Travels of Sir John Mandeville

Travels of Sir John Mandeville

Voyages and travels

British Library Ms. Harley 3954, created in England, in East Anglia, in the second quarter of the fifteenth century (British Library Catalogue entry, Harley 3954, Detailed Record). The Book of John Mandeville that appears in this manuscript is in Middle English, and is lavishly illuminated. In addition to the Book itself (ff. 1-69), the manuscript as a whole consists of religious or devotional texts: Infancy of Christ (ff. 70-74); Merits of the Mass (ff. 74-76); Virtues of Masses (ff. 76-78); Seven Virtues and Vices (ff. 78v-81); and Piers Plowman (ff. 92-123v) (British Library Catalogue entry, Harley 3954, ibid.). Material: Parchment. Script: Gothic cursive. Decoration: 99 coloured drawings illustrating the text, with 38 spaces left for images. (British Library Catalogue entry, Harley 3954, Detailed Record). The images attached below, depicting the Mandeville-pilgrim at the beginning of his journey, is the first page of the Mandeville text in this manuscript (f. 1r).

John Mandeville

British Library

2nd quarter of the 15th century

Alexandra Bolintineanu

CC-NC-BY (manuscript images copyright-free)

Image

Middle English, Latin

East Anglia, England