William of Rubruck (also William of Rubruk, Willem van Ruysbroeck, Guillaume de Rubrouck, Willielmus de Rubruquis, born c. 1220 in Rubrouck, northern France, died c. 1293) was a Flemish Franciscan missionary and explorer. His account is one of the masterpieces of medieval geographical literature comparable to that of Marco Polo. // The world in 1220 Middle Ages in Europe Fifth Crusade (1217-1221) Events Mongols first invade Abbasid caliphate - Bukhara and Samarkand taken End of the Kara-Khitan Khanate, destroyed by Genghis Khans Mongolian cavalry Dominican Order approved by Pope Honorius III Frederick II crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope... Roubrouck is a village on the river Yser in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region (département Nord), France. ... Events May 20 - King Sancho IV of Castile creates the Study of General Schools of Alcala The Minoresses (Franciscan nuns) are first introduced into England Births Deaths Categories: 1293 ... The geographical region and former county of Flanders contains not only the two Belgian provinces but also the present-day French département of Nord, in parts of which there is still a Flemish-speaking minority, and the southern part of the Dutch province of Zeeland known as Zeeuws-Vlaanderen... The Order of Friars Minor and other Franciscan movements are disciples of Saint Francis of Assisi. ... Marco Polo (September 15, 1254 – January 8, 1324) was a Venetian trader and explorer who gained fame for his worldwide travels, recorded in the book Il Milione (The Million or The Travels of Marco Polo). ...

Mission

William accompanied Louis IX on the Seventh Crusade in 1248. In May, 1253, on Louis' orders, he set out from Constantinople on a missionary journey to convert the Tartars. With William's party were Bartolomeo da Cremona, an attendant called Gosset, and an interpreter named Homo Dei (Abdullah). William of Rubruck's was the fourth European mission to the Mongols. Before him went Giovanni da Pian del Carpine in 1245, Ascelin in 1247 and André de Longjumeau in 1248. The King was encouraged to send another mission by reports of the presence of Nestorian Christians at the Mongolian court. Louis IX or Saint Louis (April 25, 1215 – August 25, 1270) was King of France from 1226 until his death. ... The Seventh Crusade was a crusade led by Louis IX of France from 1248 to 1254. ... For broader historical context, see 1240s and 13th century. ... For broader historical context, see 1250s and 13th century. ... Map of Constantinople. ... Tatars or Tartars is a collective name applied to the Turkic-speaking people of Europe and Asia. ... John of Plano Carpinis famous journey—his route is shown in Dark blue (railroad track style). ... Events Rebellion against king Sancho II of Portugal in favor of his brother Alphonso. ... Ascelin was a Papal Ambassador to the Tartars who failed to bring them into an alliance against Islam. ... Events Shams ad-Din disappears resulting in Jalal Uddin Rumi writing 30,000 verses of poetry about his disappearance. ... Andrew of Longjumeau (also Longumeau, Lonjumel, etc. ... For broader historical context, see 1240s and 13th century. ... The term Nestorianism is eponymous, even though the person who lent his name to it always denied the associated belief. ...

Travels

William crossed the Black Sea, traversed the Crimea and then continued eastward; nine days after crossing the Don he met Sartaq Khan, ruler of the Kipchak Khanate. The Khan sent William on to his father, Batu Khan, at Sarai near the Volga. Batu refused conversion and sent the ambassadors on to the great Mongol Mangu Khan. They reached Karakorum at Easter, 1254. After residing there for some time, they returned home, without having achieved their goal, reaching Cyprus in the spring of 1255. NASA satellite image of the Black Sea Map of the Black Sea The Black Sea is an inland sea between southeastern Europe and Anatolia that is actually a distant arm of the Atlantic Ocean by way of the Mediterranean Sea. ... Motto: Процветание в единстве - Prosperity in unity Anthem: Нивы и горы твои волшебны, Родина - Your fields and mounts are wonderful, Motherland Location of Crimea (red) on the map of Ukraine. ... The Don (Дон) is one of the major rivers of Russia. ... Saqtaq Khan (also spelt as Sartak or Sartach, died 1256) was the son of Batu Khan and Empress Dowager Khanum Boraqcin of Hwarizim Sahi (Khanate of Kipchak). ... The Golden Horde (also known as Kipchak or Qipchaq Khanate) was a Tatar state established in present day Russia by unification of Blue Horde and White Horde around 1378. ... Batu Khan (Russian: , Ukrainian: ) (c. ... Sarai Batu (Old Sarai, Sarai-al-Maqrus) was a capital city of the Golden Horde. ... 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. ... Honorary guard of Mongolia. ... Möngke Khan (1208-1259, also transliterated as Mongke, Mongka, Möngka, Mangu) was the fourth khan of the Mongol Empire. ... The Karakorum palace (also Ka-la-kun-lun, Khara-khorin, Kharakhorum, Khara Khorum in Classical Mongolian) was an ancient capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, although for only about 30 years. ... For broader historical context, see 1250s and 13th century. ... Events Königsberg was founded Births Emperor Albert I of Germany, in July Deaths Monarchs/Presidents Aragon - James I King of Aragon and count of Barcelona (reigned from 1213 to 1276) Categories: 1255 ...

Account

On his return, William presented to the king a very clear and precise report, entitled

Itinerarium fratris Willielmi de Rubruquis de ordine fratrum Minorum, Galli, Anno gratia 1253 ad partes Orientales.

In this report, he described the peculiarities of China as well as many geographical observations, making it the first scientific description of central Asia. There were also anthropological observations such as his surprise at the presence of Islam in Inner Asia.^[1] Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ... The term China proper is usually used to refer to the historical heartlands of China, and to make a contrast between these heartlands and frontier regions of Outer China (Inner Asia). ...

William also answered a long-standing question proving that the Caspian was an inland sea and did not flow into the Arctic Ocean; although earlier Scandinavian explorers had doubtless already known this, he was the first to report it. The Caspian Sea (Russian: Каспийское море; Kazakh: Каспий теңізі; Turkmen: Hazar deňizi; Azeri: XÉ™zÉ™r dÉ™nizi; Persian: دریای خزر Daryā-ye Khazar) is the largest lake on Earth by area[2], with a surface area of 371,000 square kilometers (143,244 sq mi) and a volume of 78,200 cubic kilometers (18...

William's report is divided into 40 chapters. Chapters 1 - 10 relate general observations about the Mongols and their customs. Chapters 11 - 40 give an account of the course and the events of William's voyage.

The report of William of Rubruck is one of the great masterpieces of medieval geographical literature comparable to that of Marco Polo, although they are very different. William was a good observer, and an excellent writer. He asked many questions along the way and did not take folk tale and fable as truth. Because he wrote in Latin his report was not as widely read or known as Marco Polo who wrote in the vernacular.

Table of Contents

1. The Province of Gazaria

2. The Tartars and their houses

3. Their beds and their drinking pots

4. Their drinks, and how they provoke one another to drinking

5. Their food

6. How they make their drink called Cosmos (See: kumis)

7. The beasts which they eat, their garments, and their manner of hunting

8. How they cut their hair, and how their women adorn themselves

9. The duties of the Tartarian women, their labours and their marriages

10. Execution of justice and judgement, deaths and burials

11. Our first entrance among the Tartars, and of their ingratitude

12. The court of Scatai, and how the Christians drink no Cosmos

13. How the Alanians came unto us on Pentecost

14. Saracen which said that he would be baptized; certain men which seemed to be lepers

15. Our afflictions, and the Comanians' manner of burial

16. The dominion of Sartach and his subjects

17. The court of Sartach

18. How we were charged to go to Batu the Father of Sartach

19. How Sartach, and Mangu Khan, and Ken Khan do reverence to Christians

20. Russians, Hungarians and Alanians; the Caspian Sea

21. The court of Batu, and how we were entertained by him

22. Our journey towards the court of Mangu Khan

23. The river of Iaic; divers regions or nations

24. Of the hunger, and thirst, and other miseries, which we sustained in our journey

25. How Ban was put to death; concerning the habitation of the Teutonic men

26. How the Nestorians, Saracens, and Idolaters are joined together

27. Their Temples and idols; how they behave themselves in worshipping their false gods

28. Divers nations; a people which were wont to eat their own parents

29. Our journey to the court of Mangu Khan

30. Mangu's court and the first audience

31. At Mangu's court

32. Mangu's palace at Karakorum; the feast of Easter

33. William's sickness and the death of the Nestorian priest

34. Karakorum and the family of Mangu

35. William seeks permission to return

36. The last audience with Mangu

37. The soothsayers

38. The Khan's festivals; the letter to be sent to King Louis

39. The journey to the court of Batu in Hircania

40. The journey from Hircania to Tripoli

Gazaria is the name given to the Genoese colonies in the Crimea and around the Black Sea from the mid 1200s to the late 1400s. ... Tatars (Tatar: Tatarlar/Татарлар), sometimes spelled Tartar (more about the name), is a collective name applied to the Turkic speaking people of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. ... In the West, Kumis has been touted for its health benefits, as in this 1877 book also naming it Milk Champagne. Kumis (also spelled kumiss, koumiss, kymys; called airag in Mongolian cuisine) is a fermented milk drink traditionally made from the milk of horses. ... The Alans, Alani, Alauni or Halani were an Iranian nomadic group among the Sarmatian people, warlike nomadic pastoralists of varied backgrounds, who spoke an Iranian language and to a large extent shared a common culture. ... Pentecost (Greek: [], pentekostÄ“ [hÄ“mera], the fiftieth day) is the fiftieth day after Easter Sunday, which corresponds to the tenth day after Ascension Thursday. ... In older Western historical literature, the Saracens were the people of the Saracen Empire, another name for the Arab Caliphate under the rule of the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Cumans, also called as Polovtsy, (Russian Половцы, from old Slavic for pale yellowish) was the European name for the Western Kipchaks, a nomadic West Turkic tribe living on the north of the Black Sea along the Volga. ... Batu Khan (Russian: , Ukrainian: ) (c. ... Möngke Khan (1208-1259, also transliterated as Mongke, Mongka, Möngka, Mangu) was the fourth khan of the Mongol Empire. ... The Caspian Sea (Russian: Каспийское море; Kazakh: Каспий теңізі; Turkmen: Hazar deňizi; Azeri: XÉ™zÉ™r dÉ™nizi; Persian: دریای خزر Daryā-ye Khazar) is the largest lake on Earth by area[2], with a surface area of 371,000 square kilometers (143,244 sq mi) and a volume of 78,200 cubic kilometers (18... Nestorianism is the doctrine that Jesus exists as two persons, the man Jesus and the divine Son of God, or Logos, rather than as a unified person. ... In older Western historical literature, the Saracens were the people of the Saracen Empire, another name for the Arab Caliphate under the rule of the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties. ... The Karakorum palace (also Ka-la-kun-lun, Khara-khorin, Kharakhorum, Khara Khorum in Classical Mongolian) was an ancient capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, although for only about 30 years. ... Tripoli (Arabic: طرابلس Tarābulus) is the capital city of Libya. ...

Footnotes

See also

• Exploration of Asia

This article attempts to list every significant event in the history of the European exploration of Asia. ...

References

Rubruck's account was partly edited and translated into English by Richard Hakluyt in 1598-1600. The full account has been edited by the Société de Géographie in the "Recueil de voyages et de mémoires", IV (Paris, 1893), English translation by Rockhill, "The Journey of William of Rubruk to the Eastern Parts" (London, 1900, ISBN 0-8115-0327-5). The Hakluyt Society released an updated translation in 1990 (see below). Richard Hakluyt (~1552 - November 23, 1616) was an English writer, famous for his Voyages which provided William Shakespeare and others with material. ... Events January 7 - Boris Godunov seizes the throne of Russia following the death of his brother-in-law, Tsar Feodor I. April 13 - Edict of Nantes - Henry IV of France grants French Huguenots equal rights with Catholics. ... 1600 was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1893 (MDCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1900 (MCM) was an exceptional common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar, but a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. ... The Hakluyt Society is a society named after Richard Hakluyt. ...

• "William Rubruck" from the Catholic Encyclopedia.
• The iournal of frier William de Rubruquis ed. Richard Hakluyt, University of Adelaide library. From the 1598 Hakluyt translation. Includes original Latin.
• William of Rubruck's Account of the Mongols, Silk Road Seattle, University of Washington. From the 1900 Rockhill translation.
• Map of Rubruck's Route, Silk Road Seattle, University of Washington
• Rubrouck Museum
• William of Rubruck, The Mission of Friar William of Rubruck: His Journey to the Court of the Great Khan Mongke, 1253-1255 (Works Issued by the Hakluyt Society,), translated by Peter Jackson, David Morgan, 1990, with commentary and extensive notes by two noted Mongol specialists make it the preferred edition for those who wish full scholarly annotation. ISBN 0-904180-29-8