by Giles Milton
Epilogue
in his book Discoverie of Guiana that although initially sceptical about Mandeville, his own journey forced him to conclude that The Travels was true in every respect: "[Mandeville's] reports were holden for fables many yeeres, and yet since the East Indies were discovered, we find his relations true of such things as heretofore were held incredible/'
Sir Martin Frobisher also turned to Mandeville for advice when he set out on his voyage to discover the North-West Passage. Not only did his ship's library contain a copy of Mercator's world map, which itself relied on Mandeville for much of its information, but it also contained a copy of The Travels. The great explorers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries depended on Mandeville's book for information about the unknown, and few would have questioned Richard Hakluyt's decision to give The Travels pride of place when he came to compile his encyclopedic account of the country's greatest explorers. The Principall Navigations, Voiages and Discoveries of the English Nation.
What Sir John achieved in writing his Travels is far more important than the question of whether he himself went on his voyage. He gave a whole generation of explorers—men like Columbus who really did discover the world—a justification, both theological and practical, for setting out into the unknown. And when, in the decades following his death, men came to propose expeditions, it was to Sir John's book that they turned. He inspired them with his tales of the legendary east and fired their enthusiasm for discovery. And most important of all, he provided a motive for financial backers to plough huge sums of money into highly risky adventures. Within little more than a century after his death, men had taken Mandeville at his word and sailed to the other side of the globe, proving his theory of geography correct.
But in doing so, these early colonizers neglected the second point that Sir John was making. His message of tolerance, central to the book's meaning, was either misunderstood or ignored. Within years of discovering the new lands, settlers were colonizing them, and the pagan natives that Sir John describes with such affection were being indiscriminately slaughtered.
Mandeville was once the most celebrated writer of his era and left a legacy that few can match. For not only did he inspire the world's
Epilogue
greatest explorers, he also left his legacy in the great works of English literature. Shakespeare's plays are scattered with echoes of The Travels, from the Scythians who eat their parents in King Lear to the monstrous creatures in The Tempest. Spenser, too, borrowed Mandeville's men with waist-length ears for his Faerie Qiieene, and John Milton includes a troupe of Mandeville's monsters in his 1634 masque Comus. Ben Jonson, Jonathan Swift, Samuel Johnson, and Daniel Defoe all turned to Mandeville's book for inspiration. Samuel Coleridge was reading Piirchas his Pilgrimes —which contained The Travels —shortly before writing his masterpiece "Kubla Khan." Hardly surprising, therefore, that Coleridge's line "For he on honey-dew hath fed / And drunk the milk of Paradise" is lifted from Sir John's description of the land of Chaldea. Until the nineteenth century, Mandeville's Uterary genius was freely acknowledged, and it was he—not Chaucer—who was referred to as "the father of English prose."
But just as the discoveries of the sixteenth-century explorers destroyed Mandeville's reputation as the world's greatest traveller, so the moraUstic Victorians—disgusted by his fabrications—finally buried his hterary reputation. Sir John entered the deepest trough in his career when the ninth edition of the Encyclopaedia Britayviica concluded that his book, his voyage, and even his life were riddled with lies.
Today Sir John is still suffering from the batterings of the Victorian era. Although his book remains in print, it is rarely taken down from the bookshelves, and in the three years I spent studying medieval literature at university, Mandeville was never even mentioned.
The peeling epitaph in St. Albans Abbey is the last concrete reminder that Sir John Mandeville was an Englishman and once the most famous writer of the Middle Ages. But it will not be many years before the epitaph has disappeared completely. A few more damp winters and the last words of the inscription will flake, loosen themselves from the pillar, and be swept from the floor by a cleaner.
Only Sir John's book—the inspiration for the voyages that discovered the world—will remain as testimony to his genius.
ArknomUbgFtttpnta
A great number of people have helped with the research and writing of this book, both in England and abroad. First and foremost my thanks are to Frank Barrett, without whom I would never have left London, and Paul Whyles, who generously spared time to read the manuscript and give me his invaluable advice.
I am also deeply grateful to Simon Denis, Simon Heptinstall, and Steve Meacham, all of whom read the book at various stages of completion and suggested much-needed improvements.
Special thanks are due to Alex Belopopsky and Esther Hookway for their support, encouragement, and wealth of contacts throughout the Middle East; to Cyril Aslanoff, Marcus Plested, and Erica Brewer for translating obscure and difficult texts; and to Jean-Frangois Colosimo for unlocking the door to St. Catherine's monastery.
Throughout my trip I met numerous people who generously dedicated hours of their time to my quest. Among them, I am particularly grateful to the Reverend Ian Sherwood, Father Isaias, Laki Vingas, and Father Tarasios in Istanbul; to the Mufti of Cyprus and Nick Cannon in Lefko^a; to Pierre Kaspo and Father Michael in Syria; to Father Baratto and the Very Reverend John Tidy in Jerusalem; and to Fathers John, George, and Nicholas at St. Catherine's monastery.
In London I am grateful to Miles Bredin, Wendy Driver, Vince Graff, Sinclair McKay, Robert Noel, Andrew Penman, James Pool, Tony Saint, Niki Tsironis; and to Dr. M. Bateson at the Cathedral Archives in Canterbury. And, of course, to Maggie Noach, my agent, and Peter Day, my publisher, for placing their trust in me.
Last, a special thank you to my mother, who sadly did not live to see the finished book. It was her enthusiasm which first inspired me to write The Riddle and the Knight.
Itblt09rapl|i|
There have been many editions of The Travels. The ones I have referred to are Hsted on pages 224-25. The Penguin Edition, translated and edited by C.W.R.D. Moseley in 1983, is still available today.
Alexandris, Alexis, The Greek Minority of Istanbul and Greek Turkish Relations, i^iS-y^, Centre for Asia Minor Studies, Athens.
Atiya, A. S., A History of Eastern Christianity, 1968; Crusade in the Later Middle Ages, 1938.
Barcia, D.Andres Gonzalez, Historiadores Primitivos de Las Indias Oc-cidentales, Madrid, 1749.
Bennett, Josephine, The Rediscovery of Sir John Mandeville, New York, 1954.
Bond, E. A. (ed.). Chronica Monasterii de Melsa, 1866.
Budge, Sir E. A. Wallis (trs.). The Monks of Kublai Khan, Emperor of China, 1928.
Burchard of Mount Sion, A Description of the Holy Land, Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society, vol. XII, 1896.
Calendar of the Close Rolls, Edward IL 4 vols., 1892.
Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Edward U, 5 vols., 1894.
Charlesworth, J. H., "St. Catherine's Monastery, Myths and Mysteries," Biblical Archaeologist, 42, 1979; "The Manuscripts of St. Catherine's Monastery," Biblical Archaeologist, 43, 1980.
Clutterbuck, Robert, History and Antiquities of Hertfordshire, 1815.
Cobham, Claude Deval, Excerpta Cypria, Cambridge, 1908.
Dawson, Christopher, The Mongol Mission; Narratives and Letters of the Franciscan Missionaries in Mongolia and China in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries, London and New York, 1955.
Edbury, Peter, The Kingdom of Cyprus and the Crusades, ii^i-i^y^., Cambridge, 1991.
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Forsyth, G. H., "The Monastery of St. Catherine at Mount Sinai—The Church and Fortress of Justinian," Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 22, 1969.
Fortescue, Adrian, The Lesser Eastern Churches, 1913.
Fuller, Dr. Thomas, The History of the Worthies of England, 1840.
Galbraith, V. A., The St. Albans' Chronicle, O
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Galey, John, Siriai and the Monastery of St. Catherine, 1980.
Grant, Dr. Asahel, The Nestorians, or The Lost Tribes, 1841.
Gregoras, Nikephoros, Corpus Scriptorurn Historiae Byzantinae, Bonn, 1829.
Gilles, Pierre, The Aiitiquities of Constantijiople, 1729.
Hakluyt, Richard, Principall Navigations, 1589.
Hasluck, F. W., Christianity and Islam under the Sultans, 2 vols., 1929.
Hitti, Philip, History of Syria, 1951; History of the Arabs, 1958.
Hoarde, E., Western Pilgrims, 1^22-1^^2, Jerusalem, 1952.
Howard, Donald, "The World of Mandeville's Travels/' Yearbook of English Studies, 1971.
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Alban, St., 3-4 Albert of Aix, 50, 159 alchemy, 9, 51, 166 Alexander the Great, 16 Alexander III, Pope, 201 al-Hakim, Caliph, 147-48, 149,
al-Nasir, Sultan, 182-85, ^9^ alphabets, 52, 126-27 Andrew, St., 35
Andronicus III Palaeologus, Emperor, 16-17, 20, 30, 33 Aramaic, 118,122 Ashmole, Elias, 50-51 Ataturk, Kemal, y^, y6 Avignon, 83, 125
Bale, John, 169 Barnabas, St., 79 Bartholomeus, Patriarch, 37,
40-41 Bernaldez, Andres, 218 Bible, jy, 147, 178-81 Black Notley, Essex, 87, 211 Borneo, 50, 197 Boroughbridge, Yorkshire, 89 Bragandino, Marcantonio, yi-j} Browne, Sir Thomas, 196 Bruce, Robert (Robert I the
Bruce, King of Scotland), 166,
210
Burchard of Mount Sion, 103 Buridan, John, 54, 216 Burton, Robert, 82
Caesar, Julius, 199
Caesar of Heisterbach, 59
Catherine, St., 192-95
Charles, Prince of Wales, 78
Chaucer, Geoffrey, 5
China, 7, 8, 53, 104, 108-10, 198,
199, 204-6, 208, 211, 218 Christie, Agatha, 18-19 circumnavigation, 53-54, 214-17 Clement VI, Pope, 124-25 Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 196,
220 Columbus, Christopher, 215-18 Constantine I, Emperor, 15, 26,
28, 32,145,180 Constantinople, 6, 8-23, 30-32,
34-42, 50, 52, 73, 95, 96, 104,
211; Haghia Sophia, 7, 24-29,
33 Cyprus, 6, 9, 55-60, 63, 66-69; Apostolos Andhreas monastery, 79; Bellapais Abbey, 6^-66; Famagusta, ^6, 70-80; Kyrenia, ^^, 62; Lefkofa, 59, 68-71; Mufti of, 74-79, 103; St. Hilarion Castle, 63-65
D'Israeli, Isaac, 214 Defoe, Daniel, 220
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, 32-37, 40-41
Edward I, King of England, 52, 109
Edward II, King of England, 7, 52, 89,166-68, 210
Eilat, 169
Eleanor of Aragon, 64, 6^
Elizabeth II, Queen of England,
58
Fabri, Felix, 159 Fitzsimmons, Simon, 137,159 Flaubert, Gustave, 5 Francis, St., 136 Franciscans, 104,134-37,
139-40,144,198 Frobisher, Sir Martin, 5, 219 Fuller, Thomas, 131
Gaveston, Piers, 167-68 Gordon, Charles George, 150,
152,153 Gregoras, Nikephoros, 20, 29,
33 Gregory V, Patriarch, 32
Hakluyt, Richard, 219 Halki (Heybeliadi), 11-12 Helena, Empress (St. Helena),
145,149,152,160 Herodotus, 199 Hilarion, St., 64 Hugh IV, King of Cyprus and
Jerusalem, 58 Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of
Hereford and Essex, 87, 89,
129-30, 167-68, 212 Hundred Years' War, 53 hunting, 66
Ibn Battuta, 97
India, 7, 53,104, 200-204, 208
Isidore of Seville, 199
Java, 7, 50, 197, 208
Jerusalem, 6, 9, 43, 50, 52, 54, 59, 70, 87,131-32,134-35/138, 154-59,161-63, ^96' ^01/ 207, 208, 211; Holy Sepulchre, 133,136,137, 139-53,160, 175; Via Dolorosa, 137, 140-41,160
John, Prince of Antioch, 6^
John of Burgundy, 84, 85
John of Piano Carpini, 198-99, 204, 206
Johnson, Samuel, 220
Jonson, Ben, 220
John the Baptist, St., 97,102-4
John XXII, Pope, 33,135
jousting, 20-21
Justinian I, Emperor, 26, 28,174, 191, 192, 211
Keats, John, 5 Koran, 78 Kublai Khan, 108
Leland, John, 1,164-65 Liege, 83-86,124, 187,197 Luke, St., 120 Lusignans, 58-61, 63, 66, 73
Mamelukes, 95, 135,138, 139,
181-82 Mandeville, Geoffrey de, 87,187
I
228
Mandeville, Sir John: accuracy of accounts of, 17, 20, 27-29, 45, 66, 92,103-4, 119,158-61, 182,197-98, 203, 211-12, 216; coat of arms of, 85-86, 187-89, 208-10; criticisms of the Pope by, 33, 52, 83, 124, 126; as diplomat, 166, 210; early life of, 54, 210; epitaph of, 4, 9, 50, 83-84, 128-29, 220; extent of voyage of, 4-5, 9-10, 50, 196, 198; family background of, 82, 87-88, 211, 213; and fantastic creatures, 7, 43-44, 66, 196-99; identity of, 129-30, 166-68; influence on English literature of, 5, 220; influence on history of exploration of, 5, 197, 201, 214-19; and plagiarism, 45, 50, 59, 6-/,
77' 158-59^ 198-99' 204-5; purpose of writing of, 52, 53, 205-7; ^5 murderer, 87, 167-68, 211; old age of, 8; religious tolerance of, 8, jj, 207-8; reputation of, 5, 8-9, 44, 45, 86, 165, 197, 219, 220; rumours about life of, 9, 51, 52, 85; tomb in Liege, 82-86; visit to Pope by, 82-83; ^^^^ ^f, 164. See also John of Burgundy; Travels of Sir John Mandeville, The
Mandeville, Sir Thomas, 87-88, 167, 211
Markos (Nestorian monk), 108-9,198
Marlowe, Christopher, 167
Mehmet II, the Conqueror, 22-23
Mercator, Gerardus (Gerhard
Kremer), 197 Metochites, Theodore, 29-31 Milton, John, 5, 220 Mohammed, jy, 95, 143, 175, 179 Montfort family, 84-86 Mustafa Pasa, 72-73
Nestorians, 104-5,108-11,
115-18, 202, 204 Nestorius, Patriarch, 104-5 Nineveh, 110
Odoric, Friar, 199, 204-5 Omar, Caliph, 143-44 Order of the Garter, 8 OrteUus (Abraham Oertel), 197 Otto of Freising, 202 Outremeuse, Jean d', 84-86, 124,
165, 212; Geste de Liege, 86;
Ly Myreur des Histors, 85, 86
papions (hunting cheetahs),
66-6j Persia, 53 pilgrims, 6^, 91, 137, 141-42,
144, 148, 174, 191, 207 Polo, Marco, 4, 5, 50,197,198, 214 Prester, John, 200-4 Procopius, 26, 29 Purchas, Samuel, 124, 127, 220
Ralegh, Sir Walter, 5, 218-19 relics, 97, 102-24, ^45-4^'
159-60,175,193-94' 203-4 Rich, Claudius James, 110-11 Richard the Lionheart, 58 Rome, 15, 81-82, 109 Romioi, 23, 36-37 Rouen, 193-94