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 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

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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

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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