WHY IS DUERER DRAWING IRISHMEN?

This is a very strange drawing that Albrecht Duerer did in 1521 while still in Antwerp setting up his new art shop headquarters in Antwerp, after attending the coronation of Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor and having achieved getting back his pension promised to him by Charles’ grandfather, the former Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian.

WHAT MAKES THIS DRAWING STRANGE?

First, we must note that this IS a drawing that was part of his own personal sketchbook. It also has his authenticated writing on it. It is dated 1521 and the writings are translated as “The two men on the left are soldiers, the three men on the right are peasants, and they come from the land beyond England, Ireland.”

QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS

The first odd thing that comes to mind in this drawing is that it is an encoded one, and did Duerer actually get to see Irishman as they were dressed this way or was he making up in his head what he thought Irishmen, especially soldiers, should have looked like to him.

Secondly, the drawing was part of a sketchbook and thus, it is a reasonable assumption to make, that this sketch book would have been kept for future reference for other artwork, and yet he encodes this drawing. Why would he do such a thing? Who would have been his target audiences to get his message(s)?