Jewish Doctor (Medico Giudeo)

Nicolas de Nicolay

1568

Print with decorative border of man in robes wearing hat and holding a book with right hand and Latin heading.
This depiction of a Jewish doctor is from a travelogue by French geographer Nicolas Nicolay, who is believed to have also created the illustrations in the book. Considered at the time a key source of information about life in the Ottoman Empire, Le Navigationi et viaggi, fatti nella Turchia, first published in 1568, was reprinted many times. This edition was printed in Venice by Francesco Ziletti in 1576.

Credits

Nicolas de Nicolay, “Jewish Doctor,” from Le navigationi et viaggi nella Turchia, trans. Francesco Flori (Anversa, Italy: Apresso Guiglielmo Siluio, 1576), fol. 185.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

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Creator Bio

Nicolas de Nicolay

1517–1583

Nicolas de Nicolay was a French soldier, geographer, and artist who traveled to the Ottoman Empire at the behest of King Henry II of France (1519–1559) as both a geographer and a spy. His travelogue/survey of the Ottoman Empire was first published in French in 1567 and, considered the first authoritative source of information about the Ottoman Empire for westerners, was often reprinted. In 1565, he was assigned by Henry II’s widow, Catherine de’ Medici (1519–1589), to survey the provinces of the French kingdom.

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