Romance, Cosmography and the Trading Companies: Albions England and The Preachers Travels

The article examines the circulation of cosmographical knowledge as a result some less prominent, lower-class trading company travellers, often through romance or tropes. It focalizes strategies, values and intermediaries – notably Sir John Mandeville, figures travelling hero used to convey in narrative form. William Warner’s Albions England (notably 1596 edition) Cartwright’s Preachers Travels (1611) are main textual focus, each comprising different kind approach cosmography travel writing, each, importantly, boasting connection personal professional companies. In case Cartwright, argues that his is ‘romancified’ text, first English first-person account attend Shah ‘Abbas’ major building projects at Isfahan’; Warner, it shows how Mandevillean engaged support project heroizing travellers mariners.