CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
THE TRAVELS OF SIR JOHN MANDEVILLE
APPENDICES
SUPPLEMENTARY EXPLANATORY NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
THE TRAVELS OF SIR JOHN MANDEVILLE
Little is known about the identity of the author of The Travels apart from what he himself tells us in the book and what can be deduced from the manuscripts. There is no conclusive evidence to prove any theory of who he was; he claims to be an English knight who travelled from 1322 to 1356 (1332 to 1366 in some versions) during which time he served with the Sultan of Egypt and the Great Khan. The book first began to circulate in Europe in the third quarter of the fourteenth century and it rapidly became one of the most widely read works of geographical information. Originally written in French, by 1500 some version of the book was available in every major European language. Whilst there is some doubt as to whether or not Mandeville actually travelled, this in no way detracts from his literary ability. The Travels is a witty and skilful creation which had a considerable influence on the concepts of the world held in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance period, and was known to the great navigators and discoverers. It is also a clever and serious critical look at the European society of its own day.
DR MOSELEY was educated at Queens’ College, Cambridge. He has taught Medieval and Renaissance literature in Cambridge for many years, and still sees reading books as a serious activity. For Penguin he has edited two of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, the Knight’s and the Pardoner’s, and a monograph on Shakespeare's Richard III, as well as Shakespeare's History Plays: ‘Richard II’ to ‘Henry V’: The Making of a King. Dr Moseley is also the author of the first introductory anthology on the fascinating Renaissance form of the emblem, A Century of Emblems, published by Scolar Press. His enthusiasm for Mandeville resulted from the chance finding of an old copy in Cambridge University Library and is now of many years’ standing; it seems to be increasing. His family and friends have been very forbearing. His other activities are of no particular interest save to his anxious family, his neighbours and the surrounding wildlife.