The Life and Letters of Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, Vol. 2 (of 2)

"The Life and Letters of Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, Vol. 2 (of 2)" by Busbecq is a historical account written in the late 19th century. The work compiles letters from the Flemish ambassador Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, providing firsthand insights into the political and social landscape of France during the late 16th century, particularly under the reign of King Henry III. The letters cover various events, including diplomatic exchanges, health concerns of key figures, and the implications of civil conflict in France. At the start of the second volume, Busbecq shares details of his travels, beginning from Speyer and his subsequent stops, while facing health challenges. He recounts his meetings with members of the French court, including interactions with royalty and other nobles, discussing matters of peace negotiations and the Queen’s dower. The letters reveal the complexities of Franco-Flemish relations, the political instability in France, and the personal connections that influenced significant diplomatic maneuvers during a tumultuous era marked by civil strife and the looming threat of war. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, sometimes Augier Ghislain de Busbecq, was a 16th-century Flemish writer, herbalist and diplomat in the employ of three generations of Austrian monarchs. He served as ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in Constantinople and in 1581 published a book about his time there, Itinera Constantinopolitanum et Amasianum, re-published in 1595 under the title of Turcicae epistolae or Turkish Letters. His letters also contain the only surviving word list of Crimean Gothic, a Germanic dialect spoken at the time in some isolated regions of Crimea. He is credited with the introduction of tulips into Western Europe and to the origin of their name.