The Travels of Sir John Mandeville

The only thing more mysterious than all the wonders described in this travelogue is the identity of its author. All we know is that Jean de Mandeville (ca. 1300–1372) was English, extraordinarily cultured, probably studied at a university, and undertook travels throughout Europe and beyond that lasted a quarter-century. The Travels of Sir John Mandeville was widely circulated during the Middle Ages and was one of the most read works in Europe from the mid–14th to the 16th centuries, along with Marco Polo's Book of Wonders and the A Pilgrimage to the Holy Land by Bernhard von Breidenbach (ca. 1440–97), works which were influenced by Mandeville. Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) was not only acquainted with the work – he had a copy of it in his library.

A Medieval Bestseller

The extraordinary impact of The Travels of Sir John Mandeville is manifested in the large number of handwritten copies, translations and prints produced in the 15th and 16th centuries, continuing to spark the readers’ interest even after the geographical discoveries made in the late 15th century. The Mandeville text appeared in numerous incunabula, the first generation of printed books: Lyon and Milan in 1480, Augsburg in 1482, Strasbourg in 1484, Florence in 1492, Antwerp in 1494, and Venice in 1534. This Spanish edition from 1524 is based on an Aragonese translation that dates back to 1380.

The Influential Spanish Translation

The Spanish and Catalan translations of the text would be widely disseminated in the 15th and 16th centuries, thanks largely to great activity by Spanish printers during this period. It was first printed in Valencia: the first and third editions were made in Jorge Costilla's workshop in 1521 and 1531, respectively. The second edition at hand was printed on October 13th, 1524 by Juan Navarro and the fourth edition is from 1540. The specimen at hand was acquired by the National Library of Spain in 1900.