PREFACE

In offering this translation of the travels of Pero Tafur
to English readers, I desire to express my sincere
thanks to Miss A. de Alberti, an acknowledged
authority on early Spanish, for much valuable advice
and assi^ance, to Miss A. J. Mayes for drawing the
map, and to my wife, who has helped me in many ways.
The Introduftion reproduces with additional matter
a leading article written by me for The Times Literary
Supplement last year. I am indebted to the editor
for permission to reprint it.

I have not followed the Spanish editor in the matter
of notes, but have written my own, and for convenience
I have divided the narrative into chapters. Neverthe¬
less, my predecessor's work, particularly his Catdlogo
Biogrdjico, running into more than 200 pages, muft
not be overlooked by hiftorians and ^udents. This
Catdlogo is a veritable " Who's Who " of the period,
and I cannot close my labours without expressing my
unqualified admiration for a moSt scholarly piece of
work which is too little known.

No complete translation of Tafur has hitherto
appeared in any language, but a German version of
some portions dealing with Germany was published
by Dr. Konrad Habler in 1887 (Zeitschrift fur allge-
meine Geschichte, vol. iv).

The frontispiece is reproduced by kind permission
from a copy of the original map in the possession of
the Royal Geographical Society.

MALCOLM LETTS.

London,

Easter, 1926.