A genealogy of testimony in 16th century travel writing and cosmography

During the 16th century, the demarcation between ‘history writer’ and ‘tale teller’ was at stake. In the chaos of information, returning from the discoveries and spreading rapidly, due to the printing press, a new epistemological ideal arose: the eyewitness. By studying 16th century travel writings and their circulation in cosmographic works, I will investigate how that ideal took shape.