Paul Hentzner

Born in Crossen in Brandenburg on January 29, 1558, Paul Hentzner was a German lawyer who later became known for writing about his travels across Europe. In 1596 he became tutor to a young Silesian nobleman, and the two set out on a long journey that took them through Switzerland, France, England, and Italy.

Hentzner is remembered chiefly for the travel account that grew out of that tour, especially his observations on England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. His descriptions of London, the royal court, and English society have made his work valuable both to general readers and to historians interested in everyday life in the late sixteenth century.

He died on January 1, 1623. Although not a household name today, his travel writing has endured because it captures a foreign visitor's clear-eyed, often curious view of Elizabethan England.