Date: Sun, 12 Jul 92 22:27:50 -0400
From: carl@silver.lcs.mit.edu (Carl J.M. Alexander)
Message-Id: <9207130227.AA13618@silver.lcs.mit.edu>
To: carolingia@bloom-beacon.mit.edu
Subject: Found in rec.arts.books

 
Good Gentles, greetings--
 
The following appeared in rec.arts.books (where there are two or three 
threads currently running that people might find of interest:  just look 
for the messages with "medieval" in the subject line).  I'm forwarding 
this to Carolingia partly for its informational value, and partly because 
this highly informative gentle ("Mark"; nevins@husc.harvard.edu) doesn't 
know how to post news.  I thought perhaps someone else at Harvard might 
like to help him figure out how to use news . . . and maybe at the same 
time see whether this person with the fascinating dissertation topic 
might be interested in the SCA.
 
>Article 16440 (16 more) in rec.arts.books:
>From: gardiner@lib.uwo.ca (Margaret Martin Gardiner)
>Subject: travel books (fwd)
>Date: 11 Jul 92 22:29:09 GMT
>
>        I received the following message re Medieval Travel.  Since
>Mark is still trying to find out how to post a message to this group,
>I am pleased to forward this on his behalf.  I'm sure Mark would
>appreciate hearing from someone at his home institution address who
>could advise on posting....
>
>Margaret
>
>Forwarded message:
>>From: nevins@husc.harvard.edu
>>Good Lord!  Can this possibly be a question related to the doctoral
>>dissertation I am now writing?  Thank you for being the first person
>>in a long time to make me feel as if my arcane work is SOMEHOW relevant!
>>      Actually, my interests are in very early medieval travel and
>>encyclopedias--and I imagine that people lie Saxo Grammaticus, Adam
>>of Bremen are enough to make the eyes of most glaze over.  Though I
>>am quite impressed by the books you've been working through!  As far
>>as earlier stuff, I might recommend The Vinland Sagas (about Norse
>>"discovery" of North America), available in Penguin, with a good 
>>introduction.
>>      The best place to go might be a new book by Mary Campbell, called
>>_The Witness and the Other World_.  I have a few problems with it, but
>>overall it is excellent, and nicely written (very readable)--it's done
>>by an academic press (Princeton?), but is now out in paper.  It will give
>>you lots of ideas on things to read.
>>      For something more fantastic, try the tales in _Seven Viking
>>Romances_, also in Penguin.
>>      You MUST read _The Travels of Sir John Mandeville_ (also
>>available in Penguin, I think, though the Middle English isn't too
>>tough, and is very rewarding).  It is THE travel book of the Middle
>>Ages--in fact, most people held it as truth, and Polo as fiction, even
>>though "Sir John" probably never left his library!  Columbus had a copy
>>on board, and this text was also important in helping poor Menocchio
>>the miller formulate his heresies, as so brilliantly described by Carlo
>>Ginzburg in _The Cheese and the Worms_ (an excellent work of 
>>untraditional historiography).  After reading Mandeville, you can read 
>>the trendy Stephen Greenblatt on him in the new _Marvellous Possessions_--
>>though like many New Historians, Greenblatt's work is often as much about 
>>himself as it is about the texts he purports to be examining (Maybe we 
>>can start a "New Historicism" thread on rec.arts.books after 
>>"Deconstructionism" dies down).
>>      As this material is the topic of my dissertation, I could go on for
>>hours.  If you'd like to contact me with more specific requests, I could
>>probably answer most of your questions.  I don't know how to post to
>>the group, so if you think this letter is relevant, you might want to
>>post it for me (or teach me how to post to the group?).
>>      Happy reading, and let me know if I can be of help.
>>Mark
>>P.S. Oh Yeas, I should say that Josephine Bennet's _The Rediscovery of
>>Sir John Mandeville_ is really the best work of criticism on it.
>>Mandeville had been translated into every known European language
>>within 20 years of its "publication"--it was one of the most important
>>and influential books of the late Middle Ages (he probably was a 
>>contemporary of Chaucer's).
>>Cheers!
 
If someone at Harvard decides to help him out, please let me know; if 
not, I'll try to help him.  (I don't know anything about Harvard's 
systems, but I assume they have "rn" and at least I'm in the neighborhood.)
 
Yours in service, 
 
Alexander of Kiev                       Carolingia, East

Carl Alexander                          Harvard Square, Cambridge, Mass.
carl@silver.lcs.mit.edu