Date of Award

Spring 5-24-2020

Document Type

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts in English

Department

English

Advisor

Irene Williams

Advisor

Stefan Vander Elst

Abstract

The Travels of Sir John Mandeville presents a unique and nuanced perspective of the Eastern World during the time of the Crusades. By critically analyzing the still-unknown author’s depictions of the Eastern lands and their peoples, I demonstrate that it is possible to gain a deeper understanding of the status of Christianity during the late 14th century. The Travels comments upon the concepts of Eastern religions and cultural practices in a way that is remarkable and surprising — instead of reacting to such topics with hostility or aggression, the likely-Christian author of The Travels is willing to learn from those who hold to spiritual faiths outside his own. In recounting the painstaking details of his fictional travels, ‘Sir Mandeville’ created a literary work of art that would become a definitive authority amongst travel manuscripts for some two hundred years after its original publication.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a CC BY License.

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