SIR JOHN MANDEVILLE’S “Travels” (1357–71) occupies an important place in English prose literature, because it makes the connection clear between modern English and those Middle-English dialects which resulted from the influence of the Danish and Norman invasions. Where Mandeville was born is not known and it has not been decided that such a person really existed at all; but if the name is a pseudonym, no trace of the real name of the author of this remarkable book has been found. According to Mandeville’s own account, he was “born and bred in England of the town of St. Albans.” His “Travels” began in 1322 and included Turkey, Armenia, Tartary, Persia, Syria, Arabia, Egypt, India, and other countries, such as the “Realms of Prester John,” which may be described best as not accurately identified. Mandeville’s reputation for veracity has helped to bring all other “traveler’s tales” under suspicion, but he is often far more interesting than more accurate cosmographers, while his “Travels” is so firmly established as a necessary part of every antiquarian’s library, and as a book of general interest to all who love the quaint and improbable that it may fairly be described as beyond the reach of criticism.