Author: stones (Page 2 of 2)

John Mandeville refers to Constantinople largely as a landmark in the routes to and from Jerusalem. He uses it almost like a gas station, often referencing things as being “ such-and-such many miles from Constantinople”, or referencing it as a place you must pass through in order to get somewhere else. For John Mandeville, Constantinople is not a destination worth visiting in and of itself, but rather a rest stop on the way to more worthy places. He is brief in his descriptions of the city, although what little physical description he does give is positive. This is in stark contrast to his descriptions of Jerusalem, which were incredibly specific and detail-oriented. Jerusalem had paragraphs dedicated to descriptions of things like counting numbers of steps and illustrating architecture and religious monuments for his readers. This is likely because The Book of John Mandeville expected a large majority Christian audience, and Jerusalem is a very important city in the Christian faith. For a monk who had never really travelled to either city ,Jerusalem was most definitely considered more important and worthwhile in his own mind. It is also entirely possible that the author of The Book of John Mandeville just did not have enough information about Constantinople to write about it in the same amount of detail. As a monk writing from his monastery, most of the information he received was likely material of religious importance, and so he may have been deliberately vague about Constantinople with the goal of hiding his lack of knowledge about the city. However, what little description he does include is full of praise. He describes Constantinople as being “a very beautiful and great city with strong walls and it is three-cornered”. He also praises the Emperor of Constantinople’s architecture, saying “the Emperor’s palace is really lovely and beautifully adorned”. He specifically praises the “pretty court for jousting”, the “tiered seats in which one can sit and watch and not impede other people’s views”, and the pillars, which are “made of marble”. While these are praise-worthy objects, it is strange that John Mandeville singled them out specifically, especially when he seems highly concentrated on only those things which have religious significance in other sections. While it is possible that John Mandeville just had an appreciation for the cleverness of the Emperor’s architecture, it also seems like the kind of thing a knight or other kind of warrior would take note of. It seems likely that the monk writing as John Mandeville received some of his information about Constantinople from a knight’s report.

Where John Mandeville does not go into detail of the physical descriptions of Constantinople, he spends a lot of time criticizing the Greeks, specifically the Greek Christians. He spends paragraphs explaining exactly how different their faith is from the Christianity of Western Europe. While he does not outright condemn the Greek Christians, it is clear he does not approve of their practices, even going so far as to say “that is an immense scandal” when describing some of their methods. He finishes that description with a sanctimonious “ God can correct it when He wills it”. He ends by acknowledging that his description of the Greeks may not be relevant to the journey, but he defends himself, saying “they are nevertheless relevant in so far as I have undertaken to show some of the customs and manners and differences of these countries”. He is clear on the point that Greek Christianity varies from and conflicts with the Christianity he wishes to teach, and goes on to say “I have written it hear so that you can see the differences between our faith and theirs…”. It seems like he feels the need to end his account this way almost to make sure he keeps his audience; he does not want anyone reading to mistake the Greek faith as his, or as the correct or proper one. John Mandeville is very clear that the only true faith is his version of Christianity, and while he does not personally work to combat any variants, he is certain they will be taken down in their own time.

John Mandeville begins and ends by giving a physical description of the land and its geography, as well as its position in relation to other cities of note. He does not seemed concerned with the people of Jerusalem; the only time he references them is when he makes comments on the pilgrims. Instead, the majority of his account is concerned with telling the stories of the religious landmarks and monuments in the city and giving detailed descriptions, especially of churches and chapels with great architecture. He is incredibly specific with his details, even going so far as to count out stairs, steps, and other measurements.

John Mandeville does not give many specifics when speaking of his journey to Jerusalem. He informs the reader of how long it might take one to travel as he did and advices on the the best route for a person to take, but he doesn’t tell the reader about his own personal journey.

John Mandeville is a deeply religious man. The majority of his account of Jerusalem has nothing to do with the city itself, but rather involves Mandeville listing the religious sites he sees, recounting their histories, and explaining their importance to the reader. He often references religious figures who have passed through Jerusalem themselves; he tells the stories of Lot, Abraham, Mary Magdalene, King Herod, and more. When he does describe the landscape of the city, many of his descriptions still stem from a religious context. For example, he describes the trees as “bearing prettily colored fruit which appear to be ripe, but when one splits them or cuts them open one finds nothing but cinders and ashes; this is a token of God’s vengeance through which these cities were burned with hellfire.” (pg. 51)

The Book of Marvels and Travels does not appear to have been written with the intent of giving a detailed, useful, or even accurate account of the city of Jerusalem. Almost the entire section written on Jerusalem is an informative religious narrative. It is written directly to the reader, and the phrases “you need to know”, “you should be aware”, etc are used on almost every page. John Mandeville does not seem concerned with informing the reader about his journey to the city of Jerusalem or his experiences there; rather, he is educating the reader on Jerusalem’s religious history and importance. He briefly describes the city and its surroundings, but he is mostly concerned with the religious landmarks and their accounts. He gives no description of the people or culture within the city, other than when mentioning the actions of the pilgrims (and once the Saracens) in holy places and around religious monuments. This makes sense, given the context that The Book of Marvels and Travels was not really written by a traveller. The main purpose of writing the book is to inform those who cannot visit Jerusalem themselves an idea of what it might be like, and the author clearly wants to take the opportunity of a curious audience to spread the Christian faith.