Medieval English men and women travelled for a range of reasons: scholars travelled to study; those in holy orders moved between religious houses; merchants travelled for trade; soldiers travelled to war; and people from many walks of life travelled on pilgrimage, whether within the British Isles or across Europe. Travel was time-consuming and frequently very uncomfortable, but it was also an exciting opportunity for encounters of various kinds, with people of different faiths and languages, with different literatures and ideas, and with culturally important objects --- relics, buildings, works of art. Books were written to guide travellers, but also to recount the wonders witnessed for those back home. Such travellers’ tales can offer insights into medieval journeys and cultural sites, but were often heavily embroidered, revealing most, perhaps, about the attitudes and anxieties of the teller. Weekly schedule: 20.09 – Mapping the Medieval World 27.09 – Visiting Rome 04.10 – Visiting Santiago 11.10 – Visiting Jerusalem 18.10 – The Chaucerian Pilgrimage 25.10 – Travelling Women: The Book of Margery Kempe 01.11 – NO CLASSES – ALL SAINTS 08.11 – How To Talk to Foreigners 15.11 – NO CLASSES – DIES ACADEMICUS 22.11 – The Marvels of the East 29.11 – The Travels of Marco Polo 06.12 – The Travels of John Mandeville 13.12 – Writing the Travel Narrative 20.12 – Medieval Travel imagined today |