The Fernao Mendes Pinto story reaches its conclusion, and he finally reaches Portugal once more. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: The Travels of Mendes Pinto, edited and translated by Rebecca D. Catz. University of Chicago Press, 1989. Hart, Thomas R. “Style and Substance in the Peregrination.” Portuguese Studies 2 (1986). Hart, Thomas R. “True or False: Problems of the ‘Peregrination.’” Portuguese Studies ..read more

The story of Fernao Mendes Pinto intersects with that of the Jesuit saint, Francis Xavier, and takes him back to Japan. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: The Travels of Mendes Pinto, edited and translated by Rebecca D. Catz. University of Chicago Press, 1989. App, Urs. “St. Francis Xavier’s Discovery of Japanese Buddhism: A Chapter in the European Discovery of Buddhism (Part 1: Before the Arrival in Japan ..read more

The first Europeans wash up on Japanese shores, bringing the musket with them, and Pinto would have you believe that he was with them. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on BlueSky @a-devon.bsky.social, Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: The Travels of Mendes Pinto, edited and translated by Rebecca D. Catz. University of Chicago Press, 1989. Cooper, Michael. The Southern Barbarians: The First Europeans in Japan. Kodansha, 1971. Lidin, Olof G. Tanegashima: The Arrival of Euro ..read more

Pinto's story continues, and the Portuguese traveller makes his way across China as a prisoner, describing some its towns, cities, and countryside as he goes. His China, which he may not have actually visited himself, is dotted with the remnants of previous Portuguese actions, an envoy's gravestone and the remnants of failed embassies. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: The Travels of Mendes Pinto, edited and translated by Rebecca D. Cat ..read more

Our Portuguese adventurer resumes his piratical ways and runs into trouble on the coast of China. He and de Faria find silver in abundance, but also shipwreck, poverty, and leeches. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: The Travels of Mendes Pinto, edited and translated by Rebecca D. Catz. University of Chicago Press, 1989. Hart, Thomas R. “Style and Substance in the Peregrination.” Portuguese Studies 2 (1986): 49–55.  Hart, Thomas R ..read more

Not a Christmas episode, but a winter one: winter in various Old English sources and winter now. Happy New Year and thanks for listening! If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: Clare, John. Major Works. Oxford University Press, 2004. Gopnik, Adam. Winter: Five Windows on the Season. House of Anansi, 2011. Hostetter, Aaron K. Translation of "Andreas" - https://oldenglishpoetry.camden.rutgers.edu/andreas/ Hostetter, Aaron K. Translation of "Th ..read more

Fernao Mendes Pinto recovers from shipwreck and captivity, neither his first nor his last, and returns to the story of the Aceh Sultanate. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: The Travels of Mendes Pinto, edited and translated by Rebecca D. Catz. University of Chicago Press, 1989. Aceh Sultanate: State, Society, Religion and Trade (2 vols.): The Dutch Sources, 1636-1661, edited by Takeshi Ito. Brill, 2015. Göksoy, İsmail Hakkı. "Ottom ..read more

From William of Newburgh's 12th-century chronicle, "History of English Affairs," these stories aren't really about Halloween, but they do feel a little Halloween-ish. There's no Michael Myers, zombies, or vampires, but there are strange portents in the sky, toads locked in stone, faerie banquets, green children, and a good number of demons. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: The Church Historians of England, translated by Joseph Stevenso ..read more

The story of the 16th-century Portuguese traveller, writer, soldier, envoy, and so much more, takes us to Malaysia, to the city of Malacca (Melaka), and to diplomatic missions among nearby rulers. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: The Travels of Mendes Pinto, edited and translated by Rebecca D. Catz. University of Chicago Press, 1989. The Commentaries of the Great Afonso Dalboquerque, Second Viceroy of India, translated by Walter de Gra ..read more

Pinto visits the "Land of Prester John," faces trouble on the Red Sea, and brushes up against the 1538 Siege of Diu. He takes part in combat along the Indian coast, grumbles as to his lot in life, and is whisked about by boat to Massawa, Mokha, Qeshm, Chaul, Goa, Honnavar, and Diu, before heading further east. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, and I have some things on Redbubble. Sources: The Travels of Mendes Pinto, edited and translated by Rebecca D. Catz. University of Chicago P ..read more