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William Lithgow (c. 1582 – c. 1645) was a Scottish traveller, writer and alleged spy. He claimed at the end of his various peregrinations to have tramped 36,000 miles (57,936km) on foot.
''Rare Adventures & Painful Peregrinations''
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accessed 28 April 2017
1580s births 1645 deaths Explorers from the Kingdom of Scotland Scottish spies Scottish travel writers People from Lanark 17th-century Scottish writers 1582 in Scotland 17th-century spies {{UK-explorer-stub
William Lithgow (c. 1582 – c. 1645) was a Scottish traveller, writer and alleged spy. He claimed at the end of his various peregrinations to have tramped 36,000 miles (57,936km) on foot.
Life and adventures
William Lithgow was born atLanark
Lanark (; gd, Lannraig ; sco, Lanrik) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a population of 9 ...
, the oldest son of the merchant James Lithgow and Alison Grahame, his wife. A family tradition had it that William was discovered in the company of a certain Miss Lockhart, and her four brothers cut off his ears, earning him the nickname "lugless Willie".
Prior to 1610 he had visited Shetland
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
The islands lie about to the ...
, Switzerland, and Bohemia. In that year he set out from Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
for Rome on the 7 March, where he remained for four weeks before moving on to other parts of Italy: Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, Ancona
Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...
, before moving on to Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...
, Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
, and others. After a three-month stay in Constantinople, he sailed to other Greek localities and then on to Palestine, arriving in Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
on Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Ho ...
1612, and later on to Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
.
His next journey, 1614–16, was in Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
, population_note =
, population_urban =
, population_metro = 2658816
, population_density_km2 =
, timezone1 = CET
, utc_offset1 ...
and Fez; but his last, 1619–21, to Spain, ended in his apprehension at Malaga and torture as a spy.
He also visited Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...
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Bibliography
*'' Rare Adventures and Paineful Peregrinations'', an account of his travels *'' The Siege of Breda'', *'' The Siege of Newcastle'', *'' Poems''. *''A briefe and summarie discourse upon that lamentable and dreadfull disaster at Dunglasse. Anno 1640'' (Edinburgh, 1640). A description of the explosion atDunglass Castle
Dunglass Castle, situated in West Dunbartonshire on a rocky cliff overlooking the River Clyde, is a 14th-century ruinous castle. It was designated as a Category B listed building in 1971. It has been graded at high risk by the Buildings at Ris ...
.
*
References
* * Martin Garrett, 'Lithgow, William (b. 1582, d. in or after 1645)', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200accessed 28 April 2017
Further reading
*External links
* *1580s births 1645 deaths Explorers from the Kingdom of Scotland Scottish spies Scottish travel writers People from Lanark 17th-century Scottish writers 1582 in Scotland 17th-century spies {{UK-explorer-stub