IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Marco Polo : vol.1 |
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Citation Information
THE DESCRIPTION OF. THE WORLD AND TO THE GREAT KAAN .5.
How THE TWO BROTHERS TRUSTED THE MESSENGERS TO THE GREAT KAAN. Now when the two brothers have heard what this messenger had said to y them it pleased them much and • seeing that they could not return home without con- V P tinual dfculty•like men of great spirit not counting the long journey they had to make, they VB
made them ready and said that they go gladly with him to the presence of the great lord VB
of the Tartars; • wherewith he was well content. And when it was time then they left the said y y y
city and,•commending themselves to the care of God, set themselves [5b] on the road with p
this messenger, having Christian servants as companions whom they had brought with them P
from Venese, and went a whole year of marches • toward sunrising and then, turning to the FB VB s
left hand,' by tramontaine and by the Greek wind before they were come there where FB
the lord was. • And the reason why they were so long time in going was this, because for the P
snows and for the overflowing of the rivers and torrents it was necessary that they should wait
on the way until the snows which had exceeded and the waters which had overflowed were
"decreased . And as they ride they find great wonders and strange things which we will FB
not tell you here, because Master Marc, son of Master Nicolau aforesaid, who saw VB
all these things also will tell you clearly in the course of this book below . VB
HOW THE TWO BROTHERS CAME TO THE GREAT KAAN. And when the said two VB • 6
brothers Master Nicolau and Master Mafeu were corne and had been pre- y sented to the great lord of the Tartars • named Cublai, who beamed with the VB LT greatest kindness, he received them with great honour and makes them great joy and very FB FB
great festival. He has very great delight at their coming as one who had never seen any TA
Latin,. because in his days men of the sunsetting had not been in those parts. • And he asks them VB FB
of many things of the lands of the sunset ; first of the emperors of the Romans • and how P P FB
they maintain their lordships and their land in justice, and how they go when they have a VA
great affair, and how they go to battle, and of embassies, and of all their other doing and VA FB VA VA
estate. And afterward he asks them of the other kings and of the Christian princes and R P
of all .the other barons, and of their greatness, customs, and power. V FB R
HOW THE GREAT KAAN ASKS OF THE TWO BROTHERS OF THE AFFAIRS OF THE • 7 •
CHRISTIANS . And afterwards he asks them with great care of Master the VA Apostle & of the Cardinals and of the faith and of all the doings of the VI. Roman Church, and of all the manner and customs of the Latins . And the two brothers VB FB
Master Nicolau and Master Mafeu told him step by step all the truth of each by V
itself well and orderly and wisely, like wise men that they were who knew well the
tongue of the Tartars and the Tartaresque,2 so that they are very dear to the lord, and he VB
1 VL: verso garbino passa per greco poi
2 & la tartaresce PB: la langue tartaresse VA: la lengua tartarescha but V: de tartari e de turchi B. conjectures ce est la tartaresce.
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