Pero Tafur
Pero Tafur was a Castilian knight born in 1410 in Córdoba. His family served the Castilian king Juan II. As Tafur states himself in his narrative, he took advantage of temporary peace between the Castilian king and the moorish Kingdom of Granada and in the spring of 1436 started his voyage which would last until the spring of 1439 when he returned home. After that, it is only known that he settled in Córdoba, married Juana de Horozco, and was a member of the municipal council. He died in 1484. Tafur embarked in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, crossed the Mediterranean Sea and got to the Apennine Peninsula where he visited the principal cities. He then left Venice in the spring of 1437 to visit Jerusalem and the Holy Land. During the voyage back, in Cyprus, he decided to go to Egypt and, having visited Cairo and Mount Sinai, he voyaged to Constantinople. Before returning to Venice, he also explored several cities on the coast of the Black Sea. During the last part of his voyage, Tafur passed through the Alps and paid a visit to Flanders, Burgundy, Bohemia, Silesia and Austria. He embarked in Venice to sail home, and although the end of his narrative is missing, we suppose that he got back in the spring of 1439.Tafur wrote his narrative in 1454, fifteen years after returning from his voyage, and dedicated it to Fernando de Guzmán (also known as Fernán Gómez de Guzmán), commander of the Calatrava order. This book offers a complete translation of Tafur’s narrative, known as Andanças y viajes, into modern Czech.