William Woodville Rockhill - The Journey of William of Rubruck to the Eastern Parts of the World, 1253-55

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The Journey of
William of Rubruck
to the Eastern Parts of the World,
125355

As Narrated by Himself. With Two Accounts of the
Earlier Journey of John of Pian de Carpine

Edited by
WILLIAM WOODVILLE ROCKHILL

First published by Ashgate Publishing

Published 2016 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Founded in 1846, the Hakluyt Society seeks to advance knowledge and education by the publication of scholarly editions of primary records of voyages, travels and other geographical material. in partnership with Ashgate, and using print-on-demand and e-book technology, the Society has made re-available all 290 volumes comprised in Series I and Series II of its publications in both print and digital editions. For information about the Hakluyt Society visit www.hakluyt.com .

ISBN 13: 978-1-4094-1371-4 (hbk)

WORKS ISSUED BY

The Hakluyt Society

o

THE JOURNEY
OF
WILLIAM: OF RUBRUCK
TO THE
EASTERN PARTS OF THE WORLD.
125355.

SECOND SERIES,
No. IV.

THE JOURNEY
OF
WILLIAM OF RUBRUCK
TO
THE EASTERN PARTS
OF
THE WORLD,
125355

AS NARRATED BY HIMSELF,
WITH TWO ACCOUNTS OF THE EARLIER JOURNEY OF
JOHN OF PIAN DE CARPINE

Translated from the Latin, and Edited, with an Introductory Notice,
BY
WILLIAM WOODVILLE ROCKHILL,
HONORARY CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE
ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY.

LONDON:
PRINTED FOR THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY.

M.DCCCC.

LONDON
PRINTED AT THE REDFORD PRESS 20 AND 21, BEDFORDBURY, W.C.

COUNCIL
OF
THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY.

__________

SIR CLEMENTS MARKHAM, K.C.B., F.R.S., Pres. R.G.S., PRESIDENT.

THE RIGHT HON. THE LORD STANLEY OF ALDERLEY, VICE-PRESIDENT.

REAR-ADMIRAL SIR WILLIAM WHARTON, K.C.B., VICE-PRESIDENT.

C. RAYMOND BEAZLEY, M.A.

COLONEL G. EARL CHURCH.

SIR MARTIN CONWAY.

ALBERT GRAY.

F. H. H. GUILLEMARD, M.A., M.D.

EDWARD HEAWOOD, M.A.

DUDLEY F. A. HERVEY, C.M.G.

ADMIRAL SIR ANTHONY H. HOSKINS, G.C.B.

J. SCOTT KELTIE, LL.D.

F. W. LUCAS.

A. P. MAUDSLAY.

MAJOR M. NATHAN, C.M.G., R.E.

E. J. PAYNE, M.A.

E. G. RAVENSTEIN.

HOWARD SAUNDERS.

H. W. TRINDER.

CHARLES WELCH, F.S.A.

WILLIAM FOSTER, B.A., Honorary Secretary.

CONTENTS.

_____

_______________

_______

I N publishing the narrative of Friar William of Rubruck, a work which should rank as high in the literature of travel as that of Marco Polo, his better-known successor in the field of Asiatic exploration, the Hakluyt Society, I think, not only renders a service to students, but performs an act of justice long due to a great, though much neglected, traveller, who for six hundred and fifty years has remained imperfectly known and appreciated.

It must be a source of lasting regret to all members of the Society that our great geographer and lamented President, Sir Henry Yule, was not able to undertake the preparation of an edition of William of Rubrucks Itinerarium, as he had long contemplated doing; but his high opinion of the narrative, expressed in several of his works, has already greatly contributed towards establishing the travellers unquestionable right to pre-eminence among the earliest European explorers of Asia. It is sincerely hoped that the present volume will further aid in showing the equity of Friar Williams claim to the highest recognition.

It is an interesting fact that to England, and England alone, the great French traveller owes the chief contributions to the establishment of his fame. From England came the first notice of his work in the Opus Majus of Roger Bacon; by Richard Hakluyt the relation of his journey was first made known to the world; to Samuel Purchas he owes the first publication of the complete text of his narrative. I trust that it will now be found that from an English Society he receives full recognition of his great and lasting worth.

In the Introductory Notice no attempt has been made to give in detail the history of the early relations between Western Europe and the Mongol Empire; this subject has been elaborately and lucidly treated by such high authorities as Abel Rmusat, Baron dOhsson, Sir Henry Howorth, Cahun, and others. The object of the editor has simply been to give an idea of the knowledge possessed by Western Europe concerning the Mongols down to the time of Friar Williams journey; and to show the sources of information of which that traveller could, and very probably did, avail himself as a preparation for his journey.

Among the most valuable sources of information to which Friar William had access, was the narrative by Benedict of Poland of his journey to the Court of Kuyuk Khan, in 1246, in company with John of Pian de Carpine. It is highly probable that Friar William met Friar John before leaving France in 1248, and received advice from him, and possibly communication of his report to the Pope, if it was written at that time. At all events, as the route followed by the latter was for much of the way through the same countries traversed by Friar William and as the two narratives complete and corroborate each other, it has been deemed advisable to give in full the relations of Friars John and Benedict.

As to the first part of the Historica, Mongalorum of Friar John, relating to the customs and history of the Mongols, I have introduced in foot-notes to the text all such portions of it as bear directly on the narrative of Friar William; and similar use has been made of the account of the mission of Friar Ascelin in 1247, which has reached us in the extracts preserved by Vincent of Beauvais of the report made by Simon of St. Quentin, a member of the mission.

I have largely availed myself of mediaeval Chinese works for elucidating or corroborating Friar Williams statements, and have had frequent recourse to Oriental writers, Mohammedan or Armenian, for the same purpose. Greek and Latin authors and European travellers, ancient and modern, have been consulted with profit; though, unfortunately, I have not had access to a number of works of the latter class which may contain valuable corroborative evidence of the thorough reliability of our traveller.

It would seem that the MS. of Lord Lumley, published by Hakluyt, divided Rubrucks narrative into a number of chapters, to each of which a title was given, presumably by the copyist: for the other MSS., from which the text of Michel and Wright, the one translated here, was prepared, do not give these head-lines. I have deemed it more convenient to divide the text arbitrarily into sections where the narrative permitted it, and have not given titles to any.

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