Coryate, Thomas (c. 1577–1617)

English traveller, writer, and eccentric. In 1608 he travelled through France and Italy to Venice, returning via Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands. His account of this tour, Coryate's Crudities (1611), was prefaced with verses by many eminent contemporaries. In 1612 he set out on extensive travels through Asia, and visited the court of the Great Mogul at Ajmer, India.

In 1612 he went by sea to Constantinople, spending nearly a year there before visiting Palestine. From Aleppo, Syria, he travelled through Persia (Iran) and Afghanistan to Ajmer. After over two years in India he died at Surat.

He was born at Odcombe, Somerset, where his father was rector. Educated at Winchester College and Oxford University, he then entered the household of Prince Henry, eldest son of James I of England, where he earned a reputation for fooling. He was an accomplished wit, scholar, and linguist. Most of Coryate's notes on his eastern travels have been lost, but some fragments and five letters from India were published.