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Book/Printed Material The Travels of Marco Polo. Les voyages de Marco Polo de Venise

About this Item

Title

  • The Travels of Marco Polo.

Other Title

  • Les voyages de Marco Polo de Venise

Summary

  • This manuscript from about 1350 is one of the oldest extant copies of Les voyages de Marco Polo (The travels of Marco Polo), the account by the Venetian merchant Marco Polo (circa 1254-1324) of his adventures in Central Asia and the Far East during the latter part of the 13th century. It is possibly one of five manuscripts relating to Marco Polo's journey that belonged to King Charles V of France (reigned 1364-80). Later it was part of the library of the French book collector Alexandre Petau. It was sold to Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-89) in 1650. Accompanied by his father Niccolò and his uncle Maffeo, Marco Polo travelled overland to China in 1271--75. He then spent 17 years serving Kublai Khan (1215--94), grandson of Genghis Khan and conqueror of China, for whom he undertook assignments in China as well as in South and Southeast Asia. The three Venetians returned to their native city by sea in 1292--95. Marco Polo soon was caught up in the war between Venice and Genoa, for which he equipped and commanded a galley in the Venetian navy. He was taken prisoner by the Genoese in 1296. According to tradition, while in prison he dictated the stories of his travels to a cellmate, Rustichello da Pisa, who wrote them down in Old French. Marco Polo's account was not just a simple record of the journey, but a description of the world-a mixture of a travel report, legend, hearsay, and practical information. For these reasons, Les voyages de Marco Polo is sometimes called Divisament du monde (Description of the world) or Livre des merveilles du monde (Book of the marvels of the world). The work was an important introduction for Europeans to the history and geography of Central Asia and China. At the end of the Stockholm manuscript is a mappa mundi, a medieval schematic zonal map of the world, which, however, may be a later addition.

Names

  • Polo, Marco, 1254-1324 Author.

Created / Published

  • [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 1350.

Headings

  • -  1270 to 1324
  • -  Description and travel
  • -  Explorers
  • -  Legends
  • -  Mappae mundi
  • -  Mongols
  • -  Polo, Marco, 1254-1324
  • -  Voyages and travels

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  "Shelfmark: M 304"--Note extracted from World Digital Library.
  • -  Original resource extent: 100 leaves : parchment ; 22.3 x 15.2 centimeters.
  • -  Original resource at: National Library of Sweden.
  • -  Content in Old French (842-ca. 1400).
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Source Collection

  • World History

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021668052

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Polo, Marco, Author. The Travels of Marco Polo. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, 1350] Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021668052/.

APA citation style:

Polo, M. (1350) The Travels of Marco Polo. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified] [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021668052/.

MLA citation style:

Polo, Marco, Author. The Travels of Marco Polo. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, 1350] Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021668052/>.