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. GOLD & SILVER TOWERS • t 2 5
HERE HE TELLS OF THE CITY OF MIEN. NOW you may know that when one has ridden the fifteen days marches of which I have told you above in so barren and as it were out of the way places, and where one must carry his vB FB victuals by the way because there is no dwelling of men, as I have told you, then one finds a
beautiful city which is also called Mien, which is very great and noble and is head z FB
of the kingdom of Mien. The people are all idolaters and have a language [57c] for FB VB
themselves. They are subject to the rule of the great Kaan. And in this city is so y
noble a thing and so rich, of which I shall tell you. For it was true that there was FB
formerly a very rich and powerful king in this city, and he was loved by all, • as I shall VA VB v
tell you, according to what was said to nie. And this king, when he came to death he y
commands in his will •that there should be made him a monument like this, that on his IT VA
tomb, that is on his monument, for burial of his body should be made two round VB VB
towers, in the likeness of pyramids, one at one end and the other at the other, one of gold R
and one of silver very richly worked. • And those towers are made in such fashion as I VB TA
shall tell you. For the one tower was of beautiful stone. Then it was covered
outside all over with .plates of •gold. And the gold was quite one finger thick. The whole TA VB TA
tower was so covered with it that when one saw it it did not seem to be of anything TA
but of gold alone. It was quite ten paces high, and just as' thick as was suitable to
the height of which it was. It was round above, and at the top there was a round ball, R
and all round the roundness it was all full of gilded bells which sounded with great TA VB
sound every time the wind struck among them; and it is a great triumph to see and to vB
hear. And the other tower of which[I have told you above was all covered with FB
silver, and was altogether like and made in such fashion as that of gold, no more TA
nor less, •so that it seems all of silver; and of that size and of that shape both in quantity FB Z
& height; likewise with little bells • of silver.. And between these towers he caused his tomb VA LT
to be made, where he is now buried.. And in the same way the tomb was covered partly with R
plates of gold and partly with silver. And that king had these made for his grandeur
and for the honour of his soul, that there should be memory of him after his death. And I P VA
tell you that they were the most beautiful towers in the world to see, and they were
also well made and noble and of very exceedingly great value. And when the sun touches FB FB
them then a great glory issues from them and they are seen from very far. Moreover I tell
you that the great Kaan conquers this province in such a new and mocking way as I L
shall tell you.' It was true that at the court of the great Kaan, when he planned to R
1 V: quatro perhaps for quanto
2 V introduces this story thus: "Now this about the beauty of these towers reached the ears of the great Kaan, and it was told him by certain of his court called falconers (ostorini), that is hunters (chuxatori)."
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