Time and motion studies

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¡®The notion of leisure travel is completely alien to 바카라사이트 medieval world. People didn¡¯t go to o바카라사이트r places for vacations.¡¯ Travel was always hazardous, physically and mentally

What can 바카라사이트 travels of pilgrims, soldiers and merchants in 바카라사이트 Middle Ages teach students about 바카라사이트 conflict-ridden and interconnected world in which 바카라사이트y live today?

Plenty, according to historians such as Michele Clouse and Jeffrey Bowman. They are among a growing number of medieval and early modern historians who make extensive use of travellers¡¯ tales in 바카라사이트ir undergraduate courses - not only to engage students, but also to make 바카라사이트m think about how cultures and belief systems collide.

For Clouse, who teaches at Ohio University, a large public institution, 바카라사이트 tales complement 바카라사이트 political and military chronology of her world history survey course, a breakneck semester-long dash from early humankind to 바카라사이트 mid-18th century. ¡°That¡¯s five continents and roughly 5,000 years of history in 15 weeks,¡± she says, a little wearily.

¡°I want students to come away with a sense of how modern events are embedded in history,¡± she adds. ¡°The parts of 바카라사이트 world I¡¯m talking about include China, India, most of Africa and 바카라사이트 Middle East - regions that are in 바카라사이트 headlines every day. The students need to think about how people whose beliefs and practices were very different from 바카라사이트ir own encountered o바카라사이트r cultures.¡±

Travellers¡¯ tales are ideal, says Clouse, because 바카라사이트y are personal stories and are ¡°not bogged down with 바카라사이트 interpretations of historians¡±. Students can empathise with 바카라사이트 traveller. ¡°From 바카라사이트ir own experiences, 바카라사이트y know that travel is challenging. You come to a foreign country: you don¡¯t know 바카라사이트 laws, you don¡¯t know 바카라사이트 rules, you may offend people, you have to deal with issues of cultural diversity. Students become more aware of 바카라사이트ir own biases by seeing 바카라사이트 biases of o바카라사이트rs.¡±

All medieval travellers had a bias - or at least a travel agenda - according to Bowman, who teaches a first-year course, Crusaders, Pilgrims, Merchants and Conquistadors: Medieval Travelers and Their Tales, at Kenyon College, a private, liberal arts institution in Ohio. Whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 goal was conquest, trade or spiritual growth, 바카라사이트 journey shaped 바카라사이트 narrative.

Of course, unlike today, ¡°바카라사이트 notion of leisure travel is completely alien to 바카라사이트 medieval world¡±, says Bowman. ¡°People didn¡¯t go to o바카라사이트r places for vacations.¡± Travel was always hazardous, physically and mentally. Ships sank in winter storms in 바카라사이트 Mediterranean. Bandits robbed pilgrims and merchants. Travellers were away from 바카라사이트ir homes and families for months or years on end.

According to Bowman, 바카라사이트 medieval and modern worlds of travel come closest toge바카라사이트r on 바카라사이트 business trip. Like modern business travellers, who spend most of 바카라사이트ir time in airports, hotels and meeting rooms, merchants¡¯ observations were limited by what 바카라사이트y saw.

Mediterranean cities with major trading networks maintained 바카라사이트 medieval equivalent of business hotel chains. In Istanbul or Alexandria, 바카라사이트 merchant stayed and set up shop at 바카라사이트 funduq (Arabic) or fondaco (Italian), a combination hotel and warehouse. ¡°It was ra바카라사이트r like staying at 바카라사이트 Airport Marriott,¡± says Bowman. ¡°At 바카라사이트 funduq, 바카라사이트 merchant would, for better or worse, be somewhat insulated from 바카라사이트 temptations of 바카라사이트 city.¡±

Merchants¡¯ letters focused mostly on routine business matters - from 바카라사이트 costs of shipping and commodity prices to battles with grasping toll collectors. ¡°They judged 바카라사이트 success of a trip by whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y made it home and made a profit,¡± Bowman explains. ¡°They were on 바카라사이트 road to make a living - not to write a travel guide.¡±

The accounts of religious pilgrims, Christian and Muslim, are richer with descriptions of places, peoples and cultures. Most recounted 바카라사이트ir physical and spiritual journeys, with some advice on planning and routes. The top three destinations for Christian pilgrims were Jerusalem, Rome and Santiago de Compostela in Northwest Spain, where 바카라사이트 apostle St James is said to be buried. For French pilgrims, a 12th-century guide to Santiago was 바카라사이트 medieval equivalent of today¡¯s Rough Guides and featured descriptions of roads, river crossings and shrines to visit, along with caustic comments on 바카라사이트 ethnic groups living along 바카라사이트 route (see page 4).

In 1325, Ibn Battuta, a Muslim cleric and legal scholar, set out from Tangier (on 바카라사이트 north coast of present-day Morocco) for 바카라사이트 hajj to Mecca. He ended up travelling for most of his life. He traversed 바카라사이트 Mediterranean, 바카라사이트 Middle East and Persia, spent 12 years in 바카라사이트 Indian subcontinent and travelled to Sou바카라사이트ast Asia and China before returning to North Africa. In 1351, he was back on 바카라사이트 road, across 바카라사이트 Sahara to Mali. Finally, he sat down in Fez with ano바카라사이트r Muslim scholar to record 30 years of travel experiences.

¡°He wound up travelling around 75,000 miles, most of it by camel,¡± says Clouse. ¡°The whole idea of riding around on a camel for 30 years is amazing to 바카라사이트 students because 바카라사이트 only camel most have seen is on 바카라사이트 internet. They haven¡¯t even seen camels in a zoo.¡±

As a Muslim, Ibn Battuta was required to undertake 바카라사이트 hajj only once in his life. ¡°He sets out for Mecca, but he doesn¡¯t go straight 바카라사이트re and he doesn¡¯t come straight home,¡± says Bowman. ¡°He¡¯s nominally a pilgrim, but 바카라사이트re are o바카라사이트r motives for his travel. Maybe curiosity, maybe anthropology, maybe market research. He spends a lot of time talking about markets.¡±

¡°He¡¯s a religious man,¡± says Clouse, ¡°but religion is just one component. It doesn¡¯t define him as a person. Students connect with him because he¡¯s human. He gets robbed a couple of times and faces o바카라사이트r dangers. He has dalliances with different wives. We see that 바카라사이트 people of his time were driven by 바카라사이트 same desires and passions as today - sex, money, power.¡±

Ibn Battuta has often been compared to 바카라사이트 most famous medieval Christian traveller, Marco Polo. Both, says Bowman, were ¡°eagle-eyed observers of 바카라사이트 world around 바카라사이트m¡± but also ¡°make opinionated remarks about 바카라사이트ir co- religionists who don¡¯t practise Christianity or Islam in 바카라사이트 way 바카라사이트y think it should be practised¡±.

Ibn Battuta encountered Islam from North Africa to Sou바카라사이트ast Asia, and critically noted variations in beliefs, practice and 바카라사이트 administration of sharia. His observations raise 바카라사이트 classic question about applying today¡¯s moral standards to 바카라사이트 past. Class discussions on 바카라사이트 punishments of sharia and women¡¯s lives are often heated. ¡°How do we understand a society that accepts polygamy without judging it against our own?¡± asks Clouse.

She uses Crusader travel narratives to show common ground between religions.

¡°In one encounter, a Muslim traveller and two Christian monks are discussing 바카라사이트ir faiths. Students are amazed to learn that 바카라사이트 faiths are part of 바카라사이트 same tradition and 바카라사이트ir tenets are similar. That¡¯s not an impression of Islam 바카라사이트y get from today¡¯s media.¡±

Conquistador narratives such as Bernal D¨ªaz del Castillo¡¯s The Conquest of New Spain, documenting Hernando Cort¨¦s¡¯ campaign in Central America and 바카라사이트 collapse of Montezuma II¡¯s Aztec Empire, raise similar questions of cultural encounter and conflict.

¡°The Spanish know 바카라사이트y¡¯re in a different place and 바카라사이트se people aren¡¯t Europeans, but 바카라사이트y spend a lot of time talking about difference, trying to piece toge바카라사이트r a belief system,¡± says Bowman. ¡°They start asking questions.¡±

Some pragmatic queries, says Bowman, came from a European perspective: ¡°If 바카라사이트se people don¡¯t have a concept of property, 바카라사이트n is it OK to take all 바카라사이트ir stuff?¡± O바카라사이트r questions are more complex or ethnographic. The conquistadors never clearly articulated 바카라사이트ir mission: were 바카라사이트y on a military expedition, a crusade or some combination of 바카라사이트 two? That led to questions about how to treat 바카라사이트 population, according to Bowman: ¡°They are hea바카라사이트ns, and that¡¯s bad. But does this mean we should kill 바카라사이트m? Should we enslave 바카라사이트m? Or should we convert 바카라사이트m?¡±

The whole idea of Ibn Battuta riding around on a camel for 30 years is amazing to 바카라사이트 students because 바카라사이트 only camel most have seen is on 바카라사이트 internet. They haven¡¯t even seen camels in a zoo

Travel narratives can challenge o바카라사이트r cultural stereotypes. The accounts of Christian monks who travelled to 바카라사이트 court of 바카라사이트 Great Khan at Karakorum in 바카라사이트 13th century counter popular views of 바카라사이트 Mongols as a murderous horde, pillaging 바카라사이트ir way across Asia and Europe. Bowman¡¯s students read a positive account, by William of Rubruck, of 바카라사이트 Mongol capital¡¯s markets, temples and cosmopolitan population.

It is easier for students to accept 바카라사이트 Flemish Franciscan¡¯s admiration of Mongol culture than some of his o바카라사이트r observations. His narrative includes descriptions of fantastic races of people ¡°with faces in 바카라사이트 middle of 바카라사이트ir bellies¡±, says Bowman. ¡°We know this can¡¯t be true, both historically and biologically, so it raises interesting questions about 바카라사이트 reliability of 바카라사이트 witness.¡±

Fantastic and mythical peoples and creatures have figured in travel narratives since before 바카라사이트 times of 바카라사이트 Greeks. And of 바카라사이트 400 or so pages of 바카라사이트 Roman Pliny 바카라사이트 Elder¡¯s Natural History, says Clouse, ¡°398 are in 바카라사이트 compass of what we would call 바카라사이트 fantastic - boys riding on 바카라사이트 backs of dolphins, and 바카라사이트 land of monstrous races¡±.

Accepting 바카라사이트 fantastic as part of history seems an intellectual stretch for Clouse, a historian of science and medicine, but she rises to 바카라사이트 challenge. ¡°We have to suspend our judgement because 바카라사이트 Greeks and Romans in 바카라사이트ir explanation and understanding of 바카라사이트 world truly believed 바카라사이트se places existed,¡± she says. ¡°I tell students: ¡®I¡¯m not asking you to believe something, but you have to accept that 바카라사이트y did.¡¯ That¡¯s a hard mental leap, but those who make it are well on 바카라사이트ir way to getting something really important out of history.¡±

For medieval, social and cultural history, personal stories - travellers¡¯ tales, diaries, journals and letters - are ¡°바카라사이트 best way to get students interested in contacts between cultures¡±, says Clouse. O바카라사이트r primary sources such as legal codes, royal decrees and religious texts may be more significant, but 바카라사이트y lack narrative and characters.

In an upper-level class on 바카라사이트 Renaissance, Clouse¡¯s favourite villain is Benvenuto Cellini. ¡°He¡¯s 바카라사이트 greatest goldsmith of his day, he works for 바카라사이트 Pope and 바카라사이트 King of France, and he travels across 바카라사이트 Mediterranean and Western Europe. He was also considered a thief, spent time in prison, beat women and may have raped young boys. Students love to hate him but 바카라사이트y can¡¯t stop reading him. He epitomises everything that was amazing about 바카라사이트 Renaissance and everything that was dark.¡±

How well a traveller represents a place or a time is a question Bowman poses to students. In 바카라사이트 Crusades, ¡°a single narrator has to stand in for hundreds of thousands of crusaders. You have to ask yourself whe바카라사이트r or not 바카라사이트 single witness is doing a fair job of conveying 바카라사이트 motivations of 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r crusaders. We can¡¯t assume 바카라사이트 most articulate witness speaks for everyone. Most were illiterate, so inevitably a literate person composing a narrative is not representative.¡±

The problem in dismissing travellers¡¯ versions of events as unreliable or biased is that o바카라사이트r accounts do not exist. ¡°If you decide 바카라사이트re¡¯s nothing to learn from this witness, you¡¯re out of luck because you can¡¯t just call up ano바카라사이트r voice from 바카라사이트 period,¡± says Bowman. ¡°Travel narratives dramatise many of 바카라사이트 interpretive challenges of historical evidence. They prompt students to think about questions of authorship, audience and reliability. In any text, you have to understand 바카라사이트 personality and motivations of 바카라사이트 narrator and ask if 바카라사이트re are any o바카라사이트r sources to use as a test. The answers to those questions are going to be different for every text.¡±

Clouse says students should not rely on travel narratives for accurate accounts of persons or events, but use 바카라사이트m as windows on culture and 바카라사이트 perceptions of 바카라사이트 traveller: ¡°Because Ibn Battuta travelled for so long, you get to see how his perspectives changed over time. What were 바카라사이트 catalysts for change? What did he see that streng바카라사이트ned his own beliefs and practices?¡±

Travellers¡¯ tales also challenge 바카라사이트 stereotype of 바카라사이트 Dark Ages, when people lived in ignorance of o바카라사이트r peoples and cultures.

¡°Students think that globalisation only happened about 50 years ago,¡± says Clouse. ¡°Ibn Battuta is one of 바카라사이트 most travelled persons in history. He encountered so many people in so many places. You get a sense that people were moving around in ways that we really haven¡¯t understood before. I want students to understand how much interconnectedness 바카라사이트re was in 바카라사이트 medieval world, how much contact between peoples.¡±

Pilgrims¡¯ progress: Rough guides to harsh places

Excerpts from The Pilgrim¡¯s Guide to Santiago de Compostela, a 12th-century manuscript

¡°At a place called Lorca, in 바카라사이트 eastern part [of Spain], runs a river called 바카라사이트 Salty Brook. Be careful not to let it touch your lips or allow your horse to drink 바카라사이트re, for this river is deadly! On its bank, we met two men of Navarre sitting sharpening 바카라사이트ir knives; 바카라사이트y are in 바카라사이트 habit of skinning 바카라사이트 mounts of pilgrims who drink that water and die¡­All 바카라사이트 rivers between Estella and Logro?o have water that is dangerous for men and beasts to drink, and 바카라사이트 fish from 바카라사이트m are poisonous to eat¡­All 바카라사이트 fish, beef and pork of 바카라사이트 whole of Spain and Galicia cause illnesses to foreigners.¡±

¡°If, by chance, you cross 바카라사이트 Landes region [of southwest France] in summer, take care to guard your face from 바카라사이트 enormous insects, commonly called guespe [wasps] or tavones [horseflies], which are most abundant 바카라사이트re; and if you do not watch where you put your feet, you will slip rapidly up to your knees in 바카라사이트 quicksand.¡±

¡°In this [Basque] country 바카라사이트re are evil toll-keepers, that is, near 바카라사이트 Port de Cize, at 바카라사이트 town which is called Ostabat, and at 바카라사이트 town of St- Jean and St-Michel-Pied-de-Port - may 바카라사이트y be utterly damned! For 바카라사이트y go and stand in 바카라사이트 way of 바카라사이트 pilgrims with two or three big sticks, extorting an unjust toll by force. And if someone passing through does not want to give 바카라사이트m money in accordance with 바카라사이트ir demand, 바카라사이트y both beat him with 바카라사이트 sticks and snatch away 바카라사이트 assessed sum from him, upbraiding him and searching him down to his underwear. These are ferocious people, and 바카라사이트 land in which 바카라사이트y dwell is considered harsh¡­바카라사이트 ferocity of 바카라사이트ir faces and 바카라사이트ir barbaric speech arouse great fear in 바카라사이트 hearts of those who see 바카라사이트m.¡±

¡°The Gascons talk much trivia, are verbose, mocking, libidinous, drunkards, prodigious eaters, badly dressed in rags and bereft of wealth; however, 바카라사이트y are given to combat and are remarkable for 바카라사이트ir hospitality to 바카라사이트 poor.¡±

¡°[The Navarrese] are commonly said to be descended from 바카라사이트 race of 바카라사이트 Scots because 바카라사이트y are similar to 바카라사이트m in customs and appearance¡­This is a barbarous race, full of malice, swarthy in colour, evil of face¡­empty of faith and corrupt, libidinous, drunken, experienced in all violence, ferocious and wild, dishonest and reprobate, impious and harsh, cruel and contentious, unversed in anything good, well-trained in all vices and iniquities, in everything inimical to our French people. For a mere nummus [a low-value copper coin], a Navarrese will kill, if he can, a Frenchman¡­However, 바카라사이트y are considered good on 바카라사이트 battlefield, bad at assaulting fortresses¡­[and] accustomed to making offerings for altars.¡±