Title:
A travel guide to the Middle Ages : the world through medieval eyes
Author:
Edition:
First American edition.
Publication Date:
2024
2023
Publication Information:
New York, NY : W.W. Norton & Company, 2024.
©2023
Physical Description:
xvi, 352 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
ISBN:
9781324064572
Abstract:
From the medieval bazaars of Tabriz, to the mysterious island of Caldihe, where sheep were said to grow on trees, Anthony Bale brings history alive in A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages, inviting the reader to travel across a medieval world punctuated with miraculous wonders and long-lost landmarks. Journeying alongside scholars, spies and saints, from western Europe to the Far East, the Antipodes, and the ends of the world, this is no ordinary travel guide, containing everything from profane pilgrim badges, Venetian laxatives and flying coffins to encounters with bandits and trysts with princesses. Using previously untranslated contemporary accounts from as far and wide as Turkey, Iceland, Armenia, north Africa, and Russia, A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages is a living atlas that blurs the distinction between real and imagined places, offering the reader a vivid and unforgettable insight into how medieval people understood their world.
General Note:
First published in Great Britain in 2023 by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House Books.
Contents:
Preface -- A medieval mariner's windrose -- The shape of the world in 1491; or, a preamble with Martin Behaim -- Can I pay for that in plapparts? -- The point of departure, with Beatrice, Henry and Thomas -- Charms and prognostications for Christian travellers -- From Aachen to Bolzano -- A bedtime conversation between two travellers -- A stay in Venice, and onwards to Rome -- Indulge yourself! -- Across the great sea: from Venice to Cyprus -- A poem about sea travel -- A walking tour of Constantinople -- Some travellers' costs in Egypt and the Holy Land -- Through the Holy Land to Babylon -- How to cross the desert -- A walking tour of Jerusalem -- Can you repeat that, please? Phrases for travellers -- A detour to Ethiopia -- Medical advice for travellers -- On the silk roads -- The creatures of India -- From Persia through India -- Tips for business travellers from Tana to Khanbaliq -- All roads lead to Khanbaliq -- Eating out in Mongol China -- Visiting the West -- How to find the Fountain of Youth -- A rough guide to the Antipodes and the end of the world -- Coda: Journey's end.
Language:
English
