Travel is the activity of going from one geographical location to a different one.
St Christopher (d c250) was a Syrian Christian of gigantic stature who was among those who refused to recant their faith and were thus martyred. His name in Greek (Christophoros) means 'Christ-bearing', which later gave rise to the legend that he had carried the Christ-child across a river. He subsequently became the patron saint of travelers.
From 1159 to 1173 Benjamin of Tudela (?-1173), a Rabbi born in Navarre, Spain. made a journey from Saragossa through Italy and Greece to Palestine, Persia, and the borders of China, returning by way of Egypt and Sicily. He was the first European traveler to describe the Far East.
Pilgrimages were common in both the European and Islamic world in the Middle Ages and involved streams of travelers both locally and internationally.
Pilgrimage was important for Christians in medieval Europe – people traveled long distances to visit a saint’s shrine. Some wanted a miraculous cure for illness, others to feel close to the saint.
Pilgrim badges were affordable so everyone could have a memento of their trip.
Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales was one of the first books set during a journey. A collection of tales told by different pilgrims, they met at Tabard Inn, Southwark then told their stories on their way to Thomas Becket's tomb in Canterbury. However, Chaucer does not pay much attention to the progress of the trip or to specific locations along the way to Canterbury. His writing of the story seems focused primarily on the stories being told rather than the pilgrimage itself.
The Venetian traveler Marco Polo arrived back in Venice in 1295 after spending many years traveling in Eastern Asia. Captured by the Genoese and languishing in a jail, Marco Polo met a writer called Rusticiano to whom he dictated his tales. Thanks to Marco's book Il Milione his trip was the first to be widely known, and the best-documented until then.
During the Middle Ages in Britain, Watling Street, Ermine Street, the Fosse Way and Icknield Way were regarded as royal roads; travelers were reckoned to be under the King's protection and anyone attacking them there was liable to a fine of 100 shillings.
Ferdinand Magellan's Spanish expedition to the East Indies from 1519 to 1522, resulted in the first circumnavigation of the Earth, completed by Juan Sebastián Elcano. We know the details of Magellan's voyage from the diaries of his upper class shipmate Antonio Pigafetta. A Venetian scholar and traveler, Pigafetta had asked to be on the voyage, accepting the title of "supernumerary".
Horseradish was grown at inns and coach stations in England during the 17th century to make a sweet and bitter drink that revived exhausted travelers.
From May to October 1608 Thomas Coryrat undertook a tour of Europe, somewhat less than half of which he walked. The Englishman's adventures during his continental trip were chronicled in a book published in 1611 entitled Coryat's Crudities hastily gobbled up in Five Months Travels in France, Italy, &c. Not only was it the world's first travelogue, it gave birth to the tradition of the "Grand Tour".
In the late 16th century it became fashionable for young European aristocrats and wealthy upper class men to travel to significant European cities as part of their education in the arts and literature. This was known as the Grand Tour.
The men traditionally embarked on the Grand Tour in their early 20s and were typically accompanied by a chaperon, such as a family member. The trip usually included cities such as London, Paris, Geneva, Venice, Florence and Rome. The French Revolution temporarily brought the end of the Grand Tour but it was revived in the 19th century.
The first traveler's cheques, which could be used in 90 European cities, went on sale in London in 1772.
Before Norfolk in Eastern England got a railway, it was quicker to travel from there to Amsterdam by sea than to London by road.
One of the earliest excursions organised on Britain's railways system was to see a public hanging at Bodmin jail.
The first ever travel accident policy was issued in July 1864. The Travellers Insurance Company issued the policy to James Batterson, who also received the first general insurance policy issued by the firm.
Someone traveling at the speed of light could travel forever because they wouldn't experience time at all.
Here's a list of songs about traveling.
St Christopher (d c250) was a Syrian Christian of gigantic stature who was among those who refused to recant their faith and were thus martyred. His name in Greek (Christophoros) means 'Christ-bearing', which later gave rise to the legend that he had carried the Christ-child across a river. He subsequently became the patron saint of travelers.
From 1159 to 1173 Benjamin of Tudela (?-1173), a Rabbi born in Navarre, Spain. made a journey from Saragossa through Italy and Greece to Palestine, Persia, and the borders of China, returning by way of Egypt and Sicily. He was the first European traveler to describe the Far East.
Pilgrimages were common in both the European and Islamic world in the Middle Ages and involved streams of travelers both locally and internationally.
Pilgrimage was important for Christians in medieval Europe – people traveled long distances to visit a saint’s shrine. Some wanted a miraculous cure for illness, others to feel close to the saint.
Pilgrim badges were affordable so everyone could have a memento of their trip.
 |
| David Teniers the Younger: Flemish Pilgrim |
Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales was one of the first books set during a journey. A collection of tales told by different pilgrims, they met at Tabard Inn, Southwark then told their stories on their way to Thomas Becket's tomb in Canterbury. However, Chaucer does not pay much attention to the progress of the trip or to specific locations along the way to Canterbury. His writing of the story seems focused primarily on the stories being told rather than the pilgrimage itself.
The Venetian traveler Marco Polo arrived back in Venice in 1295 after spending many years traveling in Eastern Asia. Captured by the Genoese and languishing in a jail, Marco Polo met a writer called Rusticiano to whom he dictated his tales. Thanks to Marco's book Il Milione his trip was the first to be widely known, and the best-documented until then.
 |
| A page from Il Milione, from a manuscript believed to date between 1298–1299. |
During the Middle Ages in Britain, Watling Street, Ermine Street, the Fosse Way and Icknield Way were regarded as royal roads; travelers were reckoned to be under the King's protection and anyone attacking them there was liable to a fine of 100 shillings.
Ferdinand Magellan's Spanish expedition to the East Indies from 1519 to 1522, resulted in the first circumnavigation of the Earth, completed by Juan Sebastián Elcano. We know the details of Magellan's voyage from the diaries of his upper class shipmate Antonio Pigafetta. A Venetian scholar and traveler, Pigafetta had asked to be on the voyage, accepting the title of "supernumerary".
Horseradish was grown at inns and coach stations in England during the 17th century to make a sweet and bitter drink that revived exhausted travelers.
From May to October 1608 Thomas Coryrat undertook a tour of Europe, somewhat less than half of which he walked. The Englishman's adventures during his continental trip were chronicled in a book published in 1611 entitled Coryat's Crudities hastily gobbled up in Five Months Travels in France, Italy, &c. Not only was it the world's first travelogue, it gave birth to the tradition of the "Grand Tour".
 |
| Title page of Coryat's Crudities, 1611. |
In the late 16th century it became fashionable for young European aristocrats and wealthy upper class men to travel to significant European cities as part of their education in the arts and literature. This was known as the Grand Tour.
The men traditionally embarked on the Grand Tour in their early 20s and were typically accompanied by a chaperon, such as a family member. The trip usually included cities such as London, Paris, Geneva, Venice, Florence and Rome. The French Revolution temporarily brought the end of the Grand Tour but it was revived in the 19th century.
 |
| English nobleman Francis Basset in 1778 on the Grand Tour in Rome |
The first traveler's cheques, which could be used in 90 European cities, went on sale in London in 1772.
Before Norfolk in Eastern England got a railway, it was quicker to travel from there to Amsterdam by sea than to London by road.
One of the earliest excursions organised on Britain's railways system was to see a public hanging at Bodmin jail.
The first ever travel accident policy was issued in July 1864. The Travellers Insurance Company issued the policy to James Batterson, who also received the first general insurance policy issued by the firm.
Someone traveling at the speed of light could travel forever because they wouldn't experience time at all.
Here's a list of songs about traveling.
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