Tag Archives: travel

Of Cathedral and College

Posted on March 2, 2026 by M. Roland

An intriguing aspect of Winchester Cathedral, aside from its beautiful interior, medieval nave, and as the resting place of Jane Austen, is the manicula (pointing hands) carved onto an exterior wall in 1633. To. me, the carving forms a kind … Continue reading →

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“Swere upon a book:” Winchester and the Arthurian legend

Posted on February 23, 2026 by M. Roland

Hit befelle whan Kyng Arthur had wedded Quene Gwenyvere and fulfyled the rounde Table, and so aftir his marvelous knyghtis and he had venquyshed the most party of his enemyes . . . And held a ryal feeste and Table … Continue reading →

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“Here in this world, he changed his life:” literary geography and an itinerary

Posted on February 16, 2026 by M. Roland

Literary geography—an imaginative, creative, or literary responses to landscape and place. Writing about travel and geography, whether real or imagined, has a long and popular history. Archbishop Sigeric, for example, wrote down his return itinerary from Rome to Canterbury in … Continue reading →

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Going that way anyway

Posted on February 2, 2026 by M. Roland

As the landscape of northern France flies dizzyingly past the train window, I am struck by the thought that somehow I got myself here, against a lot of odds.  In the past four years, my part-time faculty position became full time, … Continue reading →

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Quest

Posted on January 26, 2026 by M. Roland

2011: I am on the Eurostar train, streaming from London to Paris in just over two hours. My friend, Padeen, is dozing on a seat nearby. I’ve been awarded a faculty grant to follow the itinerary of the medieval story … Continue reading →

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