“The Travels of Sir John Mandeville” which was written in Anglo-Norman French is believed to have first appeared sometime in the mid to late 14th century. It soon would be translated into many other languages and would subsequently be very popular in its time. While the identity of Sir John Mandeville is thought to possibly be based on a real historical figure the work seems to be largely one of fiction. “The Travels of Sir John Mandeville” depicts the wandering journey of an English knight to the holy land, the Middle East, the Far East, and lands beyond. While not as historically accurate as the earlier Marco Polo’s “Travels”, the work gained wide notoriety and is said to have influenced the explorer Christopher Columbus. A wildly fantastical tale of a medieval journeyman, “The Travels of Sir John Mandeville” is a read sure to bring out the explorer in all of us.
