Fynes Moryson

• Name — Fynes Moryson • Born — 1566 • Birthplace — Lincolnshire, England • Died — 12 February 1630 1566 • Place of death — London, England • Other Names — Fynes Morison • Known for — Travel writing and social observation

Moryson was the son of Thomas Moryson, a Lincolnshire gentleman who had been member of Parliament for Grimsby in Lincolnshire. Fynes Moryson was educated at Peterhouse, Cambridge, and after graduating he gained a fellowship for further study there. From May 1591 to May 1595 Moryson travelled around continental Europe for the specific purpose of observing local customs, institutions and economics. He took written notes. From early 1596 to mid-1597 he journeyed to Jerusalem, Tripoli, Antioch, Aleppo, Constantinople and Crete for the same purpose. In 1600 Moryson was appointed personal secretary to Lord Mountjoy, who was the head of government and commander-in-chief of the army in Ireland, then fighting against Tyrone's Rebellion. One of Moryson's brothers, Sir Richard Moryson, also held an upper-level government appointment in Ireland. After the rebellion ended in 1603 Moryson and Mountjoy both returned to England. Moryson remained Mountjoy's secretary until Mountjoy's death in 1606. Later Moryson wrote a book about the military and government affairs of Ireland during the years when he was there with Mountjoy. In 1617 Moryson published the first three volumes of An Itinerary: Containing His Ten Years Travel Through the Twelve Dominions of Germany, Bohemia, Switzerland, Netherland, Denmark, Poland, Italy, Turkey, France, England, Scotland and Ireland. The Itinerary was originally intended to consist of four or five volumes. Only three volumes were published in his lifetime, breaking off in the middle of an exposé. Moryson had to translate his texts from Latin to find a larger readership. A fourth volume, continuing the previous argument but written in English from the outset, was licensed for the press in 1626. Apparently it was never printed. It is preserved in manuscript in the library of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Another part of the Itinerary was republished in 1735 with the title History of Ireland 1599-1603, with a short Narrative of the State of the Kingdom from 1169. In 1903, Sherratt & Hughes published the bulk of the fourth volume, which was transcribed by Charles Hughes and published under the title "Shakespeare's Europe: Unpublished Chapters of Fynes Moryson's Itinerary. Being a survey of the condition of Europe at the end of the 16th century." The volumes I, III and IV of Moryson's Itinerary primarily cover continental Europe and secondarily the Ottoman lands, with volume I being travel narratives from 1591 to 1598 and volumes III and IV forming a thematic "Discourse of Travelling" covering themes of geography, customs, fashion, religion and political institutions. The latter also has extensive material on customs and institutions in Ireland and more concise articles on England and Scotland and Ireland, which needed, according to the author, to be elaborated. Volume II, on the other hand, is devoted to rebellious movements in Ireland from 1599 to 1603. Sometimes Moryson is a prejudiced and unreliable informant. According to his biographer Charles Hughes, "he had a sane charity for all men, except Turks and Irish priests", His antipathy to Irish priests can be illustrated by a satirical verse in his Itinerary in which "four vile beasts" are said to afflict the Irish: lice, rats, priests, and wolves. It is believed that this volume contains the earliest example of "Merry Christmas" in print:...so suddenly as his wife and eldest son were taken, and himself hardly escaped at a backe window, and naked, into the woods, where he kept a cold Christmas, while my Lord hued plentifully in his house, with such provisions as were made, for him and his Bonnaghs and kerne to keepe a merry Christmas. Moryson died unmarried in London on 12 February 1630.

• || Book || Fynes Moryson – Itinerary (A) || Years || ed. 1617 || ed. 1907/08 || • Part I — 1; 2; 3.1 — Journeys — 1591–98 — I, 1 — I, 1 • 3.2–3.5 — I, 217 — II, 1 • 3.6 — Money exchange — 1605–17 — I, 275 — II, 122 • Part II — 1; 2.1 — The Rebellion in Ireland — 1599–1602 — II, 1 — II, 165 • 2.2 — II, 141 — III,1 • Part III — 1 — The Discourse of Travelling — 1605–17 — III, 2 — III, 349 • 2.1 — Means to Travel — III, 54 — III, 464 • 2.2 — On Buildings — III, 63 — III, 483 • 2.3–4 — Geography — III, 75 — IV, 1 • 4.1; 4.2 — Apparel — III, 165 — IV, 204 • 4.3 — Commonwealth — III, 181 — IV, 238 • Fynes Moryson – Itinerary (B) — 1617–26 — Manuscr. — ed. 1903 — ed. 1995 • Part IV — 1; 2.1 — (continued) — fol.1 — 1 — II, 1–615 • 2.2 — fol.231 — 174 — II, 616–796 • 3 — Religion — fol.300 — 261 — III, 796–1199 • 4 — Nature and Manners — fol.460 — 290 — IV, 1200–1741