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National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Cathay and the Way Thither : vol.2 |
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Citation Information
BIOGRAPHICAL AND INTRODUCTORY NOTICES. 313
Nicolas Girardengo at Venice in 1480, and often reprinted ; and also a Life of St. John Baptist, which is appended to the former in the MS. at Bologna.
Marignolli refers in his recollections to having at one time given lectures at Bologna.' And this is all that I can collect about him previous to his mission to the East.
John of Monte Corvino, the venerable Archbishop of Cambalec, died as we have already seen about 1328, and the successor appointed by Pope John in 1333 seems never to have reached his destination.2
In 1338 however there arrived at Avignon an embassy from the Great Khan of Cathay, consisting of Andrew a Frank, and fifteen other persons. They brought two letters to the pope : one purporting to be from the Grand Khan himself, and the other from certain princes of the Christian Alans in his service.
It is not stated that Andrew was an ecclesiastic ; but it is possible that he may have been our acquaintance the Bishop of Zayton.3
D'Ohsson4 regards the whole matter as an example of the sham embassies which on several occasions were palmed off on the European courts as coming from the Mongol princes. But he is apparently not aware of Marignolli's narrative of the return mission and its reception. And the Khan's letter looks very genuine in its haughty curtness and absence of swelling titles, the use of which Chinghiz prohibited to his successors. The preliminary phrase also seems the same that is found prefixed to the Tartar letters in the French archives ; and which Remusat states to be a mark of genuine character.' In any case the letter is meritoriously short and to the point, so we may give it in full.'
1 " Vidi etiam Bononice quando ibi legebann." (Dobner, p. 112.)
2 See above, p. 172. 3 See p. 183 above.
4 Hist. des Mongols, ii, 608.
5 Mem. de l' Academic des Inscript. (Modern) vii, 367. He renders it " Par la force du Ciel suprême."
6 This and the other letters connected with this embassy are given in Wadding, vol. vii, pp. 209 and seq.; also in Mosheim, Append., pp. 166 and seq.
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