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Marco Polo : vol.1 |
THE DESCRIPTION OF THE WORLD, CUNCUN•ACBALEC MANGI •I12.
For you may know that there are many great woods in which there are many wild FB beasts; these are lions and bears, wolves and lynxes and fallow-deer and roe-deer VA and stags and other sorts of beasts in plenty, so that the people of the country catch FB them much and have much great profit from them. And in this way one rides quite L
twenty' days journeys, that is through mountains and through valleys through VA
plains and through woods, always finding towns and villages and many good forests FB and many good large inns where the travellers are lodged in comfort. Now we will y FA leave this land and will tell you of another province so as you shall be able to hear below.
HERE HE TELLS OF THE PROVINCE OF ACBALEC MANGI. And when one has •,,,•
ridden the twenty [5oa] days journeys aforesaid •toward sunsetting in the P L
mountains and valleys • of the province of Cuncun of which I have told you z L
above, then one finds a province which is called Acbalec Mangi, which is all plain.
There are cities and villages enough. And they are found in going towards the sun- FB z
setting. And the people of that province are all idolaters. And they live by trade and LT LT LT FB
by crafts. Moreover I tell you that so great quantity of ginger grows in this province`
that it is spread through all the great province of Catai,3 and the men of the province
have great gain from it and great good. They have wheat and rice and barley and VA
all other corn in great plenty and very cheap, and it is a land very fruitful of all
good things. The capital city is called like the province, that is Acbalec Mangi which VB
means to say in our tongue the white city of the border of Mangi.4 This plain lasts VB R
for two days marches so beautiful as I have told you, and with so many towns and
villages. And at end of these two days marches then one finds great mountains and FB
great valleys and great forests enough, and riding by this way goes quite twenty days FB
journeys by sunsetting always finding towns and villages enough. The men are all FB VA
idolaters. And they live on the fruit of the land and on game and on flocks. For FB FB
there are many wild beasts, very large lions and bears and lynxes, fallow-deer, roe-deer, VB
1 FB: viij. FA omits. Others, "twenty"
2 FB: cite
3 LT: Catha siue Cathay
4 acmelec mangi qe uaut a dire it une de le cor fin dou mangi VA: zioe adir vna delle confine de mangi L: quod sonat vna ex confinibus de mangi V: the tanto vien a dire chomo vno di thon fini de mangin VB: uen a dir i conffini di manzí leune is an easy corruption of lacite; B. suggests le uile, and does not notice the interesting agreement of VA, L, V with F, nor the repetition of the phrase in the next chapter. There is considerable MS support for some difference between the name of the city and of the province, but L: sicque nominatur eins principalis ciuitas, & VB are probably right, and in this case the name of the province has been repeated in place of Acmelec. cf. PN.
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