Medieval English Travel: A Critical Anthology

Summary

In the book «Medieval English Travel: A Critical Anthology», Anthony Bale invites the reader on a captivating journey through the world of medieval England, unveiling a kaleidoscope of authentic voices and impressions from travelers of the era. The anthology brings together rare and vivid texts by pilgrims, merchants, diplomats, and adventurers who set out for distant lands—from the Holy Land to the mysterious eastern frontiers. Through lively descriptions of roads, cities, customs, and encounters, the author recreates the atmosphere of an age when travel was a test of both spirit and body, and every account served as a window into the unknown. The book not only gathers unique testimonies but also provides them with deep critical analysis, allowing us to see how perceptions of the foreign and the familiar were shaped in the minds of medieval English people. This is a refined collection where the past comes alive in detail, and the road becomes a metaphor for the search for meaning and the boundaries of human experience.