Who wrote, in 1530 CE, that the Sultan preferred Bosnian janissaries because they were "much bigger, more handsome and more able" than other Turks?

by adenoidcystic

In Noel Malcolm's "Bosnia - A Short History" he writes:

"One Austrian-Slovenian writer observed in 1530 that the Sultan preferred to recruit Bosnians [janissaries] because he believed them to be 'the best, most pious, and most loyal people', differing from other 'Turks' in that they were 'much bigger, more handsome and more able'."

The citation is "Kuripesic, Itinerarium der Botschaftsreise, p. 44."

Does anyone know who this Austrian-Slovenian writer was? To whom was he writing and for what purpose? As a humble monoglot I unable to research this further... Many thanks

Chamboz

Well, the full title of the book is Itinerarium der Botschaftsreise des Joseph von Lamberg und Niclas Jurischitsz durch Bosnien, Serbien, Bulgarien, nach Konstantinopel 1530, or "Itinerary of the Ambassadorial Journey of Joseph von Lamberg and Niclas Jurischitsz through Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria, to Constantinople 1530." So that at least tells you the names of the people involved and something about the nature of the work, but as for who Joseph von Lamberg was, I don't know.