A medieval handbook for pilgrims planning to travel this road was written in the twelfth century. It gave much practical advice to the intrepid traveler, noting spots along the way where the wine was good and the local people honorable. But it also warned of the perils of the trip: giant wasps and horseflies around Bordeaux, the greed and drunkenness of Gascons, the risks of being swindled or even deliberately drowned by rogue ferrymen at river crossings, and the absolute barbarousness of the Navarrese, who spoke like barking dogs and copulated with mules and mares during the night.34 The
