Libro del infante don Pedro de Portugal: przykład fikcji w średniowiecznej iberyjskiej literaturze podróżniczej
Libro del infante don Pedro de Portugal: an example of fiction in medieval iberian travel literature

Summary/Abstract: The Book of the Infante dom Pedro of Portugal, who travelled the four parts of the world (Libro del infante don Pedro de Portugal, el cual anduvo las cuatro partidas del mundo), a compilation of earlier travel accounts, is an example of medieval ‘fantasy literature’. To create this fictional narrative, an unknown author used the life of Duke Peter (Pedro) of Coimbra, heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Portugal and brother of famous Henry the Sailor. Duke Peter made a series of journeys between 1425 and 1428, probably for diplomatic purposes, during which he established relations with the most important players in the arena of European politics at the time. At one point, he worked for Sigismund of Luxembourg, then King of Germany, Bohemia, and Hungary and later Holy Roman Emperor. Duke Peter’s travels led him to Aragon to the court of Alfonso V, to Castile to the court of John II, as well as to Barcelona, Flanders, the German states, England, Venice, Padua, Ferrara, and Rome, where he was received by Pope Martin V. However, according to the account written in Castilian by an unknown author, who in most editions was called Gómez de Santiesteban, Duke Peter visited places and met people which in fact he did not, such as Timur’s court, Prester John, legendary Christian ruler of the East, and the tomb of Saint Thomas in India. In creating his narrative, the author of Libro compiled earlier travel narratives, including the equally fictional Travels of Sir John Mandeville, a variant of a letter of legendary Preste John, and Embajada a Tamorlán (Embassy to Tamerlane), which is an authentic account of the Castilian diplomatic mission to Timur’s court in Samarkand. Libro del infante don Pedro de Portugal reflects the eastern mirabilia, widespread in the medieval literature, well known at the time from other earlier and contemporary travel accounts. The inclusion of such mirabilia catered to readers’ expectations and was in line with the requirements of the genre of medieval travel writing, which was treated as phantasmagoric literature.

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