to the East, entitled The Sky Above, The Kingdom Below.

Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler spoke at the Australian Festival of Travel Writing about Thomas Coryat. Wheeler traced Coryate's (his spelling) journey as he observed the invention of leisure travel. He visited his supposed tomb at Rajgari near Surat in 2010.[13]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Michael Strachan, "Coryate, Thomas (c. 1577–1617)", in Literature of Travel and Exploration: an Encyclopedia, 2003, Volume 1, pp.285–87
  2. .
  3. ^ Strachan, Michael (October 2006). "Coryate, Thomas (1577?–1617)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 30 June 2017. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  4. ^ Foster, William, ed. (1921). Early Travels in India 1583-1619. Oxford University Press. p. 234.
  5. .
  6. ^ "I. The First Tourist (1611) - Thomas Coryat | Osher Map Library". Archived from the original on 24 November 2015.
  7. required.)
  8. ^ Wright, Arnold (1914). Early English adventurers in the East. London: A. Melrose Ltd. p. 173.
  9. ^ Petroski 1992, pp. 8−9.
  10. ^ Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 1861. pp. 153–155. Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  11. ^ "Thomas Coryat, 1612 - 1617 (Quellenkunde zur indischen Geschichte bis 1858)". www.payer.de. Archived from the original on 13 June 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  12. .
  13. ^ "Tony Wheeler: Thomas Coryate, The First Tourist". The Wheeler Centre. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2017.

References and further reading

External links