Description
Book SynopsisMedieval English Travel: A Critical Anthology is a comprehensive volume that consists of three sections: concise introductory essays written by leading specialists; an anthology of important and less well-known texts, grouped by destination; and a selection of supporting bibliographies organized by type of voyage. This anthology presents some texts for the first time in a modern edition. The first section consists of six companion essays on ''Places, Real and Imagined'', ''Maps and the Organization of Space'', ''Encounters'', ''Codes and Languages'', ''Trade and Exchange'', and ''Politics and Diplomacy''.The organizing principle for the anthology is one of expansive geography. Starting with local English narratives, the section moves to France, en-route destinations, the Holy Land, and the Far East. In total, the anthology contains twenty-six texts or extracts, including new editions of Floris & Blancheflour, The Stacions of Rome, The Libelle of Englyshe Polycye, and Chaucers ''Squire''s Tale'', in addition to less familiar texts, such as Osbern Bokenham''s Mappula Angliae, John Kay''s Siege of Rhodes, 1480, and Richard Torkington''s Diaries of Englysshe Travell.The supporting bibliographies, in turn, take a functional approach to travel, and support the texts by elucidating contexts for travel and travellers in five areas: ''commercial voyages'', ''diplomatic and military travel'', ''maps, rutters, and charts'', ''practical needs, languages, and currencies'', and ''religious voyages''.
Trade ReviewAnthony Bale and Sebastian Sobecki's Medieval English Travel is a wonderful anthology, in the full meaning of that word. * Mary Baine Campbell, Brandeis University, Journal of British Studies 61 *
Antony Bale and Sebastian Sobecki's edited volume Medieval English Travel: A Critical Anthology is an invaluable resource for those studying and teaching Middle English travel writing. * Kate Ash-Irisarri et al., The Year's Work in English Studies *
The volume is well crafted, its texts carefully edited and readily accessible for undergraduates. An incredible resource for teachers . . . [It] will be a foundational starting-point for those interested in the field. * Kara L. McShane, Studies in the Age of Chaucer, Volume 42, 2020 *
the volume will surely shape the scholarship of medieval travel, especially insofar as it invites consideration of understudied texts and documents. As a whole, this timely collection offers a treasure trove of primary sources that will help us better understand what medieval English people knew about the rest of the world, what they thought about it, and how they gained this knowledge or belief. * Shannon Gayk, Journal of Medieval Religious Cultures *
This is a welcome anthology as the field turns to a deeper understanding of and interest in the global Middle Ages. Medieval English Travel provides a thoughtful guide for studying the literature of travel in medieval England. Moreover, it entices readers to explore the topic further and gives them the tools to do so. I recommend this book for those teaching a class on medieval travel literature and those wishing to learn about it on their own. * Molly Martin, University of Indianapolis, Modern Language Review *
This anthology is cogently divided into three sections as a means of guiding both the specialist academic reader and those who may not be familiar with the central purposes of medieval travel writing ... Each of the twenty-six items included in the second section of the anthology is introduced by a helpful account of its literary and historical significance ... this anthology also contains some fascinating material relating to recently discovered writings. * Michael G. Brennan, Notes and Queries *
Highly recommended. * D.W. Hayes, CHOICE *
Table of ContentsAnthony Bale and Sebastian Sobecki: Introduction Part 1: Essays 1: Anthony Bale: Places, Real and Imagined 2: Alfred Hiatt: Maps and the Organisation of Space 3: A. Matthew Boyd Goldie: Encounters 4: Jonathan Hsy: Languages and Codes 5: Sebastian Sobecki: Trade and Exchange 6: Joanna Bellis: Politics and Diplomacy Part 2: Anthology 7: Saewulf 8: The Description of the World 9: Robert of Gloucester, Metrical Chronicle, on the Third Crusade 10: Sir John Mandeville's Prologue 11: Sir John Mandeville in India and Caldilhe 12: The Division of the World 13: St Bridget of Sweden in the Holy Land 14: Geoffrey Chaucer, 'The Squire's Tale' 15: Floris & Blancheflour 16: Jean Froissart, Chronicles, trans. Lord Berners 17: The Stacions of Rome 18: Richard Coer de Lyon 19: Channel crossings in the Alliterative Morte Arthure 20: The Book of Margery Kempe (extracts) 21: John Page, The Siege of Rouen 22: The Libelle of Englyshe Polycye 23: Osbern Bokenham, Mappula Angliae 24: Gilbert Hay, The Buik of Alexander 25: The Pilgrims' Sea Voyage 26: William Wey's will 27: Documents of the English pilgrims at Rome 28: Two travellers' itineraries 29: John Kay, The Siege of Rhodes 1480 30: The Capitulation of Granada 1492 31: The Walsingham Ballad 32: Richard Torkington, Diaries of Englysshe Travell Part 3: Contexts 33: Commercial voyages 34: Diplomatic and military travel 35: Maps, rutters, and charts 36: Practical needs 37: Religious voyages
