GEORGE SANDYS
SENIOR SEMINAR
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
BY
PHYLLIS HOWARD
PUEBLO, COLORADO
APRIL 2001
The Impact of George Sandys’ Travel Journal of 1610
In 1610, thirty-two year old, George Sandys set sail from London on a two-year voyage to the Eastern Mediterranean. Such trips were an established European tradition. In fact, Sandys traveled with one Englishmen and three Italians (one was a priest and one a doctor), although he makes little mention of them in his travel journal. Sandys’s grand tour had two purposes: to round out his education and to prepare him for a life of public service. In the dedication of his dairy to Prince Charles, Sandys shows clearly that he was fully conscious of the tradition role of a public servant.[1] He writes:
“… these my double trauels, once with some toyle and danger performed, and now recorded with sincerity and diligence the parts I speake of are the most renowned countries and kingdomes: once seats of most glorious and triumphant Empires; the theaters of valour and heroicall action . . . which countries once so glorious, and famous for their happy estate, are now through vice and ingratitude, become the most deplored spectacles of extreme miserie. … Those rich lands at this present remaine waste and ouergrowne with bushes, receptacles of wild beasts, of theeues and murderers; large territories dispeopled, or thinly inhabited; goodly cities made desolate; sumptuous building become ruines; glorious temples either subuerted, or prostituted to impietie; true religion discountenanced and oppressed…”[SIC][2]
George Sandys’s diary is not a diary about his personal life but a diary about the history of the cultures that he encounters during his travels throughout the eastern Mediterranean. The dairy was not intended as a travel guide, yet it gives detailed information about methods of transportation, tariffs, and especially dangerous passages. Sandys’s writings are both personal and historical as he recreates the past and the foreign for the learned classes in England. During his trip, Sandys will observe, participate (sometimes), or remain aloof, but he will always maintain a critical stance in regard to his knowledge of literature and his knowledge of the East. Upon returning to London after his trip abroad, Sandys writes a coherent narrative interspersed with poetry to provide detailed accounts of the cultures that he sees, comparing them with the cultures that he has read about in books and records of other travelers. In his diary, Sandys not only uses poetry to give detail information about the places and the people that he sees, but he also gives detailed information about the religious ceremonies that he witnesses. He includes meticulous information about trade habits, travel routes, and accommodations. In reading Sandys’s diary, one finds detailed floor plans of the shrines that he visits. The fact that Sandys presents his work to Prince Charles suggests that the trip may have been intended to be a type of intelligence gathering. But as noted by Hilton Obenzinger in his book about American Holy Land travel writing, Sandys’s diary can be regarded as more than an intelligence briefing of enemy terrain: “his diary responds to cultural imperatives and . . .Sandys takes a diverse narrative strand in order to construct hybrid myths of history.”[3] Sandys is not only seeking ways in which the English could increase their commercial market, he may have been seeking ways in which the English could spread their culture. Sandys traveled during the time in which the British Empire was expanding and when national sentiment was on the rise in England. In his writing, Sandys pays close attention to the practical and religious sides of the cultures that he encounters on this journey. He wrote “I haue not onely related what I saw of their present condition; but so far as conueniency might permit; presented a briefe view of the former estates and first antiquities of those peoples and countries”[SIC].[4] His writing has had an influence on the literary writings of others and has made an impact on other disciplines such as art and archaeology.
The purpose of this paper is to explore Sandys’s diary and the relationship between Sandys’s diary and other literary works of the seventeenth through the twentieth century. In his book review of George Sandy’s Relation of a Journey Am. Dom. 1610 in the Humanist as Traveler, Jonathan Haynes states that “The Relation set a new standard for English travel literature, in its depth and accuracy, and in it formality.”[5] In Urbane Travelers, Boies Penrose doubts that Sandys visited every place that he described in great detail. Penrose writes that the ship in which Sandys is aboard sailed “close to Samos, Icaria, Patmos, Cos, and Rhodes-each of which the conscientious author describes as if he had gone ashore.”[SIC]
Sandys departed from London, France on August 20th, 1610 upon the “Little Defence” of London arriving in Zante on September 3. He leaves Zante aboard an English ship “The Great Exchange”. He traveled to the Dardanelles aboard a small bark called the “Armado” with a Greek guide. He traveled to Venice, Italy before arriving in Constantinople on the 30th of September where he spent four months. Sandys embarked on the “Trinity” of London in late January of 1611 and sailed to Egypt. On February 3, he left Alexandria and sailed to Cairo aboard a craft called “Jerbie” with a crew of seven natives. He departed Cairo on March 4 by camel headed toward the Holy Land traveling through Ismailia, El Arish, and Gaza and visited several places in the Holy Land; Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jericho, The Valley of Jehofaphat, and Nazareth. On April 1, he sailed up the coast to Sidon on the “Trinity”. He then traveled by land on April 25 to Acre. He left Acre for Malta on May 1 on board the “Trinity”. On June 2, he reached Malta. On June 24, Sandys left the island for Naples in a Phalucco (a vessel that is twice as big as a ferry and has a galley rowed by five).[6] On July 9, he arrived in Naples. He sailed to Rome and returned to Venice in early 1612.
A Relation of A Journey was first published in 1615 in London by R. Field for W. Barrett bookseller, and five editions were published in English during Sandys lifetime. The book was still widely available in London in the 1670s. Sandys’s Travels was translated in Dutch in 1653 and in German in 1669. It was published in nine editions in less than half a century. Reprints appeared as recently as the 1970s.
George Sandys was born in England on March 2, 1577/8. He was the youngest of nine and the seventh son of Edwin (archbishop of York) and Cicely (Wilford) Sandys. George Sandys was best known as a poet, a philosopher, and a participant in the Jamestown settlement in Virginia. In 1577/8 at the age of 11, Sandys entered St. Mary’s Hall at the University of Oxford; he then transferred to Corpus Christi College. At the age of 18, he transferred to Middle Temple where he may have earned his legal degree. His family arranged his marriage to Elizabeth Norton. When Sandys started his travels in 1610, some said it was to escape his estranged wife and related legal troubles. Relatives of his wife had taken him to court for desertion and lack of financial support. His travels to the East ended in 1612, but it is unclear if this timing was related to an improved situation at home or not.
In 1607, he became involved with the Virginia Company of London and the Bermuda Company. After his trip to the Easter Mediterranean, he became an active stockholder in the Virginia Company of London. In August of 1621, George Sandys came to America as treasurer of the Virginia Company in Jamestown with Sir Francis Wyatt, his father-in-law and governor of the colony. He was at Jamestown during the massacre of 1622 and led the avenging party at Tappahannock across the river from Jamestown. Sandys left America June 21, 1625, arriving in London before the 1st of September. George Sandys died in March of 1643/4. He was buried on March 7, 1643/4 at Boxley in Kent.
Sandys’s diary is written in four books. Sandys started his journey in France, but he does not start his journal until he reaches Venice, Italy on August 20, 1610. Sandys gives detail accounts of the land that he travels through, such as the location and the terrain. He also gives information about the history of the land and the culture. Sandys goes so far as to give very descriptive details about the weather conditions in the areas in which he travels. In the first book, Sandys travels through Turkey and explores the Turkish Empire. During his voyage through Turkey, Sandys uses his religious knowledge to compare Christianity to Islam. In comparing the two religions, Sandys tries to remain objective regarding Islamic teaching, but he still maintains that Christianity is superior.
In the third book, Sandys arrives in the Holy Land and while in the Jerusalem he stays at a Franciscan monastery. During his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Sandys’ had a hard time reconciling the knowledge of what he saw with the reality of his knowledge and religious background.
“An historian perhaps not alwaires to credired… so by them instild…the lewes do fable this place to haue bin…(but with what congruity I know not)…this is said to haue hapned (ough intermixed with fictio) about the time that…. But relations of that kind haue credit onely in places far distant… But our guides were well practiced in that precept: “of streames, Kings, fashions, kingdoms askt, there showne; / Answer to all: th’vnknowne relate as knowne” Ovid, who endevour to bring all remarkable places within the compasse of their processions. The Mahometans either deceiued with this tradition, or maintaining the report for their profit… whom I rather judge to haue bin buried at Moden…This tradition how euer absurd, is generally belieued by those Christians: a place of high repute in their deuotions..but not by eyes apprehended… as they would make uv beleeue… But surely they be the eyes of faith that must apprehend it…(so called of the inhabitants)…On the right hand in the court they vndertake to shew where the fire was made, by which Peter stood when he denied his Maister… It is said to be about two miles long, and if it be so, but short ones… Passing along we came to our Ladies fountaine (vpon what occasion they so call it is not worth the relation)…they say they affirme…(as they say)… the rest being such like stuff as the former whewith I haue already tired myselfe, and afflicted my Reader.”[SIC][8]
Sandys did not rely on cultural relativism but relied on his experiences to reinforce his beliefs that compared to England all other fell short. With his readers in mind, Sandys gave detail accounts of what he saw be it the beauty of the land or the destruction of buildings. Sandys went to service at the Holy Sepulchral on Easter while in the Holy Land and on Easter Monday he went to Emmaus, the following day to Bethlehem where he stayed the night, after which he spent several days visiting and inspecting several points of interest in the city and the surroundings area.
In the fourth book, Sandys describes his trip through Italy. Here he repeats his pattern of being critical about the religions not his own as he compares Catholicism to English Protestantism. But at least in Italy, he finds a place where he feels at home and where he is able talk to the native people. In Malta, Sandys is quarantined in a cave for a short while after which he traveled to Valetta. Sandys travel journal ends at this point for he returns to Venice ending his writings.
Francis Bacon, Robert Burton, and Ben Jonson were among the literary writers of the seventeenth century who borrowed fact and phrases from Sandys’s book.[9] Jonson kept copies of Sandys’s Ovid in his library. Other authors, such as John Milton drew from Sandys’s works. Milton probably used in “Comus” Sandys’s commentary and translation. Sandys had an impact on Peter Mundy work, and Mundy would give him credit for doing so.[10] Sandys writing was chiefly influential in the development of the English couplet.[11] Sandys’s influenced Augustans poetry as well. Geoffrey Tillotson noted “it was probably not Sylvester, but his imitator Sandys, who did most to fix the vocabulary of ‘progressive’ English poetry for more than a century.” Alexander Pope credits Sandys with contributing to the beauty of English poetry. John Dryden called Sandys “the best versifier of the former age.”[12] Sandys’s translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses influenced Thomas Carew and his writings. [13] Carew place the following dictation at the beginning of his poem #128: “To my worthy friend Mr. George Sandys”.[14] English poets Leigh Hunt and Keats were influenced by Sandys’ Ovid that had the “reputation as the greatest repository of allegorized myth in English.” [15] Sandys was the first to translate in travel journal into English, creating a precedent which men like Sir Thomas Herbert, James Howell, and John Evelyn would later use.[16] Michael Drayton’s poetry was impacted by Sandys’s writings and Drayton praised the first five books of the Sandys’s Ovid.[17] Sandys was considered the first English Egyptologist, and his writing has influenced other disciplines.[18] Sandys writings have been of interest to those studying geology as well.
In reviewing Jonathan Haynes’s book about Sandys’s diary, Marvin A. Breslow acknowledged that Sandys studies helped shape his attitude toward the people and each place that he traveled. Breslow gives Sandys credit for not letting his Christian beliefs influence his attitude toward other religions, customs, and cultural beliefs by reducing them to negative images. However, he acknowledged that in some cases Sandys reduced Egypt to incomprehensible antiquity, myths and the occult. Yet, Sandys’ skepticism did not allow him to reduce Egyptian culture completely to myths and the occult. Sandys religious beliefs influenced his trip through the Holy Land as well for he saw the destruction as divine retribution.[19]
Simon Adams writes that “for Sandys the narrative of his journey was merely the framework for a learned history of the empires of the ancient Near East: a Britannia on an grand scale.[20] ” According to Adams, Sandys rapport of the classical world created an understanding of contemporary Levant for Sandys was fully aware that he was describing the sad fate of the cradle civilization and that “the ruins of the Levant were ‘to the rest of the world as threatening instructions; of the consequence of vice and tyranny.”[21]
In conclusion, Sandys is successful in what he sets out to do—expanding his knowledge and preparing himself for public service. Sandys gives detailed information about the land, the people, and the buildings that he visits; therefore his writing becomes important to future travel journals, and studies of different disciplines from the arts to history. Sandys focuses on giving his readers a true picture of the eastern Mediterranean both the positive and the negative. He uses poetry to blend the knowledge of his experience and the knowledge of his learning. Upon his return to London, his book is well received in the literary world.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bowers, Fredson, and Richard Beale
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Davis, Richard Beale, George Sandys: Poet-Adventurer, London: The Bodley Head
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Davis, Richard Beale. George Sandys v. William
Stansby: The 1632 Edition of Ovid’s
Metamorphosis,
London: the Bibliographical Society, 1948.
Grierson, Herbert J. C., ed. 1921. Meaphysical
Lyrics & Poems of the 17th C. Slected Verse: American &
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1250-1920
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Humanist as Traveler: George Sandys’s
Relation of a Journery
Begun An. Dom. 1610. Rutherford Teaneck Madison: Fairleigh Dickinson University
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Obenzinger, Hilton. American Palestine: Melville, Twain, and the Holy Land Mania.
Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press; 1999.
Penrose,
Boies, Urbane Traveler: 1591-1635, Philadelphia: University of
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Sandys, George. Sandys Travels: Relation of A Journey of 1610; London; R. and W.
Leybourn and Sold by John Sweeting At The Angel in Popes-Head Alley, 1768.
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(http://www.bartleby.org/217/0303.html).
[1]Richard Beale Davis, George Sandys: Poet-Adventurer, (London: The Bodley Head New: Columbia University Press, 1955), 45.
[3]Hilton Obenzing er, American Palestine: Melville, Twain, and the Holy Land Mania (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1999), 17.
[4]Jonathan Haynes, The Humanist as Traveler George Sandys’s Relation of a Journey begun An. Dom. 1610, (Rutherford Teaneck Madison: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press 1986 London and Toronto: Associated University Press 1986), 18.
[7]George Sandys. Sandy’s Travels: Relation of A Journey of 1610 (London: R. and W. Leybourn and Sold by John Sweeting At The Angel in Popes-Head Alley, 1768), 110.
[9]Fredson Bowers and Richard Beale Davis, George Sandys: A Bibliographical Catalogue of Printed Editions In England to 1700 (New York: The New York Public Library 1950), 7.
[12]Richard Beale Davis. Two New Manuscript Items for a George Sandys Bibliography. The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, New York: The Bibliographical Society of America vol 32, 1942, 215.
[13]Christopher Grose. Ovid’s Metamorphoses: An Index to the 1632 Commentary of George Sandys. (Malibu: Undena Publications, 1981) vii.
[14]Grierson, Herbert J. C., ed. 1921. Meaphysical Lyrics & Poems of the 17th C. Slected Verse: American & English Poetry: 1250-1920 Vol. V.( http://miglir.ne.mediaone.net/105/128.html)
[17]The Cambridge History of English and American Literature Volume VII. Writers of the Couplet http://www.bartleby.org/217/0303.html.
[19] Marvin A. Breslow, The Humanist as Traveler, (book review) “The American Historical Review,”(Vol: 92 April 1987), 410.