 Word On Books
with Jeremy Fenton
The Riddle and the Knight
By Giles Milton, Published by Sceptre
In the year 1322, the person known to history as Sir John Mandeville ostensibly left England on a pilgrimage to the holy lands and beyond. Thirty-four years later he returned and wrote what for several hundred years was one of the classics of the English language: The Travels of Sir John Mandeville.
It's a book that has largely been discredited (since the stark scientific light of Victorian times) as containing anything factual - apart from what the author 'borrowed' from other chroniclers of his time and before. In fact there is even strong reason to doubt that such a person as Mandeville even existed.
Despite the dubious pedigree and the lack of details concerning its author, the book put forward some novel new ideas - not the least of which was the contention that it was possible to circumnavigate the world - and displayed such a beautiful use of language that for five centuries 'Sir John' was known as the 'father of English prose'.
In his new work, The Riddle and The Knight, Giles Milton sets out to uncover the truth about Sir John. Did such a person really exist? And if so, did he travel to the unknown ends of the Earth as claimed? Or is there possibly a hidden meaning within The Travels that makes such questions irrelevant?
The Riddle and the Knight is undoubtedly an interesting book, but it suffers from lack of clear definition. Is it a travelogue or is it an historical exploration? Great books can easily combine the two - this one lurks somewhere on the middle ground and is decidedly the less satisfying for it.
Its subject matter though is well deserving of further attention.
Big Chief Elizabeth
By Giles Milton, Published by Sceptre
 The reign of Elizabeth I (apart from providing rich fodder for contemporary filmmakers) was a relative 'golden age' on the steps to the modern era. For one of the first times in over a thousand years a civilization inched back towards the elevated points of culture and science for which the ancient Greeks and Romans are held in high esteem.
It was under her rule, in the sixteenth century, that the so-called 'dark' or 'middle' ages began to lift in Europe and the 'age of discovery' began in earnest. On the other side of the Atlantic, however, a monumental tragedy was about to unfold as the native people of the Americas went head-to-head with this new expansionist power.
Foremost among Elizabeth's courtiers was Sir Walter Raleigh (she called him 'her chosen favourite'). It was he who provided the impetus for the settlement of the Americas by and for England that eventually resulted in the colony of Virginia (named for the Virgin Queen).
Giles Milton, in his book Big Chief Elizabeth, gives a welcome glimpse into the viewpoints of not only Raleigh and the English, but of the Native Americans as their lands were seriously encroached upon for the first time. Neither side comes out looking particularly good, however the end result we are all well aware of - the First Nations were decimated.
If that isn't enough to make Big Chief Elizabeth a fascinating read, Sir Walter was also responsible for taking the traditional native practice of 'smoking' back to England. Thanks Sir Walter.
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