Walking in Tears: Navigating Christian Wonders in the Late-Medieval World

In his description of Egypt, the medieval travel writer Sir John Mandeville pauses to describe how the truth of Christ can be witnessed in even the most humble of objects. Holding up what he calls the ‘long apple’ (the banana) as an example, Mandeville illustrates the readable trace of the crucifixion in the cross-section of the fruit. Such omnipresence of the divine within the world created a densely inscribed spiritual topography for medieval travellers, making each step through the world one of import and potential encounter. This talk will examine the spiritual geographies of late medieval England, read through the fantastical travel narratives of Sir John Mandeville and other writers.