The Travels of Sir John Mandeville


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(4.4 stars; 7 reviews)

This is an Elizabethan translation of a 14th century travelogue, allegedly composed by one Sir John Mandeville. According to the book, John de Mandeville crossed the sea in 1322 and travelled through Turkey, Tartary, Persia, Syria, Arabia, Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, Chaldea, Amazonia, India and many countries about India. In his day, he was considered the foremost travel authority, but much of the imaginative accounts were debunked during the later ages of travel. While much of the information within the book is of a fantastic and unreliable nature, it has been a source of inspiration for poets and mined by scholars throughout the centuries. - Summary by Daniel Davison and TriciaG

Proof-listeners: kathrinee and TriciaG (8 hr 53 min)

Chapters

The Prologue 8:01 Read by Daniel Davison
Chapter 1: To Teach you the Way out of England to Constantinople 4:22 Read by Daniel Davison
Chapter 2: Of the Cross and Crown of our Lord Jesu Christ 8:45 Read by Daniel Davison
Chapter 3: Of the City of Constantinople, and the Faith of the Greeks 10:01 Read by Daniel Davison
Chapter 4: [Of the Way from Constantinople to Jerusalem] Of Saint John the Evan… 7:13 Read by Daniel Davison
Chapter 5: [Of diversities in Cyprus; of the Road from Cyprus to Jerusalem, and… 11:10 Read by Daniel Davison
Chapter 6: Of many Names of Soldans, and of the Tower of Babylon 18:48 Read by Daniel Davison
Chapter 7: Of the Country of Egypt; of the Bird Phoenix of Arabia; of the City … 15:07 Read by Daniel Davison
Chapter 8: Of the Isle of Sicily; of the way from Babylon to the Mount Sinai; o… 16:53 Read by Daniel Davison
Chapter 9: Of the Desert between the Church of Saint Catherine and Jerusalem. O… 14:13 Read by Daniel Davison
Chapter 10: Of the Pilgrimages in Jerusalem, and of the Holy Places thereabout 12:40 Read by Daniel Davison
Chapter 11: Of the Temple of our Lord. Of the Cruelty of King Herod. Of the Mou… 29:21 Read by Daniel Davison
Chapter 12: Of the Dead Sea; and the flome Jordan; of the Head of Saint John th… 15:57 Read by Daniel Davison
Chapter 13: Of the Province of Galilee, and where Antichrist shall be born. Of … 20:04 Read by Daniel Davison
Chapter 14: Of the City of Damascus. Of three ways to Jerusalem; one by land an… 18:47 Read by Daniel Davison
Chapter 15: Of the Customs of the Saracens, and their Law. And how the Soldan r… 20:06 Read by Daniel Davison
Chapter 16: Of the lands of Albania and of Libia. Of the wishings for watching … 14:40 Read by Daniel Davison
Chapter 17: Of the land of Job; and of his age. Of the array of men of Chaldea.… 16:51 Read by Daniel Davison
Chapter 18: Of the customs of Isles about Ind. Of the difference betwixt Idols … 17:48 Read by Daniel Davison
Chapter 19: Of the Dooms made by St. Thomas's hand. Of devotion and sacrifice m… 9:42 Read by Daniel Davison
Chapter 20: Of the evil customs used in the Isle of Lamary. And how the earth a… 15:58 Read by Daniel Davison
Chapter 21: Of the Palace of the King of the Isle of Java. Of the Trees that be… 20:22 Read by Daniel Davison
Chapter 22: How men know by the Idol, if the sick shall die or not. Of Folk of … 16:46 Read by Beeswaxcandle
Chapter 23: Of the great Chan of Cathay. Of the royalty of his palace, and how … 16:05 Read by David Cole
Chapter 24: Wherefore he is clept the great Chan. Of the Style of his Letters: … 19:25 Read by David Cole
Chapter 25: Of the Governance of the great Chan’s Court, and when he maketh sol… 32:04 Read by David Cole
Chapter 26: Of the Law and the Customs of the Tartarians dwelling in Cathay. An… 17:52 Read by David Cole
Chapter 27: Of the Realm of Tharse and the Lands and Kingdoms towards the Septe… 5:42 Read by David Cole
Chapter 28: Of the Emperor of Persia, and of the Land of Darkness; and of other… 11:15 Read by BettyB
Chapter 29: Of the Countries and Isles that be beyond the Land of Cathay; and o… 9:22 Read by BettyB
Chapter 30: Of the Royal Estate of Prester John. And of a rich man that made a… 18:46 Read by John R Moore
Chapter 31: Of the Devil’s Head in the Valley Perilous. And of the Customs of … 17:16 Read by John R Moore
Chapter 32: Of the goodness of the folk of the Isle of Bragman. Of King Alexan… 14:48 Read by John R Moore
Chapter 33: Of the Hills of Gold that Pismires keep. And of the four Floods th… 10:22 Read by John R Moore
Chapter 34: Of the Customs of Kings and other that dwell in the Isles coasting … 17:21 Read by John R Moore

Reviews

I wouldn't recommend it outside of academic interest


(2 stars)

The first reader has a specific reading style that suits the book, it took me a while to warm up to it, but works well. Subsequent readers are hit and miss on quality, and a couple have no idea how to pronounce Latin or Greek. The story is a bit dull, but hilarious when you remember this is all made up and people believed it for centuries. I did not hate it, but I would not recommend it outside of academic interest.

A quaint descriptive atlas from the 1300s.


(4 stars)

Runs on and on and on, but that's the authors fault, not the reader.