Riddle And The Knight: In Search Of Sir John Mandeville, The World’s Greatest Traveller

In 1322, Sir John Mandeville left England to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Thirty-four years later he returned, claiming not only to have visited the Holy Land but also to have traveled to India, China, Tibet & Java. His book — “The Travels” — lit the way for the great expeditions of the Renaissance, & his adventures provided inspiration for writers such as Shakespeare, Coleridge, & Swift. Yet by the 19th cent., he was all but ignored by scholars, & his descriptions of monsters & strange peoples were discredited. Intrigued by Mandeville, Milton set off in his footsteps in order to test his amazing claims & to attempt to solve the riddle of the knight. This brilliant piece of detective work restores Mandeville to his rightful place in the history of lit. & exploration.