Premodern Places: Calais to Surinam, Chaucer to Aphra Behn

This book recovers places appearing in the mental mapping of medieval and Renaissance writers, from Chaucer to Aphra Behn.

• A highly original work, which recovers the places that figure powerfully in premodern imagining.
• Recreates places that appear in the works of Langland, Chaucer, Dante, Petrarch, Spenser, Shakespeare, Aphra Behn, and many others.
• Begins with Calais - peopled by the English from 1347 to 1558 and ends with Surinam - traded for Manhattan by the English in 1667.
• Other particular locations discussed include Flanders, Somerset, Genoa, and the Fortunate Islands (Canary Islands).
• Includes fascinating anecdotes, such as the story of an English merchant learning love songs in Calais.
• Provides insights into major historical narratives, such as race and slavery in Renaissance Europe.
• Crosses the traditional divide between the medieval and Renaissance periods.