The Livre de Mandeville (Book of Mandeville) is integrated into a composite manuscript - held today at the Bibliothèque national de France under the shelfmark Fr. 2810 - containing a number of texts about the countries of the Middle and Far East which was given the name Livre de merveilles, on account of the wonders described therein, but also because of its wonderful decorations.

The author, Jean de Mandeville, refers to himself as a knight who embarked on his journey in the year 1322 and that he travelled not only to see the sites of the Holy Land, but also to countless far countries of the world and many wondrous regions. By combining seemingly familiar elements with mysterious narratives, he achieves an immediacy and freshness that would be enthusiastically welcomed by a wide readership.

It is not only the enthusiastic reception of the text, but also the development of a rich iconographic programme that make the Livre de Mandeville such an impressive example of medieval world and travel literature and the most dazzling work representative of the genre.