A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages
The World Through Medieval Eyes
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A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages
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Narrated by:
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Esh Alladi
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By:
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Anthony Bale
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
From the medieval souks of Tabriz, to the mysterious island of Caldihe, where sheep were said to grow on trees, Anthony Bale brings history alive in A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages, inviting the listener to travel across a medieval world punctuated with miraculous wonders and long-lost landmarks.
Journeying alongside scholars, spies and saints, from western Europe to the Far East and the Antipodes, this is no ordinary travel guide. From profane pilgrim badges and Venetian laxatives to encounters with bandits and trysts with mysterious medieval witches, this book mixes fact and folklore to offer an entertaining encyclopaedia of wondrous stories and peoples.
Using previously untranslated contemporary accounts from as far and wide as Turkey, Iceland, Armenia, north Africa, and Russia, A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages blurs the distinction between real and imagined places, offering the listener a vivid and unforgettable insight into how medieval people understood their world.
©2023 Anthony Bale (P)2023 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
What listeners say about A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- NoSoHere
- 30-08-24
Fantastic history and insights in a fascinating narrative.
This is such an extraordinary story of travel during great historic periods that bring the people and places up close and personal. The narrator is so lovely to listen to, he brings enough colour and enthusiasm without intruding on the narrative. In my top Three Narrators. Thank you! (The others are Simon Russell Beale and Sean Barrett)
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- D. Bowring
- 13-12-24
The Medieval Travel Show
A great read, describing the sights, sounds (and especially the smells) of medieval travel. The journeys of pilgrims and merchants were often hazardous and many did not survive long sea voyages and dangerous overland treks. Those who did survive wrote of their experiences and we are the richer for it. This hugely entertaining book is well-written and performed. Highly recommended.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Phil Grace
- 25-01-24
A fascinating history
I really enjoyed this book and found all of it very interesting. Travellers include a huge range from a lot of European countries, so it was good to get a wider perspective than just Marco Polo. it's amazing how much travel was going on in this period.
I wondered how the book would be organised. The author has gone for geographical chapters and within each chapter there are relevant themes and observations about travel and how it affects people. It all ties in nicely and seamlessly.
Most parts of the known world at that time are covered, although the main route is to Jerusalem and then to the silk road, so there is very little about North Africa or Northern Europe. Perhaps these places were less visited.
I would love to have had more about travellers from the East to Europe. There are some bits, but I guess that would need another book and sources may be limited.
The reader is good. Easy to listen to and quite fast-paced.
A great book if you love travel and history.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Miss Julie Wright
- 25-11-23
What a book!!
As well as being beautifully read, the tales woven here are beautifully told. Prepare yourself to be transported across Europe to Jerusalem, Egypt, Ethiopia, along the silk roads to Cathay and across the sea to the Antipodes, you’ll see the medieval work through the eyes of pilgrims and other travellers. I absolutely loved every moment and am going to listen again!
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- JCS Talbot
- 24-10-24
Mis-titled and So Disappointing
While admiring the research in arcane sources necessitated in writing this book, the latter would be more accurately entitled ‘A Guide to the Myths and Fantasies of Travellers’ in the Middle Ages’. In my view, the content does not reflect what I understood the title implied to me.
The huge number of mispronunciations by the narrator in this one book is probably more than the sum total in nearly 800 Audible books that I have listened to in the last 12 years or so.
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