Tafur, Pero, Travels and adventures 1435-1439

(London :  G. Routledge,  1926.)

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CHAPTER XXV

Louvain. — Bois-le-duc.—Nymegen.—Frankfurt.—Cologne.—Mainz.
—The travellers are kidnapped and released.—Tafur loses his
sword.—Basle.—A tourney at Schaffhausen.—ConSlance,—Ulm,—
Nordlingen, — Kaspar Schlick. — Nuremberg, — Prague, — The
Margrave of Meissen.

I DEPARTED from AutwcTp and came to the city of
Louvain, which is in Brabant. It is a very great place,
but much de-populated. Here is a very notable
university for the ftudy of all sciences, but they say
that theology is taught more than the others. I saw-
there two baftard sons of the Duke of Burgundy who
were ftudying philosophy. One of them afterwards
became a valiant man of arms, and fell, as I have related,
at the blockade of Ghent. I left Louvain and came to
Bois-le-duc, where I had already been, and from there
I travelled to Nymegen, which, as I have said, belongs
to the Duchy of Guelders; from there I passed on to
the Duchy of Cleves and came to Frankfurt. It was
the time of the fair which is very noteworthy, as I have
said, but not equal to that at Antwerp. The city is
very well provisioned, and has 4000 burghers, and the
fair brings it much wealth. Frankfurt is situated in
the middle of Germany and is chiefly notable, as it
seemed to me, for its beafts. I remained there three
days, and departed and returned to Cologne. I visited
the Archbishop, as I had promised, and he received me
moft graciously.

At Cologne I fell in with an embassy which was
returning to Basle from the Duke of Burgundy, a
goodly company dispatched by the Council to the Duke,
to endeavour to persuade him to take sides with the
Council, and to throw off his allegiance to the Pope,

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