The world of Benjamin of Tudela

The World of Benjamin of Tudela casts that twelfth-century Jewish traveler as a guide to the peoples around the Mediterranean littoral, paying special attention to their economic life.

The impulse for Benjamin's trips can be detected in the economic and military situation of his Tudela. Much more cosmopolitan than most small towns of medieval Europe, Tudela fostered world-ranging curiosity among its Moslem, Christian, and Jewish residents. Local Jews worked across the spectrum of economic activities, and recent peninsular events had accustomed them more than ever to pilgrims, writers, and yearners for Zion.

The World of Benjamin of Tudela demonstrates that Benjamin, however intrepid a globetrotter, was not a pathfinder. He did, however, take notes all along his route, and medievalists often cite Benjamin's chronicle without detailing their references. The World of Benjamin of Tudela incorporates the chronicle and expands it, through the device of letters home, to give clearer images of Benjamin's time and place.