IMC 2018: Sessions

Books and libraries intended for the use of pilgrims and travellers played an important role in the construction of memory about place and history. This panel therefore aims to address the interplay between text, traveller and memory. The first paper examines the historical memory of the Fourth Crusade as presented in the writings of late medieval travellers to Jerusalem. It attempts to trace the pilgrims' sources of information about the expedition and the textual relations between the narratives themselves. It also tries to draw some wider conclusions on late medieval pilgrims' understanding of the concept of Crusade. The second investigates the use and dissemination of religious sources in the Venetian territory. It is focused mainly on the pilgrims' use of the Catalogum Sanctorum written by Petrus de Natalibus between 1369 and 1372 and will assess the way in which independent versions of the catalogue's appendix relative to the relics and saints of Venice circulated in the lagoon during the 15th century with the scope of facilitating pilgrims' wandering and knowledge of the city's religious history. The final paper will conclude by exploring the ways in which early European printers stressed or de-emphasized the Book of John Mandeville's status as a pilgrimage text in accordance with the exigencies of specific literary markets. Focussing on paratextual features including illustrations, titles and chapter divisions, it will assess the extent to which the reshaping of the Book in different national and linguistic contexts is reflected by evidence for its reception among contemporary readers.