William of Malmesbury as Author: Travel and Publishing in the Early Twelfth Century

As a very successful author in the early twelfth century, William of Malmesbury put much effort in pushing forward the publication of his various works. This paper aims to use William as an example of medieval author to investigate the relationship between travel and medieval publishing. William's travel and publishing activities at five different places (Worcester, Glastonbury, Winchester, Gloucester, and Cirencester) suggest that travel could be used as an authorial strategy in the publishing and circulation of works in the Middle Ages. The perspective of travel and mobility provides valuable thoughts on how medieval authors built their authorial fame and disseminated their works to wider audiences.