The Bondage and Travels of Johann Schiltberger, a Native of Bavaria, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, 1396-1427

1879

Journals G161 H2 Ser. 1 no. 58

London: Printed for the Hakluyt Society

In 1394, Johann Schiltberger (c. 1380-1440) left Bavaria on a crusade against the Ottoman Empire, aged just 14. In 1396, at the Battle of Nicopolis in Bulgaria, he was captured by the Turks, and became a slave; apparently only dodging death on account of his good looks. For the next 30 years, Schiltberger travelled with various captors all over Asia Minor. He escaped in 1427 while in Constantinople (Istanbul) and upon his return to Bavaria, dictated his tale to a scribe. This map is from the 1879 Hakluyt translation.