From ruthless warriors to careless idlers: the evolution of the image of the Crimean Tatars in the French travelogues of 17th–19th centuries
Journal: Annual of French Studies
Year: 2024

This paper discusses the evolution of the image of the Crimean Tatar warriors in the French travel writings from the Early Modern Period. The materials under research are writings of the French travellers in Eastern Europe. Some of them visited the Crimea, others viewed Crimean Tatars during military campaigns in present-day Ukraine. It has been demonstrated that initial image of the Crimean Tatars represented archetypical nomads, who “inherited” some features of Scythians and Huns from Greco-Ro