THE SPRING VOYAGE

HARDCOVER, Publisher: London, John Murray, (1964), FIRST EDITION, (Fine / VG+), [book/jacket] The Publishers Light Green Cloth Covered Boards, Dark Green Cloth Spine With Gilt Titles, 8 34” X 6” X 1. 213pp includes illustrations. Some that fold out, (one unfolds to 34", Map, called "Venice in 1483) Spring has been the season for travel from Chaucer's day to ours, whether the journey is a pilgrimage or a Mediterranian cruise. The spring voyage to Jerusalem in 1458, so vividly described in this book, combined the ardours, trials and deep satisfactions of them both The two hundred men who assembled in Venice that year for the pilgrimage permitted by the Muslims were impelled by piety and curiosity; also, in the case of John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester, by a wish to keep clear of political intrigues. They included another Englishman, William Wey, who was writing a guidebook; a Dutchman; several studious Italian gentlemen; and the condottiere Roberto da Sansverino, who set out as an under-cover diplomat and achieved the dangerous desert journey to Sinai and Cairo. Of these pilgrims, six kept diaries from which Miss Mitchell - an accomplished Italian scholar and a historian with a very human touch - has recreated their adventures. .…