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caspersen 2

February 24, 2022 / casperse / 0 Comments

The Book of Margery Kempe by Margery Kempe (trans. BA Windeatt) going to Jermusalem, at Jerusalem, and after
Kempe’s Reflections on Jerusalem and What It took Her to get there

Kempe is still focused on the mistreatment she receives from the men in her travelling group and the consequences of how she deals with her emotions. She discusses her helplessness in stopping her tantrums during this chapter also (Kempe 102-107). As for the bullying she has to deal with, she claims to have gotten banned from eating dinner with those she is traveling with and that they refused to buy her the bedding she required for the ship ride to Jerusalem (Kempe 102); in defiance of this message telling her to depart from their group, Kempe buys her own bedding and tells the group plainly that she will join them (Kempe 102) Adding to that, she is very focused on God and doesn’t miss his message to not take the ship to Jerusalm that she was scheduled to (Kempe 102). Kempe documents that she was riding a donkey when she caught sight of Jerusalem. Kempe does not fail to give two pilgrims from Germany credit for helping her make sure that she didn’t fall off her donkey when her emotions took over. During her time in Jerusalem, Kempe took a 24-hour trip to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Kempe 103-104. 102-107). At the end of Chapter 28, Kempe mocks people who judge her harshly for the way she cries because of her sadness for Christ. She refers to her bullies as not religious and therefore horrible .Her account of whom she is referring to is so specific that it makes me wonder if she was describing someone she knew without naming them. She also implies that it is okay for people to die after being accussed of crimes that they did not commit because of their wongdoings, which I find very disturbing. Kempe seems to only have empathy for Christ. (Kempe 106-107)

I believe that we can infer that Kempe’s medieval culture did not place the emphasis of treating people well that ours does. I believe this really stands out when Kempe doesn’t describe anyone coming to her defense and sticking up for her when her sheet is stollen or when the whole group refuses to get her sheets (Kempe 102, 102-107). It’s actually quite ironic because her companions are supposed to be going on a trip in order to celebrate and practice a religion that demands kindness.Travelling by donkey sounds awesome to me given the adorable donkey I meet at farm camp one summer. Getting to ride a donkey is not something I would consider usual today; however, it would be hard to imagine that Kempe was surprised by her opportunity to ride a donkey (Kempe 103). I am struggling to understand how Kempe’s religious feelings when she got back to England grew stronger over time. It seems like it would have been the other way around as more time since the pilgrimage would make the memories more vague (Kempe 105, 103-105). I believe that Kempe’s purpose for recording this piece of writing is to use it as a way of interacting with her own thoughts and feelings. This is because of the anger and resentment her tone gives off. This would mean that she was not necessarily writing to anybody, but rather for herself. (Kempe 107, 102-107)

Margery Kempe, The Book of Margery Kempe, trans. BA Windeatt. Chapter 28. Penguin Books, 1985, 102-107.

The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela: Jerusalem

February 24, 2022 / winterch / 0 Comments

In this section of the Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela, he passes through the historic and diverse place that is Jerusalem. Upon arriving, our author notes on the many different peoples that he defines as “Mohammedans [Muslims] … Jacobites, Syrians, Greeks, Georgians, and Franks” (p. 34). The mere mention of all these peoples raises a multitude of questions, particularly regarding the Franks given their distance and apparent sizable presence in this far-away city, however he does not seem to be terribly troubled with learning any more about these peoples. Instead, Benjamin of Tudela focuses on the people most akin to him, the Jews.

There is something to be said about knowing no matter where you go, you can always find some of your kin.

The further from Europe he journeys, it appears Jews find themselves in improving conditions. Here, the community is built around the most significant structure in the city, the Tower of David. Not only is there local Jewish heritage with this tower, but it is upkept by the “Mohammedans”, indicating a positive relationship between the Muslims and Jews of Jerusalem (p. 35)

Christians, too also seem well-represented in the city. Upon Mount Zion, a hill just beyond the walled Jerusalem, there is “a place of worship belonging to the Christians,” (p. 37). By this account, the spiritual presence of Christianity also appears to be strong. Once, the church upon Mount Zion had a wall cave in. While under renovation, two workers attempted to access the tombs of the old kings in search of wealth, but when they tried to step in a great wind pushed them out and onto the ground, and “they fell to the ground like dead men, and there they lay until evening,” (p. 39).

Tales like this are likely nothing more than that — just tales. However, it is interesting to note that Benjamin of Tudela cares to entertain such tales. He is clearly entrenched in his faith, as that which relates to his heritage is what he writes most about, but he chooses to acknowledge a miracle that occurred at a Christian church. This is far from pantheism or polytheism, but it does indicate a belief that other religions are not merely tolerated but seen as valid and somewhat true from the perspective from outsiders to the religion. Of course, those buried there were King David and his descendants, and the House of David is significant in Judaism as well, so this may explain some of the willingness to accept this miracle. The point still stands, though, that it occurred at a Christian, not Jewish place of worship.

It is a common thread through the writings of Benjamin of Tudela that he completely ignores the practicalities of travel. The most we get are distances, which are not measured in concrete units but in parasangs, a measure of distance similar to leagues kept by measuring time on foot. This account is hard to justify as being a guide for others, but in some part appears to be an account of the Jews of the world. They are always his greatest focus no matter where he goes, and he often notes their dwelling-places, indicating perhaps that where he would spend his days and nights whil stopped in these cities.

The Travels of Marco Polo: Kashmir

February 24, 2022 / Avani / 0 Comments

Marco Polo travels “some seven days’ journey to the south-east” (78) from Pashai and arrives in Kashmir. Polo mentions that he will speak of India in depth later in his travel narrative, so it is interesting to note what Polo describes to his readers, when giving a general description of Kashmir.

The first characteristic that Polo notes about Kashmir is the belief system of the Kasmiri people, insinuating that religion is a strong aspect that Polo finds important to his travels. He notes in depth that the Kashmiri are “idolaters” (78), or individuals who worship idols of their god or gods, and practice strange and amazing magic. It is interesting however to apply the concept of magic on a religion that Polo is not a part of or deeply familiar with, because that conceptualizes the religion is a Eurocentric way, as this “magic” that Polo describes could be something different within the religion. Polo does not go into depth of the sort of idols that the Kashmiri people worship, but instead repeat and emphasize that “[the Kashmiri people] accomplish such marvels by magic and craft that no one who has not seen them could believe them” (78). This seems to align with the idea that Marco Polo is writing to entertain, so to play up on the parts of exoticism and magic would assist in the entertainment purpose.

Another characteristic that Marco Polo goes into depth about are the Kashmiri people; Polo goes into depth about their looks, diet, preferences to the weather, etc. The large focus on people was interesting to read about, since Polo seems to focus on marvels and miracles more than anything. Polo interestingly states “[t]he inhabitants are brown-skinned and thin; the women are very beautiful with such beauty as goes with a brown skin” (78). Polo is making a distinction between beauty standards and emphasizes that the standard for beauty for light-skinned women and brown-skinned women are different. This complicates and shines light onto the way beauty functions in the Middle Ages, because it seems to be that Polo finds these women beautiful, but only in a way that beauty functions for women of color, whatever that may be.

Lastly, Polo once again focuses on the idea of idolatry and asserts that “they live to a great age; and this avoidance of sin is all exercised for love of their idols (79). The sheer repetition of the concept behind the Kashmiri belief system also emphasizes that this is not a concept that is readily practiced where Polo is from and he seems to be othering the Kashmiri to an extent, but more accurately diminishing their entire belief to a simple concept of idols. I think it was curious to see that Kashmir was described heavily by their belief system and their independence, which Polo mentions in the section straight after his description of the Kashmiri. This is because Kashmir today is still a country that places large important on its independence. It was also interesting to read as a modern reader specifically due to the tensions that Islam and Hindisum have in the country, which is drastically different to the central and strong belief the Kashmiri people had in the past.

The Wanderings of Felix Fabri: Rama

February 24, 2022 / Wednesday / 0 Comments

Felix Fabri and his group of pilgrims arrived in Rama on the ninth day of July. I believe that they stayed in Rama for about eleven days according to Fabri’s log. Fabri speaks a lot of Rama prior to their arrival into the city. This is primarily in relation to the Governor of Rama and making an agreement with him to keep them safe from the Saracens and the Morse. When Fabri and the rest of his group arrive at Rama, Fabri begins by describing the beauty of the land around it. He describes the beautiful mountains and valleys and the land and bodies of water in the local area as a very beautiful place. He also goes on to say how when they are arriving close to the city, how they have to get off of their asses and leave them at the gate when they arrived. Fabri also describes how they were not allowed to ride through the city during the day on their asses and as a result had to carry their bags and leave their asses at the gate. Fabri also speaks about how Rama was known by Fabri and his group to have Saracens and Morse people near by who would occasionally enter into the city. As a result, one of the requests that Fabri had for the Governor of Rama was for protection from the Saracens and Morse people because they were simply passing through the city in while on their way to Jerusalem. While Fabri did not spare very much time describing the people of Rama, he did talk about the religious significance of Rama as well as the area around it. He also went on to list the articles that the pilgrims in his group were required to follow. When Fabri did describe a people or cultural group while in Rama, he spoke about the Saracen people. Fabri describes them are wandering desert residing people who are quick to violence and who do not hold many strong morals. Fabri describes the Saracen people in a very negative light and speaks of them as if talking about a wild and vicious animal that might attack him at any moment. It is very clear that Fabri and his group of Christians (Catholic I would assume) did not get along with the Saracen people in any degree. In my opinion this shows that religion played a very big part in that era and was one of the primary ways of distinguishing people groups who did not come from set countries at that time. It is also assumed by me from this information that it would have been around that time (give or take a hundred years) that religions started to become more competitive over believers and forced conversion started to become a big deal. When Fabri describes the city of Rama, I found it very interesting that he specifically spoke about having to pass through a small door into the city of Rama. The fact that he spoke about it led me to believe that that might not have been very common practice in that time period and as a result was notable even to Fabri. I also found it very interesting that Fabri spoke more about the religious attributes of an area and about why he did not trust people groups who were not Christian to the degree that he was, to be very interesting. When the Saracen people surrounded Rama and Fabri and his group were held there by the people, Fabri seems to be surprised regarding the prayer practices of the Muslim Saracen people. This is primarily expressed when he compares the fact that they pray immediately upon waking while he and his Christian group do not. This, to me at least, seems to allude to the possibility that while Fabri and his group do not agree and are in opposition with the Saracen people, that they are possible ignorant of the beliefs and practices of those same people whom they hate. In essence, that they hate the people that they know little to nothing about and act on that hatred and ignorance without taking the time to actually see the other group as people who happen to be different in background and beliefs.

The Travels of Ibn Battutah: Jerusalem

February 23, 2022 / kremerv / 0 Comments

On his travels, Ibn Battutah visits the city of Jerusalem which he refers to as Bait al-Muqaddas. Ibn Battutah spends limited time actually describing the city as a whole, comparing it with the cities of Medina and Mecca and then saying it “is large and imposing, and built of squared stones” (26). Ibn Battutah then moves on to the focus of his description which are the various religious landmarks that are located in Jerusalem. First, Ibn Battutah talks about what he calls the “Sacred Mosque” which refers to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Temple Mount area in the old city of Jerusalem. Ibn Battutah admires the mosque greatly, commenting on its beauty and brilliant architecture. Ibn Battutah is incredibly detailed in his description, going so far as to describe the dimensions of the mosque. After talking about the Sacred Mosque, Ibn Battutah speaks about the Dome of the Rock, which is located within the Sacred Mosque complex. Again, Ibn Battutah uses extensive details to talk about the architecture and physical makeup of the structure. He uses rich adjectives to describe the physicality of the building and the actual rock, which some Quranic commentators believe is where Muhammad began the Night Journey. Ibn Battutah finishes off his description of religious sites by talking about what refers to the Mount of Olives, where Jesus ascended into Heaven. After speaking on this and similar Christian sites, Ibn Battutah moves on in his journey from Jerusalem.

I was very surprised by how little time Ibn Battutah spent describing Jerusalem. This may be because I am coming from a Christian background but even in Islam, Jerusalem is still home to the third holiest site. It is significant that all of Ibn Battutah’s attention seems to be on the religious sites in Jerusalem, since he never talks about any of the people or geographical landmarks that he sees except in reference to those religious sites. Clearly religion is important to Ibn Battutah and his own identity. He speaks about the sites in a reverential way, highlighting their sanctity. Interestingly, Ibn Battutah does not only speak about Muslim religious sites; he also mentions Christian ones. His descriptions of Christian religious sites and Christian pilgrims provides an interesting lens into Muslim-Christian relationships in this time period. While describing his journey to Jerusalem, Ibn Battutah states that he briefly stopped at Bait Lahm or Bethlehem, which he calls the birthplace of Jesus. Ibn Battutah comments that the Christian also regard the location highly and “hospitably entertain all who alight it” (26). This implies some level of cooperation between people of different religions which is not always presented as common in the medieval period. On the other hand, Ibn Battutah also brings up interactions that seem to imply higher tensions between the two religions. Ibn Battutah mentions the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where Christians believe that Christ was buried before the Resurrection. In this section, Ibn Battutah says that Christians have to pay a tax to the Muslims and “various humiliations, which they suffer very unwillingly” (28). This description sounds more stereotypical of other medieval narratives I have read where there is a lot of animosity between the two groups. It also emphasizes how Muslims have control of the Levant, which angered a lot of European leaders and religious officials.

Mapping the Global Middle Ages