From Library Journal
This fascinating thematic encyclopedia offers a global view of the Middle Ages from roughly 524 to 1495 C.E. Taken as a whole, the 435 alphabetical entries refute the commonly held belief that medieval communities were insulated and stagnant. Each entry affirms the view that during the Middle Ages, long-distance trade, geographic mobility, and exploration led to reciprocal cultural influences that spread throughout the world. Editors Friedman (English, emeritus, Univ. of Illinois) and Figg (English, Kent State Univ., Salem) have done a commendable job of bringing together a very useful single-volume reference resource. A diverse group of 177 contributors cover people, places, economics, literature, technology, industry, agriculture, religion, and much more. Everything from the African gold trade to pilgrimages to the Holy Land are given concise explanations, which high school students and undergraduates will find comprehensible and useful. Graduate students will also find these entries and their respective bibliographies practical paths to further research. A comprehensive index offers multiple access points to the main entries. Strongly recommended for academic and public libraries.DJim Doyle, Sara Hightower Regional Lib., Rome, GA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
The genre of medieval travel and exploration literature is fertile ground for academic research as well as for the imagination of the armchair traveler. Although modern travel literature is not difficult to locate, the literature of trade, travel, and exploration during the medieval period is often not easily accessible. The editors pulled together 435 entries by 177 contributors in this compilation, intended to be accessible to nonspecialist readers and a useful starting point for scholars in a variety of disciplines. Contributors were clearly chosen for their scholarly expertise; many are the authors of articles and books on their topics.The scope of the volume comprises "the history of travel, exploration, discovery, and mercantile activity in the Near East, the Far East, Central Asia, Africa, Scandinavia, and the New World," as well as "purely fabulous regions" (Land of Cockaigne , Mountains of the Moon), from the fall of the Roman Empire to the "Age of Discovery" at the end of the fifteenth century. A chronological chart from 100 B.C.E. to 1500 C.E. entitled "Sequence of Events" places individuals and their works and material culture under the categories "Major Expansions and Explorations," "Encyclopedists and Cosmographers," "Travelers and Travel Narratives," and "Maps." Another table lists the regal dates of kings, popes, and other rulers such as the Great Khans and the Dukes of Burgundy. Introductory material includes a list of articles arranged by broad topic, such as "Crusades" and "Marvels and Wonders."Articles are arranged alphabetically, using the variations of spelling most familiar to scholars or those used by the Library of Congress and in standard reference works (Tamerlane instead of Timur, Chinngis Khan instead of Genghis Khan ). The articles are clearly written so that they can be understood and enjoyed by nonspecialists as well as scholars. They often begin with basics and explain why the topic is important, such as describing Maritime law as "one of the major contributions of medieval culture to the modern world." Length ranges from a few identifying paragraphs (Borgia map ; Knarr , a type of Norse sailing vessel) to surveys of about 5,000 words (Crusades; Geography in the Middle Ages; Navigation ).Because of the wide range of topics encompassed, articles reflect a diversity found in few other specialized encyclopedias. They include real and fictional individuals (Prester John, Sinbad the Sailor ), animals and natural history (Camels , Gems ), foods (Bananas, Pepper, Saffron ), real places (Malacca Straits , Venice ), imaginary places and creatures (Giants , Mountains of the Moon ), crusades and pilgrimages (the crusader castle Krak de Chevaliers, Pilgrim souvenirs ), and topical articles (Cannibalism , Slave trade ). The strength of the work is its coverage of topics relating to geography, cosmography, maps and plans, routes, and itineraries; technology of travel and exploration; types of ships; and travel writers. Many of these topics are not represented by their own articles in the comprehensive Dictionary of the Middle Ages (Scribner, 1982-). These include Caravans, Elephants, Piracy , and Vagrancy .Each entry includes a bibliography; most include about five to ten books, articles, essays, and primary sources. Contributors frequently cite French, German, Italian, and other languages because the "topics treated in this work have engaged the attention of writers whose language is not English," and the bibliographies reflect that state of scholarship in these areas. Although the bibliographies are valuable for identifying articles, book chapters, and pamphlets that students might miss in standard OPAC and periodical database searches, some could have included more accessible items. There are only two publications, both in German, in the bibliography for Antipodes, and only one of the ten references for Pilgrimage, Christian is in English. The work concludes with a bibliography of general sources.This is clearly the labor of seasoned medievalists who saw the need for such a compilation in their own work. It will be equally useful to other medievalists and to students of medieval history, art, science, and literature. Its articles are lucid, its scholarship is superb and up to date, its illustrations are creatively chosen, and its bibliographies are generally useful for further study. Trade, Travel, and Exploration is an essential purchase for all academic and large public libraries and might also be considered for high-school libraries supporting medieval history units. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
About the Author
John Block Friedman is professor emeritus of English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and visiting professor of English at Kent State University-Salem. He received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University. He is the co-editor, with Jessica Wegmann-Sanchez, of Garland's Medieval Iconography: A Research Guide(1998).
Kristen Mossler Figg is associate professor of English at Kent State University-Salem. She received her Ph.D. from Kent State University, where she did graduate studies in French and English.
