Giovanni da Pian del Carpini, or John of Plano Carpini or Joannes de Plano (c. 1180-1252) was one of the first Europeans to enter the court of the Great Khan of Mongol Empire and the author of the earliest important Western work on northern and central Asia, Russian Europe, and other regions of the Tatar dominion. Events Alfonso X of Castile, the Wise (el Sabio) Stockholm is founded by Birger Jarl (cf 1854) The widespread usage of torture by the Medieval Inquisition is introduced. ... Khan (sometimes spelled as xan, han) is a title meaning ruler in Mongolian and Turkish. ... The Mongol Empire (1206–1368) was the largest contiguous land empire in world history (with its only rival in total extent being the British Empire and possibly the Soviet Union). ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ... The term Tatar may refer to A member of the Tatars, Kazan Tatars, Crimean Tatars Tatar language, Crimean Tatar language Native people of Crimea, Tatarstan See also: Turkic peoples, Turkic languages. ...

Life before the journey

He appears to have been a native of Umbria, where a place formerly called Pian del Carpine, but now Piano della Magione, stands near Perugia, on the road to Cortona. He was one of the companions and disciples of his countryman St Francis of Assisi, and from sundry indications can hardly have been younger than the latter. Joannes bore a high repute in the order, and took a foremost part in the propagation of its teaching in northern Europe, holding successively the offices of warden (custos) in Saxony, and of provincial (minister) of Germany, and afterwards of Spain, perhaps of Barbary, and of Cologne. Umbria is a mountainous region of central Italy, in the valley of the river Tiber. ... Perugia (population 150,000) is a city in the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the Tiber river, and the capital of the province of Perugia. ... André Rieu Concert in Piazza Della Republica, Cortona Cortona is a small town in Tuscany, Italy. ... Saint Francis of Assisi (born in Assisi, Italy, 1181; died there on October 4, 1226) founded the Franciscan Order or Friars Minor. He is the patron saint of animals, merchants, Catholic action and the environment. ... With an area of 18,413 km² and a population of 4. ... For other meanings, see Barbary Coast (disambiguation). ... Map of Germany showing Cologne Cologne (German: Köln [kœln]  listen?) is, in terms of population, the fourth largest city in Germany and largest city of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. ...

He was in the last post at the time of the great Mongol invasion of eastern Europe and of the disastrous battle of Liegnitz (April 9, 1241), which threatened to cast European Christendom beneath under leadership of the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, Ogedei Khan. The dread of the Tatars was, however, still on men's mind four years later, when Pope Innocent IV despatched the first formal Catholic mission to the Mongols (1245), partly to protest against the latters' invasion of Christian lands, partly to gain trustworthy information regarding Mongol armies and their purposes; behind there may have lurked the beginnings of a policy much developed in after-time - that of opening diplomatic intercourse with a power whose alliance might be invaluable against Islam. The Mongol Invasion of Russia was an invasion of the medieval state of Kievan Rus by a large army of nomadic Mongols, starting in 1223. ... The Battle of Legnica (often called the Battle of Liegnitz, or, occasionally, of Leignitz ) took place in 1241 near the city of Legnica between the invading Mongols or Tartars of Golden Horde and the Poles under Henry II the Pious, Duke of Poland (Silesia), supported by the feudal nobility including... Khan (sometimes spelled as xan, han) is a title meaning ruler in Mongolian and Turkish. ... The Mongol Empire (1206–1368) was the largest contiguous land empire in world history (with its only rival in total extent being the British Empire and possibly the Soviet Union). ... Ögedei, (also Ögädäi, Ögedäi, etc. ... Innocent IV, né Sinibaldo de Fieschi ( 1180/90 - December 7, 1254), pope from 1243 to 1254, belonged to one of the first families of Genoa, and, educated at Parma and Bologna, passed for one of the best canonists of his time. ... Honorary guard of Mongolia. ... Honorary guard of Mongolia. ... Islam  listen? (Arabic: al-islām) the submission to God is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions, and the worlds second largest religion. ...

Carpini's travels

At the head of this mission the pope placed Friar Joannes, at this time certainly not far from sixty-five years of age; and to his discretion nearly everything in the accomplishment of the mission seems to have been left. He was provided with a letter from the Pope to the Great Khan, becoming a papal legate. Carpini started from Lyons, where the pope then resided, on Easter day (April 16, 1245), accompanied by another friar, one Stephen of Bohemia, who broke down at Kanev near Kiev, and was left behind. After seeking counsel of an old friend, Wenceslaus, king of Bohemia, Carpini was joined at Wroclaw by another Minorite, Benedict the Pole, appointed to act as interpreter. A Papal legate is a representative of the Pope to the nations. ... Lyons), see Lyons (disambiguation). ... Easter is the most important holiday of the Christian year, observed in March, April, or May each year to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead after his death by crucifixion (see Good Friday), which Christians believe happened at about this time of year around AD 30-33. ... Kaniv (Polish: Kaniów) is a town on the Dnipro River in Ukraine where the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko is buried. ... Motto: Oblast Municipality Municipal government City council (Київська Міська рада) Mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko Area 800 km² Population  - city  - urban  - density 2,642,486 100% 3,299/km² Founded City rights around 5th century 1487 Latitude Longitude 50°27′ N 30°30′ E Area code +044 Car plates  ? Twin towns Athenes... Wenceslaus I Premyslid (Czech Václav) (c. ... Bohemia Bohemia (Czech: Čechy; German: Böhmen) is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western and middle thirds of the Czech Republic. ... Wrocław, ( [:vrɔʦwaf]), German Breslau, Czech Vratislav, Latin Wratislavia; many Polish documents in English use the spelling Wroclaw) is the capital of Silesia in southwestern Poland, situated on the Oder River (Odra). ... A minorite is a Franciscan friar, so-called because they believe they are humbler than members of other orders. ...

The onward journey lay by Kiev; the Tatar posts were entered at Kanev; and thence the route ran across the Nepere to the Don and Volga (Carpini is the first Westerner to give us the modern name of these rivers). Upon the last-named stood the Ordu or camp of Batu, the famous conqueror of eastern Europe, and the supreme Mongol commander on the western frontiers of the empire, as well as one of the most senior princes of the house of Genghis Khan. Here the envoys, with their presents, had to pass between two fires, before being presented to the prince (beginning of April 1246). This article is about the river. ... This article is about the river in Western Russia. ... For other meanings of the word Volga see Volga (disambiguation) Волга Length 3,690 km Elevation of the source 225 m Average discharge  ? m³/s Area watershed 1. ... Batu Khan (c. ... For the German pop band, see Dschinghis Khan Genghis Khan (1155/1162/1167–August 18, 1227) (Cyrillic: Чингис Хаан), (also spelled as Chingis Khan, Jenghis Khan, etc. ... Events End of the reign of Emperor Go-Saga of Japan. ...

Batu ordered them to proceed onward to the court of the supreme khan in Mongolia; and on Easter day once more (April 8,1246) they started on the second and most formidable part of their journey so ill, writes the legate, that we could scarcely sit a horse; and throughout all that Lent our food had been nought but millet with salt and water, and with only snow melted in a kettle for drink. Their bodies were tightly bandaged to enable them to endure the excessive fatigue of this enormous ride, which led them across the Jaec or Ural River, and north of the Caspian and the Aral to the Jaxartes or Syr Dana (quidam fiuvius magnus cujus nomen ignoramus), and the Mahommedan cities which then stood on its banks; then along the shores of the Dzungarian lakes; and so forward, till, on the feast of St Mary Magdalene (July 22), they reached at last the imperial camp called Sira Orda (i.e. Yellow Pavilion), near Karakorum and the Orkhon river, this stout-hearted old man having thus ridden something like 3000 km in 106 days. Length 2428 km Elevation of the source - m Average discharge - m³/s Area watershed - km² Origin Russia Mouth Caspian Sea Basin countries Russia, Kazakhstan The Ural River (Russian: Урал, Urál [formerly: Яик, Yaik River], Kazakh: Жайық, Zhayyq) flows through Russia and Kazakhstan. ... Caspian Sea viewed from orbit The Caspian Sea or Mazandaran Sea is a landlocked sea between Asia and Europe (European Russia). ... The Aral Sea has now shriveled to well under half of the area it covered fifty years ago. ... Syr Darya (also known as Syrdarya or Sirdaryo) is a river in Central Asia. ... Dzungaria (also Junggar, Jungaria, Sungaria, Zungaria) is a physical region, covering approximately 777,000 km², within the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in northwestern China. ... Harhorin (Хархорин), or Khara Khorum in Classical Mongolian, is a town in Övörhangay aymag, Mongolia. ... Orhon aymag (Орхон аймаг) is one of the 21 aymags (provinces) of Mongolia. ...

Since the death of Ogedei Khan, the imperial authority had been in interregnum. Kuyuk, Ogedei's eldest son, had now been designated to the throne; his formal election in a great Kurultai, or diet of the tribes, took place while the friars were at Sira Orda, along with 3000 to 4000 envoys and deputies from all parts of Asia and eastern Europe, bearing homage, tribute and presents. They afterwards, on the 24th of August, witnessed the formal enthronement at another camp in the vicinity called the Golden Ordu, after which they were presented to the emperor. Ögedei, (also Ögädäi, Ögedäi, etc. ... Güyük (c. ... Kurultai (Tatar: Qorıltay) is a political and military council of ancient Mongol chiefs and khan. ...

The great khan Güyük refused the invitation to become Christian and demanded that the Pope and rulers of Europe should come to him and swear allegiance to him. It was not till November that they got their dismissal, bearing a letter to the pope in Mongol, Arabic and Latin, which was little else than a brief imperious assertion of the khan's office as the scourge of God. Then commenced their long winter journey homeward; often they had to lie on the bare snow, or on the ground scraped bare of snow with the traveller's foot. They reached Kiev on the 10th of June 1247. There, and on their further journey, the Slavonic Christians welcomed them as risen from the dead, with festive hospitality. Crossing the Rhine at Cologne, they found the pope still at Lyons, and there delivered their report and the khan's letter. The term Christian means belonging to Christ and is derived from the Greek noun Χριστός Khristós which means anointed one, which is itself a translation of the Hebrew word Moshiach (Hebrew: משיח, also written Messiah), (and in Arabic it is pronounced Maseeh مسيح). ... The Rhine canyon (Ruinaulta) in Graubünden in Switzerland Length 1,320 km Elevation of the source Vorderrhein: approx. ... Map of Germany showing Cologne Cologne (German: Köln [kœln]  listen?) is, in terms of population, the fourth largest city in Germany and largest city of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. ... Lyons), see Lyons (disambiguation). ...

Not long afterwards Friar Joannes was rewarded with the archbishopric of Antivari in Dalmatia, and was sent as legate to St Louis. The date of his death may be fixed, with the help of the Franciscan Martyrology and other authorities, as the 1st of August 1252; hence it is clear that John did not long survive the hardships of his journey. Caffes near the coast Center of the city The oldest olive in the world, Stari Bar Bar is coastal city in Serbia and Montenegro on the Adriatic Sea. ... Dalmatia (Croatian Dalmacija, Italian Dalmazia, Serbian Далмација) is a region of Croatia on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, spreading between the island of Pag in the northwest and the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. ... The Gateway Arch, shown here behind the Old Courthouse, is the most recognizable part of the St. ... A martyrology is a catalogue or list of martyrs, or, more exactly, of saints, arranged in the order of their anniversaries. ... Events Alfonso X of Castile, the Wise (el Sabio) Stockholm is founded by Birger Jarl (cf 1854) The widespread usage of torture by the Medieval Inquisition is introduced. ...

His books

He recorded the information that he had collected in a work, variously entitled in the manuscripts Historia Mongalorum quos nos Tartaros appellamus, and Liber Tartarorum, or Tatarorum. This treatise is divided into eight ample chapters on the country, climate, manners, religion, character, history, policy and tactics of the Tatars, and on the best way of opposing them, followed by single (ninth) chapter on the regions passed through. The book thus answers to its title.

The "Tatar Relation"

A draft for the Historia, perhaps based on Carpini's lectures, appeared on the art market in the 1960s and was purchased by Yale University. This Tatar or Tartar Relation describes Carpini's journey including some detail that did not make it into the finished work. The manuscript is perhaps most known because it was bound with a manuscript of Vincent of Bauvais' popular encyclopedia Speculum historiale and a spurious map on vellum, the notorious "Vinland map". This article is about the institution of higher learning in the United States. ... the Vinland map The Vinland map is purportedly a 15th century map of the world, redrawn from a 13th century original. ...

Contents of Historia Mongolorum

Like some other famous medieval itineraries it shows an entire absence of a traveller's or author's egotism, and contains, even in the last chapter, scarcely any personal narrative. Carpini was not only an old man when he went cheerfully upon this mission, but was, as we know from accidental evidence in the annals of his order, a fat and heavy man (vir gravis et corpulentus), insomuch that during his preachings in Germany he was fain, contrary to Franciscan precedent, to ride a donkey. Yet not a word approaching more nearly to complaint than those which we have quoted above appears in his narrative. In philosophy, two different theories are labeled egoism: psychological egoism is the view that one is always motivated to act in ones own best interests, while ethical egoism is the view that one ought to always act that way. ...

His book, both as to personal and geographical detail, is inferior to that written a few years later by a younger brother of the same Order, Louis IX's most noteworthy envoy to the Mongols, William of Rubruck or Rubruquis. But in spite of these defects, due partly to his conception of his task, and in spite of the credulity with which he incorporates the Oriental tales, sometimes of childish absurdity, from which Rubruquis is so free, Friar Joannes' Historia is in many ways the chief literary memorial of European overland expansion before Marco Polo. Among Carpini's more innovative recommendations was the development of light cavalry to combat Mongol tactics. William of Rubruck (also William of Rubruk, Guillaume de Rubrouck, Willielmus de Rubruquis, born ca. ... Marco Polo, after a painting in Badia, Rome Marco Polo (15 September 1254 - 8 January 1324) was a Venetian trader and explorer who, together with his father and uncle, was one of the first Westerners to travel the Silk Road to China (which he called Cathay) and visited the Great...

It first revealed the Mongol world to Catholic Christendom; its account of Tatar manners, customs and history is perhaps the best treatment of the subject by any Christian writer of the middle ages. We may especially notice, moreover, its four name-lists of the nations conquered by the Mongols; of the nations which had up to this time (1245-1247) successfully resisted; of the Mongol princes; and of the witnesses to the truth of his narrative, including various merchants trading in Kiev whom he had met. All these catalogues, unrivalled in Western medieval literature, are of the utmost historical value.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...

External link

• "First Europeans travelled to Khan's court"
• Full text of Carpini's manuscript, in Latin and English