A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages: The World Through Medieval Eyes

A journey through the world after antiquity, this book tracks and draws paths through history of travel during medieval times — adventures of pilgrimage, trade, war and diplomacy. The author Anthony Bale brings forth the advice and guides that people of this time would use, documenting the travels and travails of scholars, saints, and spies. There were plenty of threats along all the different paths, including illness, natural dangers, and humans to look out for. But among all this, there were rumors of mythical places faraway that one could search for, legends to demystify and confirm. Most of the book chronicles the experiences of European travelers eastward but Bale also offers insight into the path reversed — what non-Europeans encountered on the road westward. By using previously untranslated works of the times, Bale paints a picture of what travel looked like then, about European minds and how it understood (and often misunderstood) the world.