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Anthony Bale is Professor of Medieval Studies at Birkbeck, University of London and a former President of the New Chaucer Society. His previous books include Margery Kempe- A Mixed Life (Reaktion Books). He has edited and translated several medieval texts, including The Book of Marvels & Travels by John Mandeville (Oxford University Press). He was awarded the Philip Leverhulme Prize (2011) and holds a Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship (2023-26).
A stunning book . . . weird and wonderful and quietly hilarious, but the enormous fun of this book would not be possible without solid graft — Bale’s dogged research and his diligent crafting of perfect prose -- Gerard deGroot * The Times * Superb . . . In his remarkable and expertly executed prose, Bale demonstrates his skill as a historian in his handling of the expansive source material available . . . The micro personal experiences told against the backdrop of macro topography is a Herculean task and one that is undertaken with immense passion and knowledge. A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages is a stunning example of the point where true scholarship meets popular history -- Helen Carr * Engelsberg Ideas * An enthralling account of medieval travellers . . . [Bale's] enthusiasm is infectious . . . this is a work of serious scholarship -- Rosemary Goring * Scottish Herald * Ambitious, sweeping across continents with a keen eye for detail . . . moves fluidly between travelogue and scholarly text, imaginative literature and nonfiction . . . In a way that imaginative fiction arguably cannot, A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages brings us close to the past it experiences and allows us to be transformed in the process -- Imogen Marchant * TLS * Serious scholarship and a sightseer’s unbridled enthusiasm make for fascinating armchair time travel * Observer * A joyful, erudite book, and a global Middle Ages for our times. Journeying from a monastery in Wiltshire to Ethiopia, India and China, Anthony Bale reinvents the period through its intrepid travellers, and in the process redefines the period -- Jerry Brotton, author of A History of the World in 12 Maps Intrepid, entertaining, and unfailingly curious, he has now travelled far and wide in their company; balancing sympathy with scepticism, he marvellously reconfigures the contours of our forebears' knowledge -- Marina Warner Rich and wonderful. This is the world as you have never seen it before - and as it will never be seen again. And it's more surprising, extraordinary and bizarre than anything you can possibly imagine -- Ian Mortimer, author of The Time-Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England A fascinating read . . . a new fact to be discovered on every page, written with enthusiasm and wisdom -- Reverend Kate Bottley Masterful, panoramic, beautifully written and vividly imagined, A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages is a book to be savoured -- Dr Helen Castor, author of Blood and Roses and She-Wolves
