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MARCO POLO   APP. L.

Dutch,* and Italian t editions, and after the English editions of Pynson and

\Vynkin de Worde.

In what tongue was Mandeville's Book written ?

The fact that the first edition of it was printed either in German or in Dutch, only shows that the scientific progress was greater and printing more active in such towns as Basel, Nuremberg and Augsburg than in others. At first, one might believe that there were three original texts, probably in French, English, and vulgar Latin ; the Dean of Tongres, Radulphus of Rivo, a native of Breda, writes indeed in his Gesta Pontcum Leodiensium, 1616, p. 17 : " Hoc anno Ioannes Mandeuilius natione Anglus vir ingenio, & arte medendi eminens, qui toto fere terrarum orbe peragrato, tribus linguis peregrinationem suam doctissime conscripsit, in alium orb nullis finibus clausuro, lôgeque hoc quietiorem, & beatiorem migrauit 17. Nouembris. Sepultus in Ecclesia Wilhelmitarum non procul á moenibus Ciuitatis Leodiensis." The Dean of Tongres died in 1483 ; $ Mr. Warner, on the authority of the Bulletin de l'Inst. Archéol. Liégeois, xvi. 1882, p. 358, gives 1403 as the date of the death of Radulphus. However, Mandeville himself says ( Warner, Harley, 4383) at the end of his introduction, p. 3 :—" Et sachez qe ieusse cest escript mis en latyn pur pluis briefment deuiser ; mes, pur ceo qe plusours entendent mieltz romantz qe latin, ieo lay inys en romance, pur ceo qe chescun lentende et luy chivalers et les seignurs et lez autres nobles homes qi ne sciuent point de latin ou poy, et qount estee outre meer, sachent et entendent, si ieo dye voir ou noun, et si ieo erre en deuisant par noun souenance ou autrement, qils le puissent adresser et amender, qar choses de long temps passez par la veue tonnent en obly, et memorie de homme ne puet mye tot retenir ne comprendre." From this passage and from the Latin text : " Incipit itinerarius a terra Angle ad partes Iherosolimitanas et in ulteriores transmarinas, editus primo in lingua gallicana a milite suo autore anno incarnacionis Domini m. ccc. lv, in civitate Leodiensi, et paulo post in eadem civitate translatus in banc formam ]atinam." (P. 33 of the Relation des Mongols ou Tartars par le frère Jean du Plan de Carpin, Paris, 1838). D'Avezac long ago was inclined to believe in an unique French version. The British Museum, English MS. (Cott., Titus. C. xvi.), on the other hand, has in the Prologue (cf. ed. 1725, p. 6) : " And zee schulle undirstonde, that I have put this Boke out of Latyn into Frensche, and translated it azen out of Frensche into Englyssche, that every Man of my Nacioun may undirstonde it . . ."§

But we shall see that—without taking into account the important passage in French quoted above, and probably misunderstood by the English translator—the English version, a sentence of which, not to be found in the Latin manuscripts, has just been given, is certainly posterior to thy French text, and therefore that the

* Reysen.—s.1.n.d., without printer's name ; fol. io8 ff. on 2 col. black letter, without sig., etc.

F. i recto : Dit is die tafel van // desen boecke // (D)at eerste capittel van // desen boeck is H oe dat Jan vā//mandauille schyet wt enghe//lāt. . . . f. io8 v° 26th line : regneert in allen tiden // Amen// ad Laus deo in altissimo //.

See Campbell, suyra, p. 599.

t F. i verso : Tractato de le piu marauegliose cosse e piu notabile che // se trouano in le parte del mödo redute KOE collecte soto bre//uita in el presente cōpēdio dal strenuissimo caualér sperö // doro Johanne de Mandauilla anglico nato ne la cita // de sancto albano el quale secōdo dio prncialmente uisi // tato quali tute le parte habitabel de el mōdo cossi fidelm // te a notato tute quelle piu degne cosse che la trouato e ve//duto in esse parte TO chi bene discorre gsto libro auerra p // fecta cognitione de tuti li reami puincie natione e popu//li gente costumi leze hystorie lU degne antiquitate cō bre// uitade le quale pte da altri non sono tractate 1O parte piu // cōsusamēte dalchū gran ualente homini son state tocate ,(OE amagiore fede el psato auctore in psona e stato nel 1322. in//yerusalem Jn Asia menore chiamata Turchia i Arme//nia grande e in la picola. Jn Scythia zoe in Tartana in // persia Jn Syria o uero suria Jn Arabia in egipto alto // TO in lo inferiore in libia in la parte grande de ethiopia in // Caldea in amazonia in india mazore in la meza f(,, in la // menore in div'se sette de latini greci iudei e barbari chri//stiani IC) infideli n! i molte altre prouincie como appare nel // tractato de sotto.—Ends f. 114 verso : Explicit Johannes d'Mādeuilla impressus Medio//lani ductu K• auspicijs Magistri Petri de corneno pri // die Callendas augusti nt.CCCCLXXX. Joha//ne Galeazo Maria Sfortia Vicecomitte Duce no // stro inuictissimo ac principe Jucondissimo. Small 4to ; ff. 114 ; sig. a-o X 8=112 ff. ; i f.

between a and b.   .

$ Gesta Pont. Leodiensium.—Vita Radvlphi de Rivo ex eius scriptis : " Obijt Radulphus anno, 1483."

§ This passage is not to be found in the Egerton MS. 1982, nor in the Latin versions.