Hon 407 Making History in the Middle Ages

Instructor: York

Course Description:
In this course we will examine the development of the genre of vernacular, prose historical writing during the Middle Ages from roughly the eleventh through the fourteenth centuries. We will also inspect the related genre of vernacular, prose travel writings as they developed
during this period. Two of the main texts that we will focus on are Marco Polo's On the division of the world and John Mandeville's Travels. These texts combine what factual and “fantastical” history and description of the orient from a western perspective. The authors describe the beliefs and customs of a range of peoples of the orient including a number of "monstrous" races. They also give accounts of wondrous or marvelous events and practices that serve to reinforce the
mysterious nature of the lands in the East. Our task will be to think about the ways in which these historical texts and travel accounts provide a particular narrative of the past and of distant lands and peoples for a particular purpose.