Twenty-first International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

In the first part of this paper, I discuss the emergence of travel narratives in French and Spanish medieval literatures, whereas in the second part, I discuss the authorial self-depictions of the individuals who penned these first travel narratives. French travel narratives emerged during the crusades, in the early 13th century, and within crusader history-writing (Robert de Clari, Geoffroy de Villehardouin, and Jean de Joinville). Later, other travelers to the East, such as Ogier d’Anglure, Nompar de Caumont and Bertrandon de la Brocquière will further develop the genre. In Spain, travel narratives emerge earlier than in France and have a considerably more complex history. In the 12th century, there are several travel narratives in Arabic, Hebrew and Latin. But the first actual travel narratives in Spanish appear in the 15th century, in the works of Ruy González de Clavijo, Gutierre Díez de Games, and Pero Tafur. I contend that in both French and Spanish literatures, travels were a major impetus for the medieval writers’ self-assertiveness. Travels provided writers a certain amount of narrative freedom which inspired them to stop narrating exclusively someone else’s (hi)story and shift the focus—no matter how briefly—to the I of the traveler.

Presenters

Cristian Bratu
Professor of French, Division Director for French and Italian; Associate Chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, Baylor University, Texas, United States