East Goes West - Kavalierstours of Hungarian Aristocrats in the Seventeenth Century

The Kavalierstour was part of many young noblemen's studies in early modern Europe or represented its final stage. Its unparalleled popularity shows that it was a suitable reflection of the changes that began in the sixteenth century and repositioned the place of the high nobility in society and the courts of the aristocracy, the Church, and the monarchs. The young men taking part in the Kavalierstours pursued both theoretical and practical studies: language, law, and arithmetic, as well as riding, dancing, and music. One of their main tasks was to get acquainted with members of their social stratum (from the highest positions to their peers), practice the manners of court society, learn about international politics, and explore the spaces of culture and representation.
The aim of the present volume is to familiarise international readership with the study tours made by the aristocrats of the Kingdom of Hungary - since the Kavalierstour was a pan-European phenomenon.

Magyar nyelvű ismertető
A kötet a magyar főnemesi ifjak kora újkori európai tanulmányútjait, az úgynevezett Kavalierstourokat mutatja be. A főként Itáliába és a német területekre vezető utak során a fiatalok uralkodói és arisztokrata udvarokat látogattak, városok látnivalóit keresték fel, a nemesség számára alapított oktatási intézményekben folytattak tanulmányokat. A Kavalierstourok során szerzett tapasztalatok és tudásanyag későbbi társadalmi érvényesülésük, művészetpártoló tevékenységük alapjait vetették meg.