Published : 2024-06-30

“Qui nescit orare, pergat ad mare”. The Sea as a Space of Peril for Polish Travellers in the 17th and 18th Centuries – A Typology of Danger

Abstract

Accounts of sea voyages by inhabitants of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 17th and 18th centuries constitute a small fraction of the surviving accounts on foreign travels. They all exhibit similar characteristics in their descriptions of time spent at sea. The principal theme of these descriptions is the fear of death at sea or the successful completion of a voyage with an emphasis on escaping danger. The sea was perceived as a perilous space where various threats lay in wait: storms, pirates, seasickness, drowning, or shipwreck. This fear came from passengers’ unfamiliarity with the realities of sea voyages and the alien nature of the maritime environment, its difference from the terrestrial surroundings. This perception was reinforced in the symbolic and religious sphere of the early modern period, perpetuating the image of the sea as a mortal danger to humans.

Keywords:

sea, voyages, travellers, dangers, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, 17th-18th centuries



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Kucharski, A. (2024). “Qui nescit orare, pergat ad mare”. The Sea as a Space of Peril for Polish Travellers in the 17th and 18th Centuries – A Typology of Danger. Facta Simonidis, 17(1), 43–63. https://doi.org/10.56583/fs.2616

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