Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq
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Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq (1520 or 1521-October 28, 1592; Latin: Augerius Gislenius Busbequius; sometimes Augier Ghislain de Busbecq) was a writer, herbalist and diplomat in the employ of three generations of Austrian monarchs.
The illegitimate son of the Seigneur de Busbecq, Georges Ghiselin, and his mistress Catherine Hespiel, he grew up at Busbecq Castle (in present-day Bousbecque, Nord, France), studying in Wervik and Comines - at the time, all part of Spanish West Flanders, a province of the Holy Roman Empire.
His intellectual gifts led him to advanced studies at the Latin-language Catholic University of Leuven, where he registered in 1536 under the name Ogier Ghislain de Comines. From there, he went on to study at a number of well-known universities in northern Italy, including taking classes from Giovanni Battista Egnazio in Venice.
Busbecq, like his father and grandfather, chose a career of public service. He entered into the service of the Austrian monarch Ferdinand I in approximately 1552. In 1554, he was sent to England for the marriage in Winchester of the English queen Mary Tudor to Phillip II of Spain. Shortly thereafter, Ferdinand named him ambassador to the Ottoman Empire under the rule of Suleiman the Magnificent. His task for much of the time he was in Istanbul was the negotiation of a border treaty between his employer (the future Holy Roman Emperor) and the Sultan over the disputed territory of Transylvania. He had no success in this mission while Rustem Pasha was the Sultan's vizier, but ultimately reached an accord with his successor Ali Pasha.
During his stay in Istanbul, he wrote his best known work, his Turkish Letters, a compendium of personal correspondence to his friend, and fellow Hungarian diplomat, Nicholas Michault, in Flanders and some of the world's first travel literature. These letters, describing his adventures in Ottoman politics, remain one of the principal primary sources for students of the 16th century Ottoman court. He also wrote in enormous detail about the plant and animal life he encountered in Turkey. He was an avid collector, acquiring valuable manuscripts, rare coins and curios of various kinds. His passion for herbalism led him to send Turkish tulip bulbs to his friend Charles de l'Écluse, who acclimatized them to life in the Low Countries. Less than a century later tulip mania was sweeping the United Provinces and ruining its financial markets. Tulips are now strongly associated with the Netherlands.
He returned from Turkey in 1562 and became a counsellor in the court of Emperor Ferdinand in Vienna and tutor to his grandchildren, the sons of future Emperor Maximilian II. Busbecq ended his career as the guardian of Elisabeth of Austria, Maximilian's daughter and widow of French king Charles IX. He continued to serve the Austrian monarchy, observing the development of the French Wars of Religion on behalf of Rudolf II. Finally, in 1592 and nearing the end of his life, he chose to leave his residence in Mantes outside of Paris for his native West Flanders, but was assaulted and robbed by members of the Catholic League near Rouen. He died a few days later. His body is buried in a chapel at Saint-Germain-sous-Cailly, and his heart was embalmed and sent to the family tomb in Bousbecque.
[edit] Bibliography
- Itinera Constantinopolitanum et Amasianum (1581), later published as A. G. Busbequii D. legationis Turcicae epistolae quattor - Known in English as Turkish Letters. An early 20th century English translation is available as ISBN 0-8071-3071-0.
- Epistolae ad Rudolphum II. Imperatorem e Gallia scriptae (1630) - Posthumous publication of Busbecq's letters to Rudolf II detailing the life and politics of the French court.
- Vier brieven over het gezantschap naar Turkije (Legationis Turcicae epistolae quatuor), Ogier Ghiselin van Boesbeeck. Translation Michel Goldsteen, Introduction and Notes Zweder von Martels. Available ISBN 90-6550-007-3 (uitgeverij Verloren, Hilversum, Netherlands)
- Les écritures de l'ambassade: les Lettres turques d'Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq. Traduction annotée et étude littéraire. PhD Thesis of Dominique ARRIGHI, Sorbonne, Paris, 2006. A revised edition is to be published, including a French translation enriched with philologic and historical notes, and an essay about the Turkish Letters.
