JOHANNES SCHILTBERGER: Reisen des Johannes Schiltberger aus Munchen in Europa, Asien und Afrika von 1394 bis 1427. Munchen 1859 Third complete and final edition of Schiltberger’s famous travel account, edited by Karl Neumann, who substantially revised the earlier 1813 and 1814 editions after the mid-19th-century discovery of two additional manuscripts of the narrative. In 8vo (20 × 13 cm). Contemporary cloth over boards. Complete: [15], 166 pp. Some scattered browning and light spotting, otherwise a very good copy. Johann Schiltberger (1381–1440), a native of Munich, was captured by the Turks at the battle of Nicopolis (1396) while still very young. Taken first to Adrianople and later to Gallipoli, he chose in early 1397 to enter Ottoman service. He followed Bayezid I in his campaigns through Asia Minor, describing the capture of Ikonion in late 1397, of Samsun in 1398, and of Sivas (Sebasteia) and Melitene (Malatya) in 1399. In 1402 he was present at the battle of Ankara, where Bayezid’s army was defeated and Schiltberger himself was taken by the Mongols. He spent several years in their service across Asia Minor before finally escaping to Constantinople in 1426, still under Byzantine rule, and returning to Germany the following year. His extraordinary travel narrative circulated widely in manuscript form throughout Europe, often blended with fantastic tales, and parts of it were published as early as the 15th century in pamphlet form. Only in the 19th century was a serious effort made to collate all known manuscripts and reconstruct the authentic account, a task completed in his native Munich. Schiltberger’s account is invaluable for its descriptions of Constantinople, Thrace, and numerous sites in Anatolia. Remarkably, the first English translation was not published until 1976, and even that edition is rare. One of the most important medieval travel accounts for Greece and the Levant. Rare.