Giovanni de' Marignolli
Encyclopedia
Giovanni de' Marignolli a notable traveller to the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...

 in the fourteenth century (fl.
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...

 1338–53), born probably before 1290, and sprung from a noble family in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

.

The family is long extinct, but a street near the cathedral (Via de' Cerretani) formerly bore the name of the Marignolli. In 1338 there arrived at Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...

, where Pope Benedict XII
Pope Benedict XII
Pope Benedict XII , born Jacques Fournier, the third of the Avignon Popes, was Pope from 1334 to 1342.-Early life:...

 held his court, an embassy from the great khan
Khan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...

 of Cathay
Cathay
Cathay is the Anglicized version of "Catai" and an alternative name for China in English. It originates from the word Khitan, the name of a nomadic people who founded the Liao Dynasty which ruled much of Northern China from 907 to 1125, and who had a state of their own centered around today's...

 (the Mongol-Chinese emperor), bearing letters to the pontiff from the khan himself, and from certain Christian nobles of the Alan
Alans
The Alans, or the Alani, occasionally termed Alauni or Halani, were a group of Sarmatian tribes, nomadic pastoralists of the 1st millennium AD who spoke an Eastern Iranian language which derived from Scytho-Sarmatian and which in turn evolved into modern Ossetian.-Name:The various forms of Alan —...

 race in his service. These latter represented that they had been eight years (since Monte Corvino's death) without a spiritual guide, and earnestly desired one. The pope replied to the letters, and appointed four ecclesiastics as his legates to the khan's court. The name of John of Florence, i.e. Marignolli, appears third on the letters of commission.

A large party was associated with the four chief envoys; when in Peking the embassy still numbered thirty-two, out of an original fifty. The mission left Avignon in December 1338; picked up the Tatar envoys at Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

; stayed nearly two months in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

 (Pera, May 1-June 24, 1339); and sailed across the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...

 to Caffa, whence they travelled to the court of Mohammed Uzbeg, khan of the Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...

, at Sarai
Sarai
-Places:*Saraj , an historic estate in Resen built by Ahmed Niyazi Bey*Bal-Sarai, a village in Amritsar District of Punjab, India*Sarai , the capital city of the Golden Horde*Saraj municipality, a municipality in Greater Skopje, Republic of Macedonia...

 on the Volga. The khan entertained them hospitably during the winter of 1339–-1340 and then sent them across the steppes to Armalec, Almalig or Almaligh (Kulja), the northern seat of the house of Chaghatai
Chagatai Khans
The Chagatai Khans were the heads of the Chagatai ulus from Chagatai Khan's inheritance of the state in 1227 to their removal from power by the Dzungars and their vassals in 1687...

, in what is now the province of Ili
Ili
-Acronyms:* ILI: I Laugh Inside* Integrating Lifestyle Innovations, a home automation company specialising in the design and supply of systems in New Zealand to the world.* Irish Life International, part of Irish Life and Permanent...

. "There," says Marignolli, "we built a church, bought a piece of ground ... sung masses, and baptized several persons, notwithstanding that only the year before the bishop and six other minor friars had there undergone glorious martyrdom for Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...

's salvation." Quitting Almaligh in 1341, they seem to have reached Peking (by way of Kamul or Hami) in May or June 1342. They were well received by the reigning khan, the last of the Mongol dynasty in China.

An entry in the Chinese annals fixes the year of Marignolli's presentation by its mention of the arrival of the great horses from the kingdom of Fulang (Farang or Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

), one of which was 11 feet 6 inches in length, and 6 feet 8 inches high, and black all over. Marignolli stayed at Peking or Cambalec three or four years, after which he travelled through eastern China to Zayton or Amoy Harbor, quitting China apparently in December 1347, and reaching Columbum (Kaulam or Quilon in Malabar
Malabar
Malabar and puram derived or westernised into bar. This part of India was a part of the British East India Company-controlled Madras State, when it was designated as Malabar District. It included the northern half of the state of Kerala and some coastal regions of present day Karnataka...

) in Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

 week of 1348. At this place he found a church of the Latin communion, probably founded by Jordanus of Severac, who had been appointed bishop of Columbum (Diocese of Quilon
Diocese of Quilon
The Diocese of Quilon or Kollam is the first Catholic diocese in India in the state of Kerala. First erected on August 9, 1329 and re-erected on September 1, 1886, it covers an area of 1,950 km². , and contains a population of 4,879,553 - 235,922 of which are Catholic.It belongs to the...

) by Pope John XXII
Pope John XXII
Pope John XXII , born Jacques Duèze , was pope from 1316 to 1334. He was the second Pope of the Avignon Papacy , elected by a conclave in Lyon assembled by Philip V of France...

 in 1330. Here Marignolli remained sixteen months, after which he proceeded on what seems a most devious voyage.

First he visited the shrine of St Thomas near the modern Madras, and then proceeded to what he calls the kingdom of Saba, and identifies with the Sheba
Sheba
Sheba was a kingdom mentioned in the Jewish scriptures and the Qur'an...

 of Scripture
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

, but which seems from various particulars to have been Java. Taking ship again for Malabar on his way to Europe, he encountered great storms. They found shelter in the little port of Pervily or Pervilis (Beruwala
Beruwala
Beruwala, is a small resort town in the south western coastal belt of Sri Lanka. The name Beruwala is derived from the Sinhalese word for the place where the sail is lowered. It marks the spot for the first Muslim settlement on the island, established by Arab traders around the 8th century AD...

 or Berberyn) in the south-west of Ceylon; but here the legate fell into the hands of "a certain tyrant Coya Jaan (Khoja Jahan), a eunuch
Eunuch
A eunuch is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences...

 and an accursed Saracen
Saracen
Saracen was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam...

," who professed to treat him with all deference, but detained him four months, and plundered all the gifts and Eastern rarities that he was carrying home. This detention in Ceylon enables Marignolli to give a variety of curious particulars regarding Adam's Peak
Adam's Peak
Sri Pada , is a tall conical mountain located in central Sri Lanka...

, Buddhist monasticism, the aboriginal races of Ceylon, and other marvels. After this we have only fragmentary notices, showing that his route to Europe lay by Ormuz, the ruins of Babel
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...

, Bagdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

, Mosul
Mosul
Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...

, Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...

 and thence to Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...

 and Jerusalem. In 1353 he arrived at Avignon, and delivered a letter from the great khan to Pope Innocent VI
Pope Innocent VI
Pope Innocent VI , born Étienne Aubert; his father was Adhemar Aubert seigneur de Montel-De-Gelas in Limousin province. His niece was Catherine Aubert, Dame de Boutheon, also the wife of Randon II baron de Joyeuse; she is La Fayette's ancestor...

.

In the following year the Emperor Charles IV, on a visit to Italy, made Marignolli one of his chaplains. Soon after, the pope made him bishop of Bisignano; but he seems to have been in no hurry to reside there. He appears to have accompanied the emperor to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

 in 1354-1355; in 1356 he is found acting as envoy to the Pope from Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

; and in 1357 he is at Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

. We do not know when he died. The last trace of Marignolli is a letter addressed to him, which was found in the 18th century among the records in the chapter library at Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

. The writer is an unnamed Archbishop of Armagh, easily identified with Richard Fitz Ralph, a strenuous foe of the Franciscans, who had broken lances in controversy with Ockham
William of Ockham
William of Ockham was an English Franciscan friar and scholastic philosopher, who is believed to have been born in Ockham, a small village in Surrey. He is considered to be one of the major figures of medieval thought and was at the centre of the major intellectual and political controversies of...

 and Burley
Walter Burley
Walter Burley was a medieval English Scholastic philosopher and logician. He was a Master of Arts at Oxford in 1301, and a fellow of Merton College, Oxford until about 1310. He spent sixteen years at Paris until 1326, becoming a fellow of the Sorbonne by 1324. After that, he spent seventeen...

. The letter implies that some intention had been intimated from Avignon of sending Marignolli to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 in connexion with matters then in debate—a project which stirs Fitz Ralph's wrath.

The fragmentary notes of Marignolli's Eastern travels often contain vivid remembrance and graphic description, but combined with an incontinent vanity, and an incoherent lapse from one thing to another. They have no claim to be called a narrative, and it is with no small pains that anything like a narrative can be pieced out of them. Indeed the mode in which they were elicited curiously illustrates how little medieval travellers thought of publication. The emperor Charles, instead of urging his chaplain to write a history of his vast journeys, set him to the repugnant task of recasting the annals of Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...

; and he consoled himself by salting the insipid stuff by interpolations, a propos de bottes, of his recollections of Asiatic travel. Nobody seems to have noticed the work till 1768, when the chronicle was published in vol. ii of the Monumenta hist. Bohemiae nusquam antehac edita by Father Gelasius Dobner.

But, though Marignolli was thus at last in type, no one seems to have read him till 1820, when a paper on his travels was published by J. G. Meinert. Friedrich Kunstmann of Munich also devoted to the subject one of his papers on the ecclesiastical travellers of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

.

Sources

  • Fontes rerum bohemicarum, iii. 492-604 (1882, best text)
  • Gelasius Dobner, Monumenta historica Bohemiae nusquam antehac, vol. ii. (Prague, 1768)
  • J. G. Meinert, in Abhandl. der k. bohm. Gesellsch. der Wissenschaften, vol. vii.
  • F. Kunstmann, in the Historisch-politische Blatter of Phillips and Görres, xxxviii. 701-719, 793-813 (Munich, 1859)
  • Luke Wadding
    Luke Wadding
    Luke Wadding was an Irish Franciscan friar and historian.-Life:Wadding was born in 16 October 1588 at Waterford to Walter Wadding of Waterford, a wealthy merchant, and his wife, Anastasia Lombard . Educated at the school of Mrs...

    , Annales minorum, A.D. 1338, vii. 210-219 (ed. of 1733, etc.)
  • Sbaralea
    Sbaralea
    Giovanni or Gian Giacinto Sbaraglia , otherwise Joannes Hyacinthus Sbaralea, was a historian of the Franciscan Order.Works include Supplementum et castigatio ad scriptores trium ordinum S. Francisi and...

    , Supplementum et castigatio ad scriptores trium ordinum S. Francisci a Waddingo, p. 436 (Rome, 1806)
  • John of Winterthur
    John of Winterthur
    John of Winterthur was a Swiss historian who wrote a chronicle of history up to 1348.He was born in Winterthur, in what is now Canton Zurich, Switzerland. He attended school in his native village from 1309 to 1315 and then joined the Franciscans...

    , in Eccard, Corpus historicum medii aevi, vol. i., 1852
  • Mosheim
    Johann Lorenz von Mosheim
    Johann Lorenz von Mosheim or Johann Lorenz Mosheim , German Lutheran church historian, was born at Lübeck on 9 October 1693 or 1694.- Biography :...

    , Historia Tartarorum ecclesiastica, part i., p. 115
  • Henry Yule
    Henry Yule
    Sir Henry Yule was a Scottish Orientalist.He was born at Inveresk, Scotland, near Edinburgh, the son of Major William Yule , translator of the Apothegms of Ali. Henry Yule was educated at Edinburgh, Addiscombe, and Chatham, and joined the Bengal Engineers in 1840...

    , Cathay and the Way Thither, ii. 309-394 (Hak. Soc., 1866)
  • Charles Raymond Beazley
    Charles Raymond Beazley
    Sir Charles Raymond Beazley was a British historian. He was Professor of History at the University of Birmingham from 1909-1933.He was educated at St Paul's School, King's College London and Balliol College, Oxford...

    , Dawn of Modern Geography, iii. 142, 180-181, 184-185, 215, 231, 236, 288-309 (1906).
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK