Early Modern Tales of Orient
Early Modern Tales of Orient

Author: Kenneth Parker

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-10-28

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 1135637474

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Early Modern Tales of Orient is the first volume to collect together these travellers' tales and make them available to today's students and scholars. By introducing a fascinating array of accounts (of exploration, diplomatic, and commercial ventures), Kenneth Parker challenges widely-held assumptions about Early Modern encounters in the Orient. The documents assembled in Early Modern Tales of Orient have extraordinary resonance for us today. Many of the discourses which in part, emerged from those early encounters - such as Islamophobia, English Nationalism, and the Catholic/Protestant divide - are still active in contemporary society. This volume sheds a unique light on the development of a very English interest in 'the exotic'.

The Constructions of the East in Western Travel Narratives, 1200 CE to 1800 CE
The Constructions of the East in Western Travel Narratives, 1200 CE to 1800 CE

Author: Radhika Seshan

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2019-09-11

Total Pages: 179

ISBN-13: 1000713059

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This book investigates how the idea of the ‘east’ emerged in western travel narratives between the 13th and the 18th centuries. Sifting through critical travel narratives — real and imagined — it locates the changing geography as well as the perceptions surrounding India. The author presents how historical stereotypes interacted with a burgeoning demand for travelogues during this period and have fed into the way we think about Asia in general, and India in particular. From the mythical travels of Prester John to the enigmatic ‘adventures’ of Marco Polo, from the fraught voyages of Johannes Plano de Carpini to the missionary zeal of Friar Odoric of Pordenone and William of Rubruquis, this volume traces the history of the ‘Orient’ as it was understood by the west. A major intervention in understanding how popular narratives shape history, this book will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of history, medieval history, history of travel, world literature, postcolonial studies, and general readers interested in travel narratives.