The Odyssey of Ibn Battuta: Uncommon Tales of a Medieval Adventurer
By David Waines
I.B. Tauris, 2010
ISBN: 978 184511 805 1
Summary: Ibn Battuta was, without doubt, one of the world’s truly great travelers. Born in fourteenth-century Morocco, and a contemporary of Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta left an account in his own words of his remarkable journeys, punctuated by adventure and peril, throughout the Islamic world and beyond. Whether sojourning in Delhi and the Maldives, wandering through the mazy streets of Cairo and Damascus, or contesting with pirates and shipwreck, the indefatigable Ibn Battuta brought to vivid life a medieval world brimming with marvel and mystery. Carefully observing the great diversity of civilizations that he encountered, Ibn Battuta exhibited an omnivorous interest in such matters as food and drink; religious differences among Christians, Hindus, and Shia Muslims; and ideas about purity and impurity, disease, women, and sex. David Waines offers here a graceful analysis of Ibn Battuta’s travelogue. This is a gripping treatment of the life and times of one of history’s most daring, and at the same time most human, adventurers.
Review in The Telegraph: ‘Waines handles his material with sensitivity, and is adept when writing on his subject’s stories of preparing honey in Morocco or his impatience with the way Maldivian women dressed, as well as larger questions about the nature of Ibn Battuta’s religious belief (he frequently claimed to have witnessed miracles). This “al-rihla”, or travelogue, is an illuminating glimpse into a world that is both ancient and foreign, but also familiar to anyone who enjoys travel.’
Broken cups, men’s wrath, and the neighbours’ revenge: the case of Thomas and Alice Dey of Alverthorpe (1383)
By Sharon Wright
Canadian Journal of History, Vol.43:2 (2008)
Abstract: Literature and sermons about wrath were attractive to medieval people because they mirrored and amplified life in satisfactory ways: villains were punished, insults were avenged, and honour was restored. Tales of wrath and vengeance often drew the medieval audience directly into the intimate relationships and the homes of the characters affected by wrath. A Dominican exemplum recounts how God punished gamblers for defaming his mother Mary within his own home (the temple). The Welsh vengeance-quest of Peredur begins when a knight-errant enters Arthur’s home (the court) and assaults Arthur’s wife Queen Gwenhwyvar. The Wakefield master allows his audience to view the domestic conflict of Noah and his Uxor as they fight fiercely and comically about the ark.
In reality, wrath in the medieval communal sphere was more banal than remarkable. Medieval English manorial court records are replete with unneighbourly ill will and feuding over seemingly trivial issues; a few pence owed here, a fence post stolen there. Despite the large number of cases in which blood was drawn between neighbours and villagers, few court cases were concerned with the forms of insult, violence, and wrath that took place within the homes of manorial tenants. This disparity between the domestic intimacy of literature and sermons and the realities of the local courts is curious. This article considers how one community’s intervention into the wrathful relations of a local family illustrates the complex intersections between beliefs about gender, wrath, and vengeance, and the barrier between domus and communitas.
This novel details the events of one knight, Sir John Potenhale, serving under the Black Prince, Edward, son of Edward III, during his campaigns in France in the mid-14th century.
The story begins with Sir John Potenhale seeking out the widow of another knight. He comes to deliver something of value to the knight’s widow when she asks him to tell her how she met her husband and to start his story at the point when he was knighted. Potenhale then begins his tale when he was serving as a squire to Sir John Chandos who was a knight in service to King Edward and his son. Potenhale is fortunate enough to witness Prince Edward’s knighting and dreams of the day when he too will become a knight.
After the battle of Crecy, Edward knights Potenhale and takes him into his service and household. Potenhale meets Margery, a lady-in-waiting to the prince’s cousin, Joan of Kent, and falls in love with her. However, the Black Plague strikes and Potenhale is wracked with guilt as to whether he should remain a knight or save his soul and take monastic vows. The book details his inner struggle with his knighthood, his growing prowess and adventures as a knight, and his love of Margery.
The book was exciting and enjoyable. A lot of the novel detailed battles at Calais, Crecy, at sea and military marches across France.There is the small side bar of Potenhale pursuing Margery but the book does not really focus on their love story, it is more a retelling of his experiences as a knight and of his relationship with the widow’s husband, Sir Geoffroi. Potenhale meets him after a battle where Geoffroi is taken as Potenhale’s prisoner. Geoffroi remains in the custody of the English for a year until a ransom can be raised to free him. Potenhale respects the French knight greatly and it is in him that he seeks advice about whether he should remain a knight or take holy orders.
The descritpions of battles were not tedious and drawn out at all and added colour to the story. I found Potenhale to be an interesting character and I liked the way the story was told from his memories in the first person. I enjoyed watching him grow as a knight and I liked the twist of the side story about his love for Margery and the difficulties that surround their union. Potenhale’s relationship to the Black Prince and the backdrop of Plagues stricken England, flagellants, notions of redemption and knightly honour also make the book a good read.
There is but one small complaint – there is a line near the end of the book where the author makes a reference to tennis and I found it a very odd analogy for a medieval historical novel. I looked up the history of tennis and while it technically existed in the 12th century, it existed as a handball sport and was not that well known. The reference made in the novel is very modern in tone and I found it jarringly out of place. I doesn’t fit at all and should be removed.
All in all, the book was great and I recommend it for a light summer read. It is battle heavy, and plot heavy but not boring in the least and I really enjoyed it.
Session: Rural Experience in Late Medieval England: Manorial Records and Law
This paper discussed the court roll as a seigneural device that challenged the verbal culture that was used before and examined whether this change was organic or forced.
During the 14th and 15th century written evidence became required in English manor courts. The rolls were seigneural devices that challenged the long standing verbal culture. This paper focused on the Wakefield rolls of the 13th and 14th centuries. This period saw an increased reliance on documentary evidence.
Between 1341-1342 and 1345-1346, the rolls were used extensively, however, only in 20 cases (out of 78) was written evidence used to come to the final decision. 944 cases were brought forward, 78 vouched, and 42 of these had a final verdict, and 20 had written evidence. In 1376, tenure was not guaranteed secure; while the authenticity of the copies were not called into doubt, if the person had the right to grant the land was called into question. This demonstrates that previous grants could be overturned. There were many claims of land being alienated when the complaining party was not of sound mind, not of age or when not in agreement, i.e., a wife was unable to contradict her husband when he decided to surrender the land.
The Case of John Swan: In 1368, John Swan sued for land that was given to him as a gift by his father. Richard and Juliana claimed for this gift and the court rolls would indicate whether they should respond to his challenge. Swan had not produced any records and was asked to prove “specialty”; 4 years later, “specialty” is demanded again. The rolls were wanting for the year Swan made his claim and the case seems to have disappeared.
Reflections of Reality in the Manor Court: Sutton-in-the-Isle, 1308–1391
Session: Rural Experience in Late Medieval England: Manorial Records and Law
By Erin McGibbon Smith, Independent Scholar
This paper dealt with manorial court records in 14th century England.
What can manorial court records tell us? How accurate are they? How should historians treat this area of study? This paper focuses on Sutton records. How complete are the records? Historians must look at these questions.
At the end of the 14th century, there was a bit more consistency when the courts met. Historians must be transparent as to how much information they have and what the gaps are in their work.
Methodologies: Themes, and village court reconstruction. Both these methods have draw backs. Themes can give too much information.Reconstruction can be very complicated; historians need to examine court records in their totality. McGibbon Smith suggested that there be seven categories for manorial court records:
1.) Lord’s rights
2.) Inter-peasant litigation
3.) Community nuisance
4.) Officials and court function
5.) Crime and misbehaviour
6. Land
7.) The market
She argued that scholars should not focus just on one year, but to examine several years to get a more balanced approach. Population data is also a consideration since it is not comparable pre and post-Black death. Historians must be aware of changes over a short period of time.
Maleficae et Maledictae Feminae: Fourteenth-Century Sources for Key Feature
of the Learned Interpretation of Witchcraft in Italy at the End of the Middle
Ages
Session: Politics, Condemnation, and Sorcery in the Fourteenth Century
By Fabrizio Conti, Central European University
This paper discusses Italian witchcraft in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Demons were invoked for many different reasons, such as protection. Those who invoked such demons contravened the Commandments of God, according to Bernardino da Busti, a Franciscan friar of the 15th century.
Saints vs. witches - There appeared to be some overlap in between the two figures; one good, one evil. Some witches were venerated and consulted for aid, much in the same fashion as saints. Witches flew to people’s aid on broomsticks, whereas saints were carried by angels. Towards the end of the Middle Ages, there was an increased interest in examining women’s powers more closely. Women mystics were then often viewed with suspicion for acts such as veneration of the Eucharist; this could later be used against a women and twisted into an accusation of desecration and witchcraft. Other witchcraft accusations ranged from the eating of children, to changing into animals, to practice of “maleficia”.
Trials for Sorcery in Early Fourteenth-Century Avignon
Session:Politics, Condemnation, and Sorcery in the Fourteenth Century
ByRobert Ticknor, Tulane University
This paper dealt with the question of magic and sorcery and the bridge between abstract theological questions and actual magic.
The general category of magic is crucial to the understanding cultural mores in societies. Magic takes a more central position in religion and certain social groups than previously thought; it is not just a sidebar to the witch hunt.
What does it mean to charge someone with witchcraft in the 14th century?When can one use the term “magic”? Historians often look to anthropologists however, some of these definitions don’t fit into phenomena considered “magic” by people in the 14th century. Classic authors and texts by early Christian writers were used as definitions of magic even if these were now obsolete, i.e., the writing of Isadore de Seville. Scholastic and theological treatises don’t offer much in the way of the practice of magic but they do serve as a starting point. Magic and miracles are fundamentally opposed but can look the same. Modern historians blur these lines but in the minds of people in the Middle Ages – there was a very definite separation of these two ideas of magic and miracles.
A case of sorcery in the 14th century: In 1303, a Franciscan friar by the name of Bernard of Délicieux preached a sermon that rose up against the Inquisition; Bernard took over the town and freed people incarcerated by them. Bernard also prophesied the Pope’s death; when the Pope died a few months after his prophesy, Bernard was accused of sorcery in the Pope’s “murder”. In 1317, Bernard was arrested for the Pope’s murder after ‘lying low’ since 1306. Bernard claimed he prophesied the Pope’s death through Scripture, but nonetheless, he was tortured and then released. He was convicted of impeding the Inquisition and then stripped of his clerical status and sentenced to life in prison where he died in 1320.
By Emma Campion
Crown Publishing, 2010
ISBN: 978-0307589255
The King’s Mistress is a story based on the life of King Edward III’s mistress, Alice Perrers. It follows her life from childhood to her first marriage, to her life at the court of King Edward and then life after Edward’s death at the mercy of a vengeful court.
Alice’s reputation has suffered much at the hands of scholars and writers of this period. She was much maligned and vilified. Alice was accused of being rapacious, power-hungry, deceitful, and even a sorceress. Campion sets out from the beginning of this book to rehabilitate Alice and tell another side to this tale. Campion skillfully manages to draw the reader into Alice’s complicated world of politics and court intrigue.
Campion portrays Alice in a favourable light casting her as a girl swept into a complex social circle that she was not raised in, and therefore, she is unused to playing the political game. She is alone, separated from her family and friends and left to navigate the difficulties and insular life of court on her own.
I was pleased to see this account of Alice and found myself agreeing with Campion in that women of this time did not have much “choice” in the matter, meaning, if the King chose her as his mistress, did Alice really have the choice to refuse him? Campion makes Alice’s character genuinely likable and the reader feels pity for her predicament without having the entire story be a ‘woe-is-me’ tale. While Alice’s actions were not commendable, it was a nice change to see Campion redeeming this character and going against the grain, questioning Alice’s usual perception amongst scholars. I found Alice’s character believable and the plot captivating.
The story begins with Alice as a young girl betrothed to a wealthy merchant whose family carries a terrible secret. She enjoys 4 years of wedded bliss before he disappears and Alice is moved to the court of Queen Isabella for her protection. Once at court, she captures the eye of King Edward and Alice is groomed to become his mistress. Does she have much choice in the matter? No, none really. Although Alice becomes a willing participant in the affair, she does show trepidation and does not jump headlong into the tryst to seek monetary gain or favour; she was wealthy already from her marriage to Janyn Perrers. For much of the novel, Alice constantly questions her position and keenly feels that she is being put beyond her proper place in court. She is in the Queen’s household to be protected from those who would harm her due to her ties with her husband’s family and has no recourse against the advances of the King. She continues to do what is best for her safety, and that of her family.
The book does an excellent job of highlighting the two extremes of royal patronage – wealth, popularity, and favour vs. hatred, jealousy, gossip and conspiracy. Alice must navigate through these dangerous waters for many years during her time at court and throughout the book, the reader really gets the sense that she is just barely keeping her head above water for much of this time. It is only later in life where Alice gets her freedom from the trouble the ties to the royal family have brought her. While she admits to enjoying royal patronage, it is obvious that the repercussions far outweigh the gains in being favoured by King Edward, and she knows that her enjoyment is precarious and on borrowed time.
The book moves at a steady pace and there are few, if any, dull moments. It is a quick and enjoyable read. Alongside Alice, there are many other interesting and colourful characters – Kind Edward, Queen Philippa, John of Gaunt and the young Geoffrey Chaucer to name but a few. Chaucer and Alice were contemporaries and moved in the same court circles, so Campion imagined the two as childhood friends for the novel. These characters help bring the novel to life. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and recommend it as a great summer read!
Taking the war to Scotland and France: The supply and transportation of English armies by sea, 1320-60
By Craig Lee Lambert
PhD Dissertation, University of Hull, 2009
Abstract: In the fourteenth century England’s kings embarked on a series of wars in Scotland and France. The ensuing campaigns ushered in a new era of warfare, both in its scale and scope. From a claim made by Edward I to be the rightful overlord of Scotland England’s kings gradually extended their ambitions until, in 1340, in a market place in Ghent, Edward III laid claim to the throne of France. Because the series of wars known to posterity as the Hundred Years War drew in most of the kingdoms of Europe as allies of Edward or the French it has been an area of fruitful and immense research. However, the majority of the studies completed thus far have tended to favour the grand personalities, such as the duke of Lancaster and the Black Prince. And to a certain extent the land-based operations that resulted from daring acts of chivalry have dominated the research.
Consequently, the naval element of the wars has received little attention over the last twenty years and has failed to capitalise on the new methodological approaches that have been adopted by some land-based historians. We are still uncertain, for example, how large the fleets were that operated in the Scottish and French wars, which ports contributed the ships, what was the service record of shipmasters that sailed on board these ships. Indeed, such a study should be seen as the first step towards a large comparative study between the army and navy payrolls and the particulars of the custom accounts.
This present thesis aims to provide this foundation. The study will analyse the involvement of the English merchant marine in the wars of Edward II and Edward III. The study will examine the fleet raising procedures adopted by the English government. It will also individually reconstruct each of the major fleets of the period, noting its size and structure. Finally it will examine some of the administrative and organisational changes that were developed by successive kings in order to exploit the kingdoms merchant marine.
Session: Poison and Medicine in the Fourteenth Century
By Marie A. Kelleher, California State Univ.–Long Beach
This paper explored the role of the medieval apothecary as a semi-medical agent and merchant. It also examined how apothecaries were viewed by the authorities and the rules developed surrounding their profession. Was the apothecary a merchant or medical practitioner?
The 14th century was the “golden age” of poison and concern over being poisoned….
In 1374, a merchant purchases white vinegar from a friend (Perra Terassa) and asks for arsenic to ‘take care of a rat problem’. Arnau really wished to use it to murder his wife, Antonia as he suspected his wife had tried to poison him at an earlier date.
Was the apothecary a merchant or medical man? The profession was ambiguous at best; dual names like ’spice seller’ and ‘apothecary’ were mingled due to the cross over of spices and drugs being sold in the same place; i.e., arsenic could be used to cure as well as to kill. There were two types of drugs sold in apothecaries, ’simples’, which consisted of one ingredient, and ‘compounds’, mixtures of ingredients. Was the apothecary a simple shopkeeper or a medical professional? The apothecary trade may have been between professionals.
In Barcelona during the 1370’s there were no formal guilds but spice sellers (a.k.a apothecaries) congregated in a certain area, i.e., all the shops were located close together. This indicated a professional self-identity, but what was that identity? Donations could also be tied to identity, as donations were often made to the same churches and monasteries. Groups often patronized a certain religious centre demonstrating their identification as a community.
In Barcelona, apothecaries identified themselves as sellers of rare goods and only later as medical professionals. They were the targets of special legislation in 1372 and 1373; no spice seller or shop keeper, or his wife, or shop assistants could sell arsenic to anyone other than a medical professional. Perra Terassa must have known this and thus explaining his attempt to recover the arsenic from Arsenau; the fine was very steep, 500 sous. The regulations were aimed at shopkeepers who viewed themselves solely as merchants who kept dangerous spices which was a great source of anxiety due to the unintentional or careless actions by apothecaries. The perceived necessity of these controls showed awareness and axiety of the fuzzy line of these semi-medical men who sold dangerous goods as well as spices and perfumes. They were perceived as lacking professional medical training. Foreign spice sellers had to prove they were plying their trade for at least 10 years before being given license to practice in Barcelona.
The Odyssey of Ibn Battuta: Uncommon Tales of a Medieval Adventurer
