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The Travels of Marco Polo: Hormuz

April 18, 2018 / cosbye / 0 Comments

In Marco Polo’s travels through the Middle East, he speaks of the city, Hormuz. He says that after riding for two days he reaches Hormuz which lies on the coast of the Indian Ocean. Marco Polo first speaks of the great harbor where merchants bring items, such as silk, pearls, valuable stones, spices, elephant tusks, an abundance of gold, and other valuables from India. Marco Polo emphasizes the land’s successful trade and says it is a center for commerce. He says they have a king named Ruemedan Ahmad and have cities and towns that serve under this territory.

Marco Polo then discusses the climate of Hormuz. He says they have sweltering heat temperatures. He then speaks of their good wine. This information would have glamorized Marco Polo’s journey since wine is considered an expensive good. He then discusses the differences in food and says the natives do not eat “our sort of food.” He says they eat salt fish, dates, onions in contrast to the wheat bread and meat of Marco Polo’s people. Marco Polo highlights the culture difference between the natives and the people from Western Europe through the variation in food.

Marco Polo also notices the poor quality of the ships at Hormuz. He goes into the technical specifics regarding the poor material that is used to build the ships. He says this would make it risky to sail in these ships. He assumes that many of the ships would sink due to the stormy climate of the Indian Ocean. Marco Polo evidently believes this information was important to share with either traveling merchants or anyone in Western Europe planning on going on an expedition. Additionally, Marco Polo, who is already largely interested in trade would find this information valuable to note.

Marco Polo describes the people of Hormuz. He immediately states that they are black and worship Mahomet. He addresses their race and the fact that they worship someone different from Christian beliefs. It can be interpreted that Marco Polo was derogatively describing the people of Hormuz. He then begins to discuss how the climate impacts the people. The people are unable to live in the cities in the summer since they would die from the dangerous heat. He discusses the extreme measures people take to protect themselves from the sun and dangerous heat winds. Marco Polo shares a story of how the king of Kerman ordered his men to surprise attack the people of Hormuz; however, when they got close to the city, thousands of men perished from the winds. This story could have been an exaggeration given the multitude of men that perished. Additionally, it would have been enticing for his intended audience to read about the difference in climate and the dangers of Marco Polo’s travels.

Marco Polo then goes on to discuss the difference in their mourning rituals. He immediately states his opinion and how bizarre it is that these people mourn their dead daily for four years after their death.

From this passage, it is obvious Marco Polo takes an interest in a location’s trade and goods. He makes a point to say the goods that are bought and traded. Additionally, he speaks of the excellent harbor in Hormuz that allows for this location to be a center for trade and alludes to the territory’s high status. Along with this, he discusses their poorly built ships that would impact their ability to travel from their land. Marco Polo also makes a note to discuss the differences in climate and foods they eat. He over exaggerates the hot temperatures most likely to make a note of how different the physical land is from Western Europe. His story of a thousand men that perished would most likely have been incorporated to create a thrill for his audience and to glorify his journey. Lastly, Marco Polo addresses the people of Hormuz. He identifies the people as black and as Mahomet worshipers. As seen in his previous passages, Marco Polo does not think highly of dark-skinned individuals especially those who do not worship the same god as him showing this was a racist remark. He also discusses the mourning rituals and how strange he finds them. The natives spend much of their time mourning their dead which most likely differs from Western European mourning customs. It can be interpreted that Marco Polo thinks of trade as a marker for a territory’s success, but he shows a personal investment in cultural differences.

The Book of John Mandeville: Jerusalem

April 18, 2018 / hrbekm / 0 Comments

Much of The Book of Marvels and Travels is dedicated to discussing routes to Jerusalem, due to the city’s all-important status as the Holy Land and the place from which Christianity originated. As is typical of Medieval European thinking, Mandeville highlights through his narrative Jerusalem’s position as the center of the world, from which all else proceeds, both geographically and theologically. Because there is such a multitude of routes to Jerusalem presented within the narrative, and because Mandeville does not focus much on the practical or experiential aspects of travel itself, it would be a challenge to describe the physical journey to Jerusalem based solely on this text. However, if one was travelling from Western Europe as Mandeville claims to, then according to this text they would first arrive at the port of Jaffa after travelling through the Mediterranean. From there Jerusalem would be a day and a half’s travel over 27 miles of land.

Of the climate, Mandeville writes that it is dry with limited sources of water. Mountains and bodies of water are briefly described, most notably including the Dead Sea and the River Jordan. The former is one of few typical “wonders” in Mandeville’s Jerusalem, defying nature with bitter, still water in which no living thing can die. The latter functions primarily as a description of a holy site, with recollections of Jesus’ baptism and an Old Testament story concerning the river.

In describing the city of Jerusalem, the author of Mandeville provides some information on the landscape as well as historical and political background, but reports primarily in his writing on the holy sites that Pilgrims would go there to see. These include specific churches and temples and various relics kept in the city, as well as the physical locations associated with Biblical stories and places of general significance to the life of Christ. The most prominent examples of such holy sites in the text are the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Temple of Our Lord. Mandeville does not go into depth in this section on the political conditions in Jerusalem, but does emphatically note that “the sinful ones” (40) — here meaning Muslims — have possessed the city for over half a century, but will not continue to do so for long if God does not will it. This provides a deeper look into the medieval European conception of the Holy Land as a lost possession in the hands of those not faithful to Christ.

It is significant that in Jerusalem the author of Marvels and Travels focuses on specific holy sites pertaining to pilgrimage, because this was a place where one could, in theory, go and literally walk in the steps of Jesus Christ. Mandeville describes the process of the Crucifixion, and points to places throughout the city where Christ reportedly suffered or stopped to rest. If the text as a whole is considered with regard for its entertainment purposes, then an experiential account of destinations in Jerusalem that were typical for pilgrims to visit can be interpreted as a travel guide of sorts. It provides an imagined version of the Holy Land to European audiences who had an interest in the spiritual significance of these sites. This tactic also serves to justify the theme throughout the text of Jerusalem as the center of the world, by driving home the tangible origins of Christianity linked to the city.

The Book of Margery Kempe: River Jordan/Bethany

April 18, 2018 / kayleigh / 0 Comments

During her stay in Jerusalem, Margery Kempe decided to travel to religious sites in the surrounding areas. First, she wished to travel to the River Jordan, although her companions forbade her from accompanying them there. She prayed to God, and claimed that he gave her permission to travel without the permission of her companions. In describing this experience, Kempe gives some of the only details about her surroundings and local people that occur in the entire narrative. Even so, she mentions them only in relation to how they affect her own experience. Kempe describes the extreme heat of the day as an aspect of her suffering. When she decides to climb Mt. Quarentyne, she writes that the heat and the steep terrain prevent her from making the climb. Her companions also refuse to help her. Because of this, we get one of her few descriptions of people who live near Jerusalem and are not Christian. A “good-looking” “Saracen” helps Kempe to climb the mountain when her companions will not, and she generally states that the “Saracens” were kind and helpful to her.

All of these descriptions serve to heighten Kempe’s depiction of her own suffering and to cast her companions in an unflattering light. She states that she “found all people good and gentle to her, except her own countrymen.” The kindness of the Muslim people in Jerusalem serves to highlight the failings of her companions, not to make any argument for religious or racial acceptance.

There is also another effect of Kempe’s depiction of herself as an outcast among English pilgrims but a welcomed, pious figure among others. She distances herself from “normal” English people, representing herself as better and holier than them. She allies herself instead with strangers in many places. These strangers tend to be members of the clergy, nuns, monks, or other figures with religious authority or random, often destitute, people that she meets along the way and that she claims are sent by God to guide her. By associating herself with religious authorities, she depicts herself as religiously orthodox and correct, and her companions as degenerate for rejecting her. By claiming those who help her as servants of God, she increases the appearance of her own religious importance (God rearranges the world to help her) while remaining humble as she meets these guides in times of suffering. Her acceptance among “Saracens” functions slightly differently, as they are not Christian and not situated as servants of God. However, it seems like Kempe is using them to rebuke unkind Christians, by saying that even non-Christians accept and help her, and even recognize her piety.

Another interesting trend in this section is the boldness and permission Kempe receives from God. For various reasons, including the fact that she is a woman and the fact that she continuously weeps, Kempe’s companions and other people attempt to limit, contain, and constrain her. When she encounters obstacles such as this, she turns to God for permission, fortification, and vindication. Whether or not Kempe actually experienced the voice of God telling her to go to the River Jordan despite being forbade from doing so, claiming this experience gives her the confidence to do so, and provides a retort to anyone who contradicts her. It justifies her actions to her readers and to the people she was traveling with in the moment. It also seems to be a source of internal fortitude. Kempe writes that because of God’s warnings, pronouncements, and reassurances, she dared to “act the more boldly in consequence.”

P.S. I looked up the etymology of the word “quarantine” and it is actually partially derived from the name of the place where Jesus fasted for 40 days, which is Mt. Quarentyne!

The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela: Shushan

April 16, 2018 / leffa / 0 Comments

Benjamin’s travels to the Khuzistan province, otherwise known as the ancient civilization of Elam in Iran, seem to have been documented because of an important lesson he learned there. Benjamin began by explaining the layout of the land. When he visited Elam, the province was not fully inhabited and consisted of much waste and ruins. He traveled towards the center of the province however, which was where one could find the capital and palace of King Ahasuerus: Shushan. In Shushan there were 7,000 Jews and 14 synagogues. The most significant of these synagogues had the Sepulcher of Daniel.

Shushan is divided in half by the Tigris River, yet the two halves of the city are connected by a single bridge. Where the Sepulcher of Daniel was located was the side where all the Jews lived. This side also had all of the market places which served as the main sources of income for the population on that side of the city. The other side of the city was very poor without any merchants or marketplaces. All that could be found on this side were gardens and plantations. That said, Benjamin described that the poor side of the city became jealous of the other side. This eventually led to a war erupting between both sides. A compromise was reached after a few days had passed, in which one side would take Daniel’s coffin for a year and then it would be brought to the other side the following year. This allowed for both sides of Shushan to gain wealth and prosperity. Then, the mighty Sultan-Al-Fars-Al-Khabir, whose empire extended as far as a four month journey, came to visit. He stepped in and made the executive decision that Daniel’s coffin should be suspended underneath the middle of the bridge, equidistant from both sides of the city.

By including this story, as well as the physical layout of the city, Benjamin was able to capture what the culture, people and environment of Shushan was like. From the disparity of wealth that the city originally started out with, one can deduce that money was brought in by travelers who came to see the Sepulcher of Daniel and merchants who would travel to the various market places there. It is also clear that the people of Shushan and their culture altogether highly value the Sepulcher of David, for both religious and practical reasons (to commemorate and to bring in travelers/merchants). In having the coffin be the comprising factor of the war that erupted on both sides, one could posit that the people of both sides of Shushan were more similar to each other than they’d have liked to admit.

Furthermore, it seems that there was an important moral to the story that Benjamin tells of the bridge separating both sides of the city. I interpreted this story to show that sharing the coffin, and sharing in general, was one way that peace could be guaranteed. Perhaps Benjamin felt the need to document his travels to Shushan for the simple reason that there was hope for peace to be achieved in the world, especially for Jews, and this instance in Shushan helps to prove so.

The Book of Wanderings of Felix Fabri: Joppa

March 29, 2018 / bohnerc / 0 Comments

Felix Fabri has finally arrived in Joppa after a long sea voyage. It’s the fourth of July and the sun has just risen. Fabri describes the fish swimming “on top of the sea” and mentions that one fish looks like it has the face and ears of a dog (36). Fabri spends a lot of time in this passage focusing on describing his physical surroundings. He spends almost a whole page describing the way the ocean glistened, how the towers looked against the sky, the color of the land, the people, etc. His attention to detail is staggering, almost overwhelming at some points. Fabri also spends some time describing the people he sees. He calls the locals Saracens and seems to observe them almost as you would an animal. His tone is similar to that he used when describing the local Italians before.

Fabri describes to us the preparations that are being made for his journey to the Holy Land. He’s waiting on the boat in which he arrived until he can meet with the Moorish lords of Joppa. He’s waiting with several of his traveling companions, as they cannot leave the boat until they are officially greeted and welcomed by the Moorish lords. However, the Moorish lords have yet to arrive and have sent their servants ahead of them to prepare the area. Fabri is quite intrigued by these servants (the same men he calls Saracen). However, he doesn’t portray them in a very flattering light. Instead, he uses descriptions and anecdotes that portray them as different and suspect.

When the Saracen servants first arrived, Fabri notes that they “skirmished with one another in sport, mounted on their mules, as if they were fighting” and ran frantically “to and fro” (36). His descriptions of the Saracens seem detached and almost condescending. He writes as if he is seeing some strange creature instead of a group of human beings. For example, at the end of the passage, Fabri begins telling an anecdote. He notices that the Saracens are going in and out of some caves above the seashore. Fabri writes that these are the caves into which he and his companions “will be driven” after the Saracens officially welcome them (36). He is puzzled by the behavior of the Saracens and says that he and his companions watched them go in and out “all day long” but they could not guess what was going on (36). That is, until “to the offense of our noses, we discovered; for they had defiled those places with ordure” (36). Now, Fabri is staying on a ship that is hundreds of feet from the shoreline. He observes the Saracens from afar, unable to approach them or even yell to them from his position on the ship. The likelihood of him being able to smell some offensive odor al the way from the shore is very low. Fabri, throughout his travel narrative, has consistently painted people he’s found foreign or different from himself in unflattering lights. This passage seems to be an extension of that.

Mapping the Global Middle Ages