POLO
218
POLO
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Occidentals knew almost nothing of Asia; in his
"Tresor" Brunette Latini (1230-94) merely repro-
duces in this respect the compilations of C. Julius
Solinus, the abbreviator of Pliny. The "Book of
Marco Polo", on the other hand, contains an exact
description by an intelligent and well-informed
witness of all the countries of the Far East. It is
characterized by the exactness and veracity of
Venetian statesmen, whose education accustomed
them to secure information with regard to various
nations and to estimate their resources. This
Venetian character extends even to the tone, which
modern taste finds almost too impersonal. The
author rarely appears on the scene and it is regret-
table that he did not give more ample details con-
cerning the missions
with "which he was
charged by the great
khan. Otherwise noth-
ing could be more life-
like than the pictures
and descriptions which
adorn the account, and
the naivete of the old
French enhances their
literary charm.
In a prologue the au- thor iDriefly relates the first journey of his father and uncle, their return to Venice, their second journey, their sojourn with the great khan, and their final return. The remainder of the work, which in the editions is divided into three books, com- prises the description of all the countries through which Marco Polo travelled or con- cerning which he was able to secure informa- tion. The first book treats hither Asia, Ar- menia, Turcomania, Georgia, the Kingdom of Mossul, the Caliph- ate of Bagdad, Per- sia, Beluchistan, etc. Curious details are given concerning the City of Bagdad and the fate of the last
which he penetrated a distance of five days' walk,
Sunnan, the Kingdom of Mien (Burma), Bengal,
Annam, and Southeast China.
At the beginning of Book III he relates the great maritime expedition which Kublai Khan attempted against Zipangu (Japan) and which ended in defeat. Then he enters the Indian seas and describes the great island of Java and that of the lesser Java (Sumatra), Ceylon, in connexion with which he speaks of the Buddhists and their reformer "Sagamoni Borcam" (Khakamouni). From here he goes to the coast of "Maabar" (Coromandel) and gives a full description of India. He mentions the existence of the island of Socotra and the large island of Madagascar, in cormexion with which he speaks of
the regular
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y
currents of
the Strait
of Mozam-
bique and
relates the
lege nd of
the roc, the
fabulous
bird of the
voyages of
Sinbad the Sailor. He
concludes with infor-
mation concerning
Zanzibar, the people of
the coast of Zanguebar,
Abyssinia, the Prov-
ince of Aden, and the
northern regions where
the sun disappears for
a period of the year.
The "Book of Marco
Polo" was soon trans-
lated into all European
languages and exer-
cised an important in-
fluence on the geo-
graphical discoveries of
the fifteenth centurj'.
Christopher Columbus
had read it attentively
and it was to reach the
western route to the
lands described by
Marco Polo that he un-
dertook the expedition
which resulted in the
discovery of America.
Eighty-five MSS. of
caliph, who died of hunger amid his treasures, and
concerning the Old Man of the Mountain and his
Assassins. He mentions the recollections in Bactria
of Alexander the Great , whom the kings of the country
regarded as their ancestor. Subsequently he describes
Kashmir and the deserts of the plateau of Hindu Kush
and Chinese Turkestan, "Great Turkey" and its capi-
tal, Kashgar. He mentions the Ncstorian communi-
ties of Samarkand and after crossing the desert of Gobi
the book showing rather
First Page of Marco Polos Manuscript .Account of his Vot.
Bibliotheque Nationalt. Paris (.\IV Centuiy)
important differences are known. They may be ranged into four types: (1) Paris, Bib. Nat., MS. Tr. 1116, edited by the Societd de G6ographie in 1824; it is regarded as the original MS. of Rusticiano of Pisa, at least as its exact copy. (2) Bib. Nat., MS. Tr. 2810, Under the name of "Livre des merveilles du monde" it is a collection of accounts of the Orient compiled 'in 1351 by the Benedictine Jean Lelong of Ypres and copied at the end of the fourteenth
reaches Karakoram, the old Mongol capital, which
affords him the opportunity for an important digres-
sion regarding the origin and customs of the Tatars.
Book II introduces us to the Court of Kublai Khan and
we are given most curious information with regard
to his capital, Kambalik (Peking), his magnificence,
and the organization of his Government. We are
shown with what facility the Mongols adopted Chinese
etiquette and civilization. Then follows a descrip-
tion of the provinces of China, first of China north
of Hwang-ho or Cathay, where there were stones
which burned like wood (coal), then Si-ngan-fu,
the ancient capital of Thing (Shen-si), Tibet, into
century for Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. It
contains the text of Marco Polo according to the
copy sent to Thibaud of Cepoy and is enriched with
niuTierous miniatures. To the same family belong
MSS. Tr. of the Bib. Nat. 5631, 5049 and the Berne
MS. (Bib, canton. 125). (3) Latin version executed
in the fourteenth century by Francesco Pipino, a
Dominican of Bologna, according to an Italian copy.
The Latin version published by Grynsus at Basle
in 1532 in the "Novus orbis" is indirectly derived
from this version. (4) Italian version prepared for
printing by Giovanni Ramusio and published in the
second volume of his "Navigazioni e viaggi" (3
