Medieval Travellers: The Rich and the Restless

by Margaret Wade Labarge

It may surprise the non-historians amongst us, but medieval people travelled widely, some of them covering vast distances. People journeyed for a variety of reasons, whether for religious purposes such as pilgrimages and visiting shrines and religious sites, for political reasons, social context between officials, family and friends, and for amusement to release them from their boredom. By the end of the medieval period, sources tell us that people took great pleasure in travelling and were curious about visiting new places. This book relates stories of great travellers of the 13th to mid-15th century, from kings and queens and, of course, their households, to officials and diplomats, crusaders, pilgrims, adventurers and social climbers. Putting display and style above comfort, many of the aristocracy travelled between their houses, or hunting camps, with an elaborate entourage which brought spectacle to the places they visited. Based on chronicles, other literary works, household accounts and such like, Margaret Wade Labarge also explores the physical conditions and practicalities of making such journeys.

Genres: History, Medieval, Nonfiction, Travel

286 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Margaret Wade Labarge, CM (July 18, 1916 – August 31, 2009) was a Canadian historian and author specializing in the role of women in the Middle Ages. She was adjunct professor of history at Carleton University.

Labarge attended Harvard and Oxford Universities, and taught at the University of Ottawa before her move to Carleton. In 1982, she was made a Member of the Order of Canada. In 1988, she was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. She authored nine books about history.

Reviews

[Acanthus Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The duchess arrived in a litter covered with crimson cloth of gold, which was followed by two white hackneys with trappings of the same cloth, each led by a groom on foot. Behind them rode twelve damsels on hackneys trapped with cloth of gold and they in turn were followed by four chariots full of ladies, on whose standard of beauty La Marche reported with approval."

A history of the social and practical aspects of medieval travel and, by extension, also a history of pilgrimages, crusades, jousts, political marriages, geography, maps and guides, the dangers of sea crossings, and how various pieces fell into place to enable the coming Age of Discovery.

Many medieval travellers took great pains to be accurate in their reporting and Marco Polo, Clavijo and Bertrandon de la Broquière are all cited as favourable examples, this despite the fact that in many cases it was very hard to differentiate the natural wonders of second-hand accounts from fantastical marvels: if you've never seen a giraffe before then that would seem just as plausible as a snake which 'could rear its head five fathoms high'.

The final chapter here has an interesting discussion on monarchs and nobles who die abroad and must somehow be transported back to their family grave - something of a logistical nightmare!

(Also, the cover art of this book shows a 14th century rocking chariot, an early suspension design.)

[Pedro Pascoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent romp through the middle ages from the angle of those who travelled. As stated in the title, it is more of an emphasis on those rich members of the era who were able to travel. I was hoping perhaps for a bit more nuts and bolts description of costings, average distance covered, likliehood of encountering danger etc. And while this was evident in part, the book did stray away from the focus of the title often, and became more of a generalized broader sweep of life for those who also happened to travel.

I would have liked to have read about the poor travellers of the middle ages, and how they funded themselves in pilgrimages, for example. Although plenty of reading on pilgrimages from the period have already given some indication. Usually through theft and financial persecution of the people they came across, the Jews being one particular group who bore the brunt of their passage. But, understandably there was a focus on the rich sector of European medieval travellers, providing us with accoounts largely drawn from contemporary accounts of travellers, with slabs from Froissart to fill in gaps here and there.

An entertaining read from its perspective, covering a range of monied occupations, when travel was a serious endeavour.

[Lenka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, each chapter offered a look at a different form/occassion for travel in the middle-ages (on a crusade, or pilgrimage, or diplomatic missions..), all together creating a complex picture of (mainly English and French) people on the move

[Sheffielder · Rating 4 out of 5]

The common view of mediaeval times is that people never really travelled anywhere, instead living and dying within a few miles of their birthplace. This book shows that, certainly where nobles and clerics were concerned at any rate, this picture is rather wide of the mark. Each chapter focusses on a different group of travellers (or else different reasons for travel), for example knights travelling to attend tournaments, diplomats travelling from court to court, and clerics visiting Rome.

The book is well written, and the examples make for interesting reading, although the total number of travellers referred to is lower than might be expected, because various people serve multiple roles (e.g. the same person can be a pilgrim, a bishop and a diplomat at different times, so they can appear three times over). This is perhaps inevitable, as the number of primary sources is unfortunately limited.

Perhaps the biggest omissions concern merchants and mercenaries, both of whom must have done a great deal of travelling. Merchants are mentioned briefly (e.g. Marco Polo's journeys are mentioned because of their popularity with readers), but most venturer-mercenaries are essentially dismissed out of hand, on the grounds that, not having a permanent base, they can (she argues) hardly be called travellers. This reasoning, which strikes me as somewhat spurious, means that an interesting section of travelling mediaeval society is largely unrepresented, in what would otherwise have been a comprehensive study of the era. Similarly, "common travellers" (e.g. farmers driving animals to major markets) are ignored.

Nonetheless, for those who are interested in mediaeval conditions (with illustrations taken from contemporary manuscripts), the sorts of people one would meet on the road, and the reception they could expect from locals, will find this an interesting and worthwhile read.

[Dominick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting general survey of medieval travelling of all kinds—pleasure, pilgrimage, diplomacy, war, etc. But she has some bad writing habits that made the book unnecessarily hard going. Completed December 16, 2005.

[Judith]

Life and travel in medieval France. Includes 4 pages on Mahaut pp66-70.

[Willa Guadalupe Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent book about travel in the 14th century IF YOU WERE RICH. Nothing at all about the common religious pilgrim. It is well written & researched & a fun book to read.

[Stephen Palmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book about the state of local, national and global travel in medieval times. Would have liked more on international travellers and less on kings and queens, but that's just me.