Knight, Traveller, or Author? The Question of Authorship in The Book of John Mandeville

Abstract

Academic studies have been paying less and less attention to the importance of Sir John Mandeville as a literary character. Given the quantity of detail the author gives about himself, he cannot be ignored. In this study, I will take into consideration the theories about authorship and authority that emerged in the Late Middle Ages while referring to some contemporary texts that questioned the role of the auctor as heir of an old literary tradition to arrive at some preliminary conclusions about The Book ofJohn Mandeville(c. 1375) and the role of its alleged author in the narrative.