Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo 1: Byzantine Entanglements

Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, as imagined in a 19th century engraving. Wikimedia

Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, as imagined in a 19th century engraving. Wikimedia

In 1403, Henry III of Castile sent ambassadors to Timur (Tamerlane), among them a man named Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo. In this episode, we cover the context and depart from port near Cadiz, travel the length of the Mediterranean, and visit Lesbos where we spend time with the ruling family and their involvements in Byzantine imperial politics.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

  • Narrative of the embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6, translated by Clements R. Markham. Hakluyt Society, 1859.

  • Embassy to Tamerlane: 1403-1406, translated by Guy le Strange. Routledge, 2005.

  • Manz, Beatrice Forbes. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press, 1999.

  • Necipoğlu, Nevra. Byzantium Between the Ottomans and the Latins: Politics and Society in the Late Empire. Cambridge University Press, 2009.

  • Rubiés, Joan-Pau. "Late Medieval Ambassadors and the Practice of Cross Cultural Encounters" 1250-1450," in The 'Book' of Travels: Genre, Ethnology, and Pilgrimage, 1250-1700, edited by Palmira Johnson Brummett. BRILL, 2009.

  • Wright, Christopher. The Gattilusio Lordships and the Aegean World 1355-1462. BRILL, 2014.


Ibn Fadlan 4: Communal Hygiene and the Viking Funeral

Frank Dicksee - The Funeral of a Viking

Frank Dicksee - The Funeral of a Viking

In the conclusion the Ahmad ibn Fadlan series, ibn Fadlan encounters the Rusiyyah, recounts the famous Viking funeral, and is disgusted by a communal wash basin. I also talk about the text itself.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

  • Ahmad ibn Fadlan. Mission to the Volga, translated by James E. Montgomery. New York University Press, 2017.

  • Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness: Arab Travellers in the Far North, translated and with an introduction by Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone. Penguin, 2012.

  • Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia, edited by Josef W. Meri. Routledge, 2005.

  • Bukharaev, Ravil. Islam in Russia: The Four Seasons. Routledge, 2014.

  • Frye, R.N. and Blake, R.P. "Notes on the Risala of Ibn Fadlan," in The Turks in the Early Islamic World, edited by C. Edmund Bosworth. Routledge, 2017.

  • Hansen, Valerie. The Year 1000: When Explorers Connected the World and Globalization Began. Simon and Schuster, 2020.

  • Korpela, Jukka Jari. Slaves from the North: Finns and Karelians in the East European Slave Trade, 900 - 1600. BRILL, 2018.

  • Kratchkovsky, I.Y. Among Arabic Manuscripts: Memories of Libraries and Men. BRILL, 2016.

  • Mako, Gerald. The Islamization of the Volga Bulghars: A Question Reconsidered. Harrassowitz Verlag, 2011.

  • Montgomery, James E. "Ibn Fadlan’s ‘Mission to the Volga’: An Extraordinary Narrative by a Not-so-extraordinary Writer," an interview with ArabLit. 

  • Peacock, A.C.S. The Great Seljuk Empire. Edinburgh University Press, 2015.

  • Romano, John F. Medieval Travel and Travelers: A Reader. University of Toronto Press, 2020.

  • Vernadsky, George. Kievan Russia. Yale University Press, 1973.

  • Wladyslaw, Duczko. Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe. BRILL, 2004. 

  • Wilson, Joe. Black Banner and White Nights: The 10th-Century Travel Account of Ibn Fadlan. James Madison University, 2014.


Ibn Fadlan 3: Bulgar Discomforts & Jinn Warfare

Gog and Magog (Bibliothèque nationale de France, Français 24364, fol. 60v)

Gog and Magog (Bibliothèque nationale de France, Français 24364, fol. 60v)

Our 10th century traveller, Ahmad ibn Fadlan, settles in among the Bulgars, develops a distaste for their fish-oil based food, and is terrified by events in the sky.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

  • Ahmad ibn Fadlan. Mission to the Volga, translated by James E. Montgomery. New York University Press, 2017.

  • Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness: Arab Travellers in the Far North, translated and with an introduction by Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone. Penguin, 2012.

  • Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia, edited by Josef W. Meri. Routledge, 2005.

  • Bukharaev, Ravil. Islam in Russia: The Four Seasons. Routledge, 2014.

  • Hansen, Valerie. The Year 1000: When Explorers Connected the World and Globalization Began. Simon and Schuster, 2020.

  • Korpela, Jukka Jari. Slaves from the North: Finns and Karelians in the East European Slave Trade, 900 - 1600. BRILL, 2018.

  • Mako, Gerald. The Islamization of the Volga Bulghars: A Question Reconsidered. Harrassowitz Verlag, 2011.

  • Romano, John F. Medieval Travel and Travelers: A Reader. University of Toronto Press, 2020.

  • Vernadsky, George. Kievan Russia. Yale University Press, 1973.

  • Wilson, Joe. Black Banner and White Nights: The 10th-Century Travel Account of Ibn Fadlan. James Madison University, 2014.


Ibn Fadlan 2: A Letter from the Caliph

The envoys of Byzantine Emperor Michael II are received by Omurtag the Bulgar ruler - Wikicommons

The envoys of Byzantine Emperor Michael II are received by Omurtag the Bulgar ruler - Wikicommons

Ahmad ibn Fadlan carries on to his cash-poor appointment with the Volga Bulgars. There's talk of funerals, cultural differences, and threats of death. 10th century diplomacy could be hard.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

  • Ahmad ibn Fadlan. Mission to the Volga, translated by James E. Montgomery. New York University Press, 2017.

  • Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness: Arab Travellers in the Far North, translated and with an introduction by Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone. Penguin, 2012.

  • Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia, edited by Josef W. Meri. Routledge, 2005.

  • Bukharaev, Ravil. Islam in Russia: The Four Seasons. Routledge, 2014.

  • Curta, Florin. Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500-1250. Cambridge University Press, 2006.

  • Hansen, Valerie. The Year 1000: When Explorers Connected the World and Globalization Began. Simon and Schuster, 2020.

  • Le Strange, Guy. The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate: Mesopotamia, Persia, and Central Asia from the Moslem Conquest to the Time of Timur. Cosimo Classics, 2010.

  • Romano, John F. Medieval Travel and Travelers: A Reader. University of Toronto Press, 2020.

  • Vernadsky, George. Kievan Russia. Yale University Press, 1973.


Ibn Fadlan 1: From Baghdad with Very Cold Beards

Baghdad between 150 and 300 AH (767 and 912 AD) Wikimedia

Baghdad between 150 and 300 AH (767 and 912 AD) Wikimedia

Ahmad ibn Fadlan travels from early 10th century Baghdad on a diplomatic mission to the Volga Bulgars. There is a Viking funeral in his future, along with unfamiliar cultures and extremely cold weather. It's not The 13th Warrior, which it loosely inspired, but it is a good story.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

  • Ahmad ibn Fadlan. Mission to the Volga, translated by James E. Montgomery. New York University Press, 2017.

  • Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness: Arab Travellers in the Far North, translated and with an introduction by Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone. Penguin, 2012.

  • Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia, edited by Josef W. Meri. Routledge, 2005.

  • Bukharaev, Ravil. Islam in Russia: The Four Seasons. Routledge, 2014.

  • Le Strange, Guy. The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate: Mesopotamia, Persia, and Central Asia from the Moslem Conquest to the Time of Timur. Cosimo Classics, 2010.

  • Romano, John F. Medieval Travel and Travelers: A Reader. University of Toronto Press, 2020.


Eustace the Black Monk

Eustace’s death at the 1217 Battle of Sandwich as depicted  by Matthew Paris in the Chronica Majora

Eustace’s death at the 1217 Battle of Sandwich as depicted by Matthew Paris in the Chronica Majora

This is the story of a monk, a sorcerer, a pirate, a woodland outlaw, and a master of disguise. His name is Eustace.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

  • Burgess, Glyn S. Two Medieval Outlaws: Eustace the Monk and Fouke Fitz Waryn. D.S. Brewer, 1997.

  • Davis, Alex. Imagining Inheritance from Chaucer to Shakespeare. Oxford University Press, 2020.

  • Ohlgren, Thomas H. Medieval Outlaws: Twelve Tales in Modern English Translation. Parlor Press, 2005.

  • Seal, Graham. Outlaw Heroes in Myth and History. Anthem Press, 2011.


Brancacci's Mission 2: Already Dismissed

Detail from Masaccio’s The Tribute Money in the Brancacci Chapel

Detail from Masaccio’s The Tribute Money in the Brancacci Chapel

The conclusion of the Felice Brancacci story. Our ambassador from Florence deals with the Mamluk sultan in Cairo, with sickness, and with a shortage of funds, and he comes home to commission some memorable art at the Brancacci Chapel.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

  • Florence's Embassy to the Sultan of Egypt, translated by Mahnaz Yousefzadeh. Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.

  • Ashtor, Eliyahu. Levant Trade in the Middle Ages. Princeton University Press, 2014.

  • Behrens-Abouseif, Doris. Practising Diplomacy in the Mamluk Sultanate: Gifts and Material Culture in the Medieval Islamic World. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014

  • Goldthwaite, Richard A. The Economy of Renaissance Florence. JHU Press, 2009.

  • Najemy, John M. A History of Florence, 1200-1575. John Wiley & Sons, 2008.

  • Shulman, Ken. Anatomy of a Restoration: the Brancacci Chapel. Walker, 1991.


Brancacci's Mission 1: From Florence to Cairo

Detail from Masaccio’s The Tribute Money in the Brancacci Chapel

Detail from Masaccio’s The Tribute Money in the Brancacci Chapel

In 1422, Felice Brancacci set out from Florence to establish trading relations with Mamluk Egypt, and to advocate for his city's currency. This is that story, part one of two.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

  • Florence's Embassy to the Sultan of Egypt, translated by Mahnaz Yousefzadeh. Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.

  • Behrens-Abouseif, Doris. Practising Diplomacy in the Mamluk Sultanate: Gifts and Material Culture in the Medieval Islamic World. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014.

  • Goldthwaite, Richard A. The Economy of Renaissance Florence. JHU Press, 2009.

  • Najemy, John M. A History of Florence, 1200-1575. John Wiley & Sons, 2008.


Sir John Mandeville 5: Mongols, Mountains, and Myths

The Travels of Sir John Mandeville - British Library Add. Ms 24189

The Travels of Sir John Mandeville - British Library Add. Ms 24189

Finishing up with Mandeville's travels, we visit the palace of the Mongol khan, the fortress paradise of the Old Man of the Mountain, and a land that never sees the sun.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

  • Sir John Mandeville: The Book of Marvels and Travels, translated by Anthony Bale. Oxford University Press, 2012.

  • The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, translated by Charles Moseley. Penguin, 2005.

  • The Book of John Mandeville, edited by Tamarah Kohanski and C. David Benson. Medieval Institute Publications, 2007. 

  • Friedman, John Block. The Monstrous Races in Medieval Art and Thought. Syracuse University Press, 2000.

  • Higgins, Iain Macleod. Writing East: The "Travels" of Sir John Mandeville. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997.

  • Jackson, Peter. The Mongols and the West: 1221-1410. Routledge, 2018.

  • Metlitzki, Dorothee. The Matter of Araby in Medieval England. Yale University Press, 2005.

  • Tzanaki, Rosemary. Mandeville's Medieval Audiences: A Study on the Reception of the Book of Sir John Mandeville (1371-1550). Taylor & Francis, 2017.

  • Verner, Lisa. The Epistemology of the Monstrous in the Middle Ages. Routledge, 2005.


Sir John Mandeville 4: Of India and Medieval Monsters

Cynocephalus  - Nuremberg Chronicle

Cynocephalus  - Nuremberg Chronicle

Mandeville goes east into Greater India, and we go with him, following, as he follows the path of Odoric of Pordenone, into India, into the sea and its islands, and into a discussion of medieval hybrids and monsters, and what they mean. We'll find Amazons, the hand of St. Thomas, and people with neither noses nor eyes.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

  • Sir John Mandeville: The Book of Marvels and Travels, translated by Anthony Bale. Oxford University Press, 2012.

  • The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, translated by Charles Moseley. Penguin, 2005.

  • Cathay and the Way Thither Vol. II. Hakluyt Society, 1913.

  • Andyshak, Sarah Catherine. Figural and Discursive Depictions of the Other in the Travels of Sir John Mandeville. Florida State University Libraries, 2009.

  • Friedman, John Block. The Monstrous Races in Medieval Art and Thought. Syracuse University Press, 2000.

  • Greenblatt, Stephen. Marvellous Possessions: The Wonder of the New World. University of Chicago Press, 1991. 

  • Higgins, Iain Macleod. Writing East: The "Travels" of Sir John Mandeville. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997.

  • Patterson, Robert. Mandeville's Intolerance: The Contest for Souls and Sacred Sites in The Travels of Sir John Mandeville. Washington University in St. Louis, 2009.

  • Schildgen, Brenda Deen. Dante and the Orient. University of Illinois Press, 2002.

  • Tzanaki, Rosemary. Mandeville's Medieval Audiences: A Study on the Reception of the Book of Sir John Mandeville (1371-1550). Taylor & Francis, 2017.

  • Verner, Lisa. The Epistemology of the Monstrous in the Middle Ages. Routledge, 2005.