A Study on the Idea of the Other World Between Mandeville's Travels and The Vision of Tundale

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K02531
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Literature in English
• Research Institution: Fukuoka Dental College
• Principal Investigator: MIBU Masahiro 福岡歯科大学, 口腔歯学部, 教授 (30249784)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 中世イギリス文学 / 異界 / 夢文学 / 旅行記 / アレゴリー / 聖書 / 幻視

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aims to explore the concept of Paradise during the medieval period in Western Europe. I researched 14th-century medieval English versions of Mandeville's Travels and 15th-century versions of The Vision of Tundale. Moreover, I also consulted visual materials, such as the late 13th-century Hereford world map and miniatures of medieval manuscripts for this study. My comparative analysis of the above two works revealed that the concepts of Paradise and the grace of God were closely related. In addition, a comparison of Mandeville's Travels with the Hereford world map showed that the four rivers flowing from the Garden of Eden in Genesis in the Bible ran through all the regions of Asia, which stands in stark contrast to commonly-held beliefs in medieval Western Europe.

Free Research Field

人文学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の学術的意義は、上記の「マンデヴィル旅行記」の地上のパラダイスと「タンダールの幻視物語」の天のパラダイスの描写を国内外で初めて比較研究した点である。この研究によって、当時の人々がどのようなパラダイス観を持っていたのかその一端を究明できた。また、「マンデヴィル旅行記」とヘレフォード世界地図を比較することで、アジア全域が聖書に記されたエデンの園の川と密接な関わりをもち、西欧社会のアジア観の特殊性を明白にすることができた。今後は、研究成果を学会やその他で一般に公開することで社会的意義にていきたい。