Nowadays many young people go backpacking in South America or Asia for a few months before, during or after their studies. In the seventeenth century, such a formative journey was only affordable for the very wealthy. After their studies, privileged young men such as Constantijn Huygens, Johan de Witt and P.C. Hooft made journeys of one, two, or sometimes even three years. In countries like Italy, France, Germany and England, they learned to speak new languages and acquired skills such as dancing, horseback riding and fencing. They often recorded these experiences in a travel journal. Some jotted down a few pages of notes, while others produced a nicely edited final version for the family library.
“The nice thing is that you can see from those reports how these young men presented themselves to their loved ones, how they wanted their relatives to see them,” says Dutch language scholar Alan Moss. For his PhD research, Moss read 107 travel journals along with numerous letters, travel poems and packing lists. He studied how travellers shaped their identity during these profound journeys. “Young adults came into contact with new cultures and religions. When Protestants from the Netherlands visited a Catholic city for the first time, it often came as a shock to them.”
Ostracised after duel
The travellers often wrote for others, such as family members who paid for the journey. So they couldn't just write down everything they experienced. “You do read about their education and about the special places they visited. You won't find any stories about drinking, whoring or duelling here, but we know that for many young men this was also part of their journey.” Moss refers to the tragic case of Volkert Teding van Berkhout. During a duel he injured his opponent, who later died. Teding van Berkhout was subsequently ostracised by his family.”
Such antics were of course kept hidden, but travellers were also cautious about reporting more innocent new experiences. “It was acceptable for them to express their admiration for other countries, but they shouldn't give the impression that they would rather stay there than at home in Holland. Some praise for Catholic customs was fine, but they shouldn't go overboard there either.”
Bandits and robbers
Now we travel securely by train or aeroplane, and we have a smart phone to solve any problems. The seventeenth-century Grand Tours were much more dangerous, despite costing a fortune. Travellers had to negotiate difficult mountain paths, where they might encounter a frozen corpse. Robbers, privateers and bandits lurked about, and plague outbreaks were the order of the day in crowded cities. “To protect themselves, they travelled in groups and carried bills of exchange instead of cash. They left their servants at home, as their presence would betray how wealthy the travellers were.”
At the same time, Moss sees similarities between the Grand Tours and the journeys young adults take today. “It is often the first time that young people are away from home for a long time and are left to their own devices. During the journey they undergo a metamorphosis from youth to adult.”
Image: Rijksmuseum