The Travels of Sir John Mandeville

A holy relic is an object that holds religious significance because of its association with a divine figure, saint, or holy event. In Catholic Christianity, relics are often the physical remains of saints or items associated with a saint’s martyrdom. They are often believed to possess miraculous powers, such as the ability to heal the sick or protect one from harm. Throughout Mandeville’s travels, especially through the Eastern Mediterranean, he describes many relics and the churches that house them. Mandeville also notes the tendency of medieval rulers to collect relics of special importance, such as those relating to the crucifixion of Jesus. This was in part a means to legitimize their rule by claiming God’s favor.

A religious idol is a physical object that is worshipped as a divine entity. Mandeville explains idol worship as the perversion of a good impulse: People recognize that an object or animal derives its goodness from God but then confuse this with divinity itself. Numerous societies that he comes across worship idols, which he claims allows the devil to influence them. This is in line with the Abrahamic religions’ general condemnation of idol worship as a form of polytheism incompatible with the worship of a singular God. However, different religions and sects have interpreted the prohibition on idol worship in divergent ways. Mandeville, for example, notes that worshipping the image of a saint, a practice common in Catholicism, might look like idol worship. However, he explains that worshipping a saint is a way of honoring God, whereas idol worship honors the image itself as divine. The motif of idol worship is therefore one of the ways that the text illuminates Medieval Depictions of the Exotic and the Other.