author

Paul Hentzner

1558–1623

Best known for a vivid travel account of Elizabethan England, this German lawyer left readers one of the most memorable outsider's views of late 16th-century Europe. His writing mixes sharp observation with the curiosity of a traveler moving through courts, cities, and daily life.

1 Audiobook

Travels in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth; with Fragmenta regalia or, Observations on Queen Elizabeth, her times and favourites

Travels in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth; with Fragmenta regalia or, Observations on Queen Elizabeth, her times and favourites

by Paul Hentzner, Sir Robert Naunton

About the author

Born in Crossen in Brandenburg in 1558, Paul Hentzner was a German lawyer who is remembered today for the record he made of his travels across Europe. In 1596 he became tutor to a young Silesian nobleman, and the pair set out on a long tour that took them through Switzerland, France, England, and Italy.

Hentzner later published this journey in Latin as Itinerarium Germaniae, Galliae, Angliae, Italiae in 1612. The work became especially valued for its account of England in the reign of Elizabeth I, offering a visitor's-eye view of London, court life, universities, customs, and public entertainments.

For modern readers, his appeal lies in the detail: he noticed how people lived, what they wore, how they celebrated, and how power looked in everyday settings. He died in 1623, but his travel writing remains a lively window into late Renaissance Europe.