The Riddle and the Knight

by Giles Milton

Book Overview

Part travelogue/part historical mystery about the most famous traveler--and chronicler-- in medieval Europe. Giles Milton's first book, The Riddle and the Knight, is a fascinating account of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0340819456
• ISBN13: 9780340819456
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
• Length: 301 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The best book from Giles Milton....

This book was awesome! So much adventure and neat information. I liked how Giles Milton included his travels in following Sir John's book to find things -- it was like being on a scavenger hunt from the past. The only thing that would have made this a better book would have been some color pictures of the churches visited! It was a slight disappointment that the Mandeville book was not real...but a fun to follow!

Fascinating

Even more than Marco Polo, Sir John Mandeville was considered the most renowned traveler and chronicler in medieval Europe. In 1322, Mandeville left England on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, returning over three decades later. Sir John claimed to have journeyed to the Holy Land, India, China, Tibet, and modern day Indonesia. He detailed his trek in "The Travels of Sir John Mandeville" that became the Kerouac of his generation. However, Mandeville was written off in the nineteenth century due to his vivid descriptions of encounters with monsters and strange peoples that were at odds with Darwin. Giles Milton chronicles his own journey that traces the steps claimed by Sir John. Readers will sense that Mr. Milton wants to believe in his "hero" by finding historical items to support Sir John's claims. The travels through Europe and the Middle East will fascinate those fans of historical travelogues as Mr. Milton supports the notion that Sir John was there, but he stops short of visiting China and Indonesia. Instead, Mr. Milton seems disappointed that he must agree with the Victorians that Sir John never made it to the Far East. The writing at that point loses its enthusiasm as Mr. Milton rationalizes that the latter part of "The Travels of Sir John Mandeville" is a comparative allegory on Christianity. Overall this book will interest those readers who enjoy a historiographical look back at an influential fourteenth century person whose writing has gone out of favor.Harriet Klausnr

an earlier winner from Mr. Milton

Though once one of the most famous men and influential authors in all of Christendom, Sir John Mandeville's reputation has been in decline for roughly five hundred years. His book of Travels, published in the mid 1300s, detailed his 34 year journey (1322-56) through the Near East, Middle East and Far East, successively. For Europeans who knew little or nothing of these regions, his tales of fantastic animals and of the legendary Prestor John seemed plausible enough and the book was assumed to be true in its entirety. In fact, Shakespeare and Milton were influenced by his work and Columbus is purported to have used it as the basis for his decision to try sailing to China by heading West.But then the great European explorers began to actually arrive in the places that Mandeville claimed to have visited and, particularly when they reached the Far East, many of his more colorful observations proved to be quite fanciful. Subsequent investigations by literary critics revealed that great swaths of the book had been lifted from the writings of others, a practice that was not so uncommon in that earlier day, but which necessarily raised further doubts about his veracity. The backlash against Mandeville ultimately grew to the point where the very notion that he ever traveled came to be doubted and even his existence was questioned by some.According to Giles Milton, the more charitably inclined critics argued that the whole thing was intended as a literary riddle, but one to which we had lost the key. Mr. Milton himself, who first came upon the book when it literally fell off the shelf of a Paris bookstore, was so captivated by Mandeville's prose that he set out to retrace his travels and try to vindicate his name. This book recounts the journey, provides much background on Mandeville's, and offers Mr. Milton's solution to the riddle.Retracing Mandeville's footsteps, whether actual or fictional, takes Mr. Milton throughout the Middle East, from Constantinople to Cyprus on through Syria, Jerusalem and the Sinai. An Englishman abroad in a variety of Muslim states--featuring varying levels of paranoia and suspicion--Mr. Milton's adventures and misadventures make for a very amusing and frequently fascinating read. It is genuinely amazing how many of the sites that Mandeville "visited" still exist and it is very funny that in nearly every one of them, no matter how remote the setting or how anti-Western the nation, Mr. Milton seems to find a monk from somewhere in England. More germane to the book, he also finds fairly compelling evidence that Sir John must have, or at least may have, truly seen them in person. Gradually, Mr. Milton builds a case for both the genuine existence of Sir John and for the authenticity of his travels through the Near and Middle East, though even he is dismissive of the possibility of Sir John traveling to the Far East.Thoughout, Mr. Milton is a companionable guide, his enthusiasm for Sir John infectious, and his solution to

And just what is the riddle?

Giles Milton, a professional writer/journalist, sets out to retrace the voyages of the legendary fourteenth-century writer, Sir John Mandeville. His reasons for doing so are manifold: 1) to gather material for a book; 2) a personal religious experience; 3) to rehabilitate the good name of Mandeville; and 4) frankly, to enjoy himself hugely. The first and fourth can be judged successful. The second only Milton knows. The third reason is most interesting. Just who was Sir John Mandeville? Simply put: the alleged author of one of the most famous late-middle-age/early-renaissance books. Although the book is still in print (see the reviews of the Penguin Classic, The Travels of Sir John Mandeville), it is now relative obscure. From about 1350 to 1800 it was one of the most influential books, rivaling the Bible and Euclid's Elements. Then about 1800 scholars began to question whether "Mandeville wrote Mandeville," or indeed whether there ever was such a man. Having seen similar arguments on whether Shakespeare really wrote Shakespeare, I started out viewing the Mandeville controversy with a jaundiced eye. Now I must admit the case against Mandeville is much stronger - stronger, but not conclusive either. This is where Giles Milton can be of help.Giles Milton seems to have convinced himself that: 1) yes, Sir John Mandeville really did exist, 2) yes, he did write the book, 3) he may or may not have actually undertaken the voyages of the first part of the book, but certainly not those of the second part, and 4) Mandeville lied a lot, but it was for a most worthy cause. Are Milton's arguments for a real John Mandeville convincing? Only partially. His principal evidence is a barely legible inscription (an epitaph) in St. Albans Abbey. But here some rigorous scholarship is missing: What is the earliest mention of this epitaph? To whom is it attributed? Have other scholars noted the inscription, and at what times? What are their opinions regarding its authenticity?Milton's book is entitled, The Riddle and The Knight. The knight is Sir John, but what is the riddle? Namely this: why the second half of the book is so different from the first? The first part is more or less believable, the second utterly fantastic. Milton's proposes that the entire Travels is an allegory on religious intolerance. The second half is intended to show that creatures, appearing to us quite monstrous, can nevertheless be pious. Conclusion: we must not judge "savages" - too harshly. Hmm...maybe, just maybe.Gems in Milton's book are some woodcuts taken from a 1481 edition of Mandeville. (Penguin should have included these.) These by themselves make getting the bookworthwhile. But in addition there is plenty of food for thought. Read the book and form your own opinions.

Trip In Search Of The Knight Fantastic!

I purchased this book after reading "Nathaniel's Nutmeg" by the same author. "Nutmeg" was so good that I wanted to read something else by Mr. Milton. "The Riddle And The Knight" wasn't what I thought it was going to be but it still turned out to be excellent. I thought it was going to be a pure exercise in scholarship but it is really a modern day travel book with a lot of the extensive research Mr. Milton did lightly sprinkled on at the appropriate places. Mr. Milton takes us to Constantinople, Cyprus, Syria, Jerusalem and The Sinai Peninsula in search of Sir John. He visits many monasteries and churches and talks with monks, scholars and knowledgeable laypeople. He examines carvings on columns and heraldic shields scratched on monastery walls and ceilings by crusading knights 700 years ago. He even finds a modern day Mandeville in the phonebook in the town where Sir John was from, to find out if the lady was any relation! (She thought the name sounded familiar but didn't really know anything about Sir John.) The book has a nice rhythm to it as it goes back and forth from medieval to modern times and Mr. Milton works some present day absurdities, such as the forcible division of Cyprus back in the early 1970's into a Turkish section and a Greek section, into the tale. Sadly, there is a run down quality to many of the once great towns and cities the author visited. But the book never veers too far from the two things Mr. Milton wanted to investigate: Did Sir John Mandeville really exist and did he really travel to the places he wrote about? I won't spoil the book by giving anything away but I will say I found Mr. Milton's research, explanations and conclusions convincing. This was a very interesting twist on the usual travel book and I found it well-worth reading.