It’s been a while, since I posted something about a class I taught, but this interesting source (from my last class of the semester) adds nicely to the other travelogues I posted before (which can be found by the tag: travelogues). Unlike the individual rapports of the different travellers, this is rather a sparse list of places on the way from ( Read more... )

So,  my semester of medieval travelogues is done, since last Thursday. Since I tortured the students with the original latin text, the discussion was much less animated than I would have liked to. However, the reading of the latin text went much better than I would have thought.

The source of this last class were the letters John of Montecorvino ( Read more... )

      Thence it is six days' journey to the great city of Rome. Rome is the head of the kingdoms of Christendom, and contains about 200 Jews, who occupy an honourable position and pay no tribute, and amongst them are officials of the Pope Alexander, the spiritual head of all Christendom. Great scholars reside here, at the head of them being R. ( Read more... )

So, class was really fine.  They made a partly average, partly really good presentation.  One of the students did a great analysis of a religious disputation at the court of Great Khan Mönke, described by William of Rubruck. The discussion was lively.

In preparation for the class, I also read the description of Great khan Mönke's court in Karakorum ( Read more... )

Several times, I have proclaimed my love for William of Rubruck's Travelogue. I learned about this Travelogue, when I wrote a paper about the Dwellings of Eurasian Nomads. The reason why I love this part about the yurt so much is the perspective and the way how the monk describes what he sees, step by step, without judging yet.

W. W. Rockhill: ( Read more... )

So, I'm done with the first read-through. Tomorrow, I can look up the footnotes in the library. The Travelogue alone is even available in an English translation: (Excerpt from: The Journey of William of Rubruck to the Eastern Parts of the World, 1235-55, as narrated by himself, with two accounts of the earlier journey of John of Pian de Carpine ( ( Read more... )

   Now we must go back to what we were first speaking about, and say, that when the river reaches Egypt, it spreads out its branches, (as indeed I said before). One of its branches goes to Damietta, the other to Alexandria, the third to Tanis, the fourth to Raxi; and to that branch which goes to Raxi came the King of France with all his host, and ( Read more... )

   The King summoned his barons to council, to advise what he should do. Many advised him to wait until his followers should get back, seeing that he had not one third left; but he would not listen to them. The reason he gave was, that it would put heart into his enemies, and also, that there is no harbour, in the sea at Damietta, where he might ( Read more... )

I had planned to write a real insightful and intellectual review of last week's conference: "Faith - Power - Splendour - the importance of religious communities in the times of the brick gothic" (LOL), but I'm slowly getting drunk on this lovely and tasty South African Cabernet Sauvignon.

So, I spend four days in Greifswald, including a half-day ( Read more... )