by Robin Brown
Frampton got his hands on a copy of a letter from Jean Nicot (nicotine) when the latter was the French Ambassador to Lisbon for Catherine de’ Medici of France, in which Nicot describes smoking tobacco and claims to have sent seeds to the queen. ‘The smoke of this Hearbe, the whiche thei receive at the mouth through certain coffins [paper cones], fuche as the Grocers do ufe to put in their spices.’
Most translations begin with a foreword but you will not be surprised to hear that every one is different both in length and content. This is one of the shorter versions:
All you Emperors, Kings, Dukes, Marquises, Knights; everyone in fact who would like to know of the diversity of the races of mankind and of the many kingdoms, provinces and regions of the mysterious Orient should read this book.
You’ll find in it many a marvellous description of the people of these places, especially of Armenia, Persia, India and Tartary, as they are severally related in the present work by Marco Polo, a wise and learned citizen of Venice, who states distinctly what things he saw and what things he heard from others. For this book will be a truthful one. It must be known then, that from the creation of Adam to the present day, no man, whether Pagan or Saracen, or Christian or whatever progeny or generation he may have been, ever saw or enquired into so many and such great things as Marco Polo above mentioned. Who, wishing in his secret thoughts that the things he had seen and heard should be made public by the present work, for the benefit of those who could not see them with their own eyes, he himself being in the Year of our Lord, 1295 in prison in Genoa, caused the things which are contained in the present work to be written down by master Rustichello, citizen of Pisa, who was with him in the same prison at Genoa; and he divided it into three parts.
The whole Prologue has been omitted from quite a few of the translations including the famous Marsden, the version most often used by English translators. It exists, however, in an old Latin translation published by the French Geographical Society and also in an early French version, which dates from 1298 published by the same society. That said, it was almost certainly not written by Marco Polo. The industrious Professor Benedetto has shown that Rustichello lifted verbatim the Prologue’s opening invocation to ‘Emperors, Kings, Dukes and Marquises’ from his Arthurian romance.
Finally a note on my ‘translation’, and here I have to confess to difficulties. In the sense that it is a modern version of an old story it is technically a translation, but that was not my original purpose. I had, as I said, been obliged to study Marco Polo as a reference source for another book and had found that very hard going. Apart from the several languages (including arcane versions of those languages), all the English editions are very ‘reverent’. Marco Polo and his book have become academic icons, the stuff of historical scholarship.
Throughout my readings, however, I felt the presence of this vital, lively young chap fighting to get out from the pages of volumes that had been edited and embellished by monks, censored by the Establishment and finally worshipped by academics (there is a vast school of Polian studies). Where was the nitty gritty? Where was Marco the teenage tearaway, the lusty lad, the court jester, Kublai’s gossip merchant? It was like peering at a 700-year-old picture which you knew was highly coloured but would only reveal itself after a good clean, and thankfully this proved to be the case. Once I had got rid of all the ‘by the Grace of Gods’ and ‘in the Year of our Lords’ etc. the story began to romp along.
Like most translators before me I have abandoned Marco’s original chaptering. It has no logic, is sometimes just a paragraph or two long and it slows the story down.
This then is the intimate memoir of a teenager who exceeds his wildest dreams by becoming courtier and confidant to the most powerful ruler on earth, the Grand Khan, Kublai, and a traveller extraordinaire, outrageously rich and famous.
THE PROLOGUE
When Baldwin II was Emperor of Constantinople and the city was administered by a magistrate appointed by the Doge of Venice, Marco Polo’s father, Nicolo, and his uncle, Maffeo, decided to set up business in that city. They fitted out a ship of their own loaded with a rich and varied cargo of merchandise and, in the year 1250, reached Constantinople safely.
They made an appraisal of trading conditions and decided that the best profits were to be made in the Euxine or Black Sea area. They bought a lot of good jewel stones and took their ship to the port of Soldaia where they set up a small caravanserai and then set off on horseback for the court of a powerful chief of the Western Tartars named Barka who ruled the cities of Bolgara and Assara. Barka, it should be said, had the reputation of being one of the most civilised and liberal of the Tartar princes.
On arrival they carefully observed his reaction to the jewels they had brought with them, noting his satisfaction at their beauty – then gave them to him!
This astute gesture paid off. Barka, unwilling to be bettered by foreigners, directed that double the value of the jewels should be presented to the Polo brothers and in addition he gave them several rich presents. It should also be said that Barka was actually very pleased to be in contact with Venetian traders and he treated them with considerable distinction.
The Polos remained with Barka for a year then decided the time had come to go home, but they were impeded by the sudden outbreak of a war between Barka and the chief of the Eastern Tartars, Alau. The roads being completely unsafe for travellers, they were advised to strike out to the east by a little-used route around the edge of Barka’s territory. They followed this advice and made their way to Oukaka on the very edge of the Western Tartar lands. It turned out that the conflict dictated that they continue to the east.
They crossed the Tigris (one of the four rivers of Paradise) and found themselves confronted by a desert (the Karak). A terrible journey of seventeen days during which they found not a single town, castle, or even a substantial building, just whole stretches of barren plain that was home to Tartar bands living in tents, brought them eventually to Bokhara in a province of the same name and in the dominion of Persia, governed by a Prince Barak.
Exhausted, they rested in this noble city for three long years but were fortunate enough to make the acquaintance of an extremely talented person of considerable importance, an ambassador from the court of the aforementioned Alau to the Grand Khan, Kublai.
Kublai’s court, they were told, was at the extreme end of the continent, between north-east and east. The ambassador had never met Italians before and the brothers, who by now were fluent in the Tartar languages, impressed him with their manners and conversation in the several days that they spent together, which resulted in an invitation to accompany him to the Grand Khan.
The ambassador assured the brothers that they would be made welcome at Kublai’s court, which had hitherto not been visited by any Italians, and would be given many gifts in recompense for undertaking the long and hazardous journey.
Convinced that to try to make their way home would be an extremely risky business, the brothers accepted the invitation, put themselves in the hands of the Almighty and, accompanied by several Christian servants they had brought with them from Venice, and as part of the ambassador’s entourage, set out on their epic journey to the far north-east.
An entire year was to stretch ahead of them before they reached the imperial residence. They fought their way through several blizzards and swollen rivers, the latter often causing long delays. But they also saw many wondrous things in the course of this journey (which will be dealt with later) and when they finally reached court Kublai was very respectful, affable and friendly; characteristics which they were later to learn were typical of the man.
When it was established that they were indeed the first Latins to be seen at the court, feasts were held in their honour and they were treated with great distinction. The Grand Khan turned out to be intrigued by the western parts of the world, by the Emperor of the Romans who reigned in Constantinople and by other Christian kings and princes. He asked about their relative status, the exten
t of their lands, the manner in which justice was administered, how they waged war. Above all he was intrigued by the Pope, the affairs of the Church, and the religious belief and doctrines of Christians.
The Polos, being men of experience, answered these questions with some care, but thanks to their command of the language they soon gained Kublai’s confidence and had many meetings with him. When he had absorbed all the information they had to offer he expressed himself well satisfied and, after consultations with his cabinet, he appointed them to be his ambassadors to the Pope.
One of his most senior officers, Khogotal, was appointed to go with them. The party carried a request to the Pope to send a hundred learned men to the Khan’s court. Kublai wanted men thoroughly acquainted with the ‘seven arts’ and able to argue the case for Christianity and support the claim that it was more truthful than the other religions, that the idols worshipped by the Tartars were no more than evil spirits and that the people of the East in general were wrong to worship them as divinities.
The Grand Khan also instructed the party to bring him from Jerusalem some of the oil from the lamp of the Holy Sepulchre, Kublai having assured them that he venerated the Lord Jesus Christ as the One True God.
The Polos eagerly accepted the commission, promising to do their best for the Grand Khan who gave them letters bearing his name addressed to the ‘Pope of Rome’ and a special tablet made of pure gold, a Tichikovei embossed with the royal cipher which guaranteed them safe passage. Provincial governors were instructed to assist the party from station to station and every city, castle, town and village to supply them with generous provisions and secure accommodation.
Less than twenty days into this return journey, however, Kublai’s representative, Khogotal, fell dangerously ill and with his agreement the decision was taken that the brothers should press on alone in the hope that the golden tablet would see them through. It worked perfectly. They had escorts everywhere they went and all their needs and expenses were fully covered.
They were less fortunate with the weather. Extreme cold, snow, ice and flooded rivers so slowed their progress that three years elapsed before they reached Laiassus, a port in Lesser Armenia. Taking passage by sea they finally reached the port of Acre, a maritime city in Palestine, in April 1269, where they received the disturbing news that Pope Clement IV had passed away the year before. A legate from the papal see, Tebaldo de Vesconti di Piacenza, was then resident in Acre and the Polos attempted to hand over to him the letters and requests from Kublai Khan.
Tebaldo demurred, insisting that the completion of their business would have to await the election of the new Pope. As this was likely to be some considerable time the brothers decided to go home.
They sailed for Venice and there Nicolo received the sad news that his wife had died after giving birth to a son, Marco, who was now fifteen, the self-same Marco who would, twenty-five years hence, write the remarkable story of their travels entitled ‘A Description of the World’.
The Polos languished in Venice while attempts went on to find a new Pope, and they grew ever more concerned that Kublai would be mightily displeased at the delay. When almost two years had passed the brothers decided they could at least go to Jerusalem and they set out on that journey taking the young Marco Polo with them. They successfully obtained some oil from the Holy Sepulchre and were also able to persuade the friendly legate to provide them with a letter to Kublai explaining the papal election delays. Armed with these they set out on the long journey back to the Grand Khan’s court in China.
While still in Armenia, however, they received word from Rome that Tebaldo had actually been appointed Pope, taking the name Gregory X. Gregory had immediately sent letters to King Leon of Armenia requesting that, if the Polos were still in his territory, they be asked to return home as Tebaldo, in his new role, was ready and willing to satisfy the wishes of the Grand Khan. The Polos were found and happily accepted Leon’s offer of a fast, armed galley to take them back to Acre.
His Holiness greeted them as old and distinguished friends and soon sent them on their way again with proper Papal Letters. But the most he could manage in the way of wise men were two senior theologians, Fra Nicolo da Vincenza and Fra Guielmo da Tripoli who were, however, licensed to ordain priests, to consecrate bishops and to grant Absolution. The party also carried several fine crystal vessels, personal gifts from the Pope to Kublai.
Again they set sail for Lower Armenia, only to learn that a war was being fought across their proposed route. The Sultan of Babylon, Bundokdari, had marched into Armenia at the head of a great army and had largely overrun and laid the country to waste. This proved altogether too much for the scholarly friars who refused to journey on. They handed over the Pope’s letters and presents to the Polos, and placed themselves under the protection of a troop of Crusaders of the Order of Knights Templar, who took them home.
The Polos, who had faced these kind of problems before, pressed on looking for a way round the troubled areas. Their ensuing wanderings finally resulted in an epic trek which lasted more than three and a half years. They crossed several deserts and endured again the rigours of two bitter winters. They skirted innumerable mountains and deep valleys until word reached them that the Grand Khan was in residence in the large and magnificent city of Taiyuenfu, in the western part of his domains. Kublai heard of their approach and while they were still some forty days distant sent out a party to meet them. He gave orders that they should be made comfortable at every place through which they passed and with this help, and through the Blessing of God, they were conveyed in safety to the royal court.
The full assembly of the Grand Khan and his principal officers greeted the Polos, who prostrated themselves on the floor before him. Kublai Khan ordered them immediately to rise and to tell the story of their intrepid journey and all that had occurred with the Pope. The Polos took great care with their story and the Grand Khan listened in attentive silence.
The letters and presents from Gregory were laid before Kublai Khan who had them read. The Polos were much commended for their fidelity, zeal and diligence. The oil from the lamp of the Holy Sepulchre was received with due reverence and the Grand Khan gave orders that it be preserved as a holy relic. Then Kublai Khan noticed and asked to be introduced to Marco.
‘This is your servant and my son,’ Nicolo said.
‘He is welcome and pleases me much,’ Kublai replied, directing that the young man be enrolled among his attendants of honour.
A great feast with much rejoicing was held to mark the Polos’ return and for the rest of their time they were treated as courtiers. Marco was held in particular esteem. He quickly adopted the manners of the Tartars and was soon proficient in four of their languages, both in reading and writing.
Recognising these accomplishments, Kublai elected to put his talents in business to the test and sent him on an important matter of state to Khorasan which, together with Persia, was ruled by Ahmed Khan, a close relative of Kublai; it was six months’ journey away from the imperial residence. Marco completed the Khan’s business with such wisdom and prudence that his diplomatic skills, in spite of his age, became highly valued.
Marco also noticed that Kublai liked to hear all the gossip and detail of the manners and customs of faraway places and he made a point of compiling extensive notes of everything he saw and heard to gratify his master’s curiosity. In short, during the seventeen years he spent in the service of the Grand Khan, Marco made himself so useful he was sent on confidential missions across the length and breadth of the empire and its dominions.
Sometimes he went on long trips of his own, although these were always sanctioned by Kublai. He had soon acquired a unique knowledge of what to Europeans were still the secrets of the East. All this he regularly committed to writing as will be revealed in the sequel to this Prologue.
But it also has to be said that he acquired so many honours from the Khan that he made a lot of people jealous.
So, our Venetians, having live
d at the imperial court for many years and accumulated a great fortune in gold and valuable jewels, developed a strong desire to go home; in fact it became an obsession. They also reflected on Kublai’s extreme old age (he was approaching eighty) and feared that his death would deprive them of the protection and help they would need to overcome the innumerable hazards they would face on a return journey.
Nicolo chose a day when Kublai appeared particularly cheerful, prostrated himself before him and begged to be allowed, with his family, to go home.
He was flatly refused! What possible motive could they have for wanting to expose themselves to the obvious hazards of such a journey, hazards that would probably cost them their lives? Was it money, Kublai asked? If so he was prepared to double their fortunes and to grant them as many honours as their hearts desired. But, he said, out of the regard he bore them, he must positively refuse their petition.
Fate then came to the aid of the Polos. In faraway Persia, Queen Bolgana, wife of King Argon, died leaving a written request that no one should succeed to her place on the throne (or the affections of the King) unless they were a descendant of her own family from Cathay in the north of China.
With extreme reluctance, which was evident on his face, Kublai accepted that the only people at his court with the experience to deliver the Princess of his choice to remote Persia were the Polos. Eventually, with good grace, he sent for them, demanding a promise that when they had spent some time with their family they would return to him.
They were furnished with another gold tablet guaranteeing safe conduct and ample provisions in every part of the Empire and Kublai appointed them to be his official ambassadors to the Pope, the Kings of France and Spain and other Christian princes.
