Medieval Perspectives: Jean de Waurin and His Perception of the Turks in Anatolia in the Late Middle Ages
T. Tolga Gumus

Abstract
This article investigates Jean de Waurin’s perception of the Turks in his account of the expedition in Anatolia in fifteenth century. The first part gives a brief account of Jean de Waurin. The second part analyses in detail his perception of the Turks, his expedition to Anatolia and his reasons for writing his account of the crusade of Varna. Then, Waurin’s perspective about the Turks is compared with various views of some other sixteenth century accounts. By doing so, the differences and similarities of the European perception of the Turks of the two centuries in question are discussed. It is argued that Waurin saw the Turks firstly as an enemy and then as ‘the enemy of the Christian faith’. This study also discusses why Waurin wrote this account. The reason was that this account was a crusading propaganda. What Waurin was making in his expedition was clearly a ‘crusade’ and accordingly religious tone in his account is something to be noted.

Full Text: PDF