Interpreting the Concept of European Travel from Late 16th Century to Early 17th Century from the Viewpoint of “Civitates Orbis Terrarum”

• Main Authors: Sung, Chun Hui, 宋純慧
• Other Authors: Chen, Hsueh-i
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2011
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/39622851722091154558

碩士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 歐洲文化與觀光研究所 === 100 === “Civitates Orbis Terrarum” was published in Antwerp and Cologne between 1572-1617 and consisted of 6 volumes. The publisher Georg Braun claimed that “Civitates Orbis Terrarum” would be the surrogate of real travel for armchair travelers. The topic of the thesis will be the analysis of “Civitates Orbis Terrarum” from the perspective of the self and its relation towards the others during traveling. “Civitates Orbis Terrarum” depicted American, Asian, African cities, and especially European cities. The encyclopedic tradition was showed in the “Civitates Orbis Terrarum”. It portrayed not only cities but regional customs, history, and so on. By illustrating cities from their own perspectives, Europeans expressed their incomparable confidence, and proudness. Therefore, the images they presented were not objective. Because of the transgression of the borders, differences between the self and the others became obvious. Not only did Europeans express their confidence, but also a sense of superiority. The others outside Europe were pictured in an unjustified way. The Turks were described as bellicose, and brutal. The Indians were bestial. The South American city wall was depicted in a typical European style. Although the so-called European superiority did not emerge until 19th century, the images in “Civitates Orbis Terrarum” already indicate the preliminary development of the European supremacy in advance.