Chapter 18
Latin orientalism
Travel and pilgrimage literature
Different practical aims and motivations that are reflected in Latin travel and pilgrimage
literature led to voyages outside Europe in the Middle Ages. The chapter will begin by outlining the nature
and content of travel and pilgrimage literature on extra-European travel as well as the development, the
continuity and the changes in this genre. A second section addresses transmission, manuscripts, and
circulation as well as audience and reception. The focus of pilgrimage narratives widens and also includes
non-Christian features at the same time as reports on East-Asia-Travels emerge. To illustrate this
development, the depiction of mirabilia in Wilhelm of Boldensele’s and Odoric of Pordenone’s
writings are discussed.
Article outline
- Introduction
- Literature on extra-European pilgrimage and travel: Contents, authors and texts
- Transmission, audience and reception
- Latin orientalism: The depiction of mirabilia in two texts
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Notes
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References