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. THEIR HAWKING & FOOD. 6 9
only two wheels covered with black felt which is so good and so well prepared that if it VA V
rained all day on the cart water would soak nothing that was in the cart under that VA VA
cover of felt. • And they have them brought and drawn by horses and by oxen and VB FB
sometimes by good camels. And on these carts they carry their wives and their children L VA
and all the things and food which they need. • And in this way they go wherever they wish to go, R L
and thus they carry everything which they need. And I tell you that the Tartar ladies trade, VA R
buy, and sell, and do all the work that is needed for their lords and fancily and for i_
themselves .' In expense they are not burdensome to their husbands, and the reason is that they LT
make much gain by their own work. They are also very provident in managing the family and
are very careful in preparing food, and do all the other duties of the house with great diligence.
And so their husbands leave all the care of the house to their wives. For the men trouble
themselves with [28c] nothing at all but with hunting and with feats of battle & of VA
war and with hawking and with falcons and with goshawks, like gentlemen, • & in this FB FB VB
they take great delight. They have the best falcons in the world, and likewise dogs. They live
only on flesh and on milk and on game, the flesh of all wild animals which they take in R VB
their country, and also they eat certain little animals which are like rabbits, which with us R
are called Pharaoh's rats,' which are there in great abundance in the midst of the
plains below' and everywhere. They eat even flesh of horses and of dogs and of TA
mares and oxen • and camels, •provided that they are fat, and gladly drink camel and mares R vs L VB
milk, and in general they eat of all flesh of other animals clean and unclean. They keep v i
themselves so that for nothing in the world would the one touch the wife of the
other, for if it happen that a man were taken they hold it for an evil thing and vile VB
exceedingly. And the loyalty of the husbands towards the wives is a wonderful thing, and a vs
very noble thing the virtue of those women • who if they are ten, or twenty, a peace and in- R
estimable unity is among them, nor is it ever heard that they say an evil word, but all are
intent and anxious (as has been said) over the trade, that is the selling and buying, and things
belonging to their occupations, the life of the house and the care of the family and of the children,
who are common between them. • For in nny judgement they are those women who most in the VB
world deserve to be commended by all for their very great virtue; and they are all the more
worthy of very well earned praise for virtue & chastity because the men arc allowed to be able to
take as many wives as they please, to the very great confusion of the Christian women (I mean in
these our parts). For when one man has only one wife, in which marriages there ought to be a
most singular faith and chastity, or[elselconfusion of so great a sacrament of marriage, I am
1 a se riiesme B. corrects plausibly to a se mesnie . 2 See PN.
3 desote perhaps read destee V: de instade R: nella state TA,LT,VA,P omit. But FA: en pertuis sou, terre FB: es partuis soubz terre (` ` in burrows under ground") seem to show that desote is very early. cf. c. 213. P calls the rats reptilia.
169
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