The Travels of Marco Polo

by Marco Polo

Other authorsRonald Latham (Translator)
Paperback, 1986

Status

Available

Call number

915.0420924

Collection

Publication

Penguin Classics (1986), Paperback, 384 pages

Description

First published in 1931. None of the manuscripts which have come down to us represent the original form of Marco Polo's narrative, but it is clear that certain texts are closer to the lost original than others. Entrusted with the task of preparing a new Italian edition of Marco Polo, Benedetto discovered many unknown manuscripts. He carefully edited the most famous of the manuscripts (the Geographic text) and collated it with the other best known ones. · An invaluable index has been added to Aldo Ricci's of Benedetto's text, which includes all the identifications made in the Geographic tex

User reviews

LibraryThing member bzbooks
High noise to signal ratio here. Some interesting anecdotes and details nestled in lots of repetitive and unimportant minutia. For example, you learn that Kublai Kahn oversaw a system of crop insurance but also the specific religions in each local (this one has lots of idolaters and this one has
Show More
lots of idolaters and this one has lots of idolaters, etc.)
Show Less
LibraryThing member jcbrunner
Marco Polo's travel tales offer an interesting medieval trader's view of Asia. A large part of his tale is devoted not to China proper but to the extended landbound journey there. The style reminds of a hasty Baedecker entry with a peculiar category set. Marco Polo usually mentions the locals'
Show More
religions, their sexual mores (especially women offered for prostitution), strange animals and plants, trading goods and the relative price of silver and gold. Arriving in China during (and thanks to) the Mongol occupation, Marco Polo is in a unique position to witness both the Mongol rule and the underlying Chinese civilisation.

The early ethnographic description has lost nothing of their attraction since Christopher Columbus dreamed of the golden roofs of Zippangu. Having already read Italo Calvino's wonderful Invisible Cities, I appreciate the variations even more.
Show Less
LibraryThing member mwittkids
Polo's personal telling of his journey to the Far East and back.
LibraryThing member bookseller525
This was quite a fascinating read, even if the end notes slowed me down a bit, as well as the fact that there seems to be a bit of confusion about place names and customs, etc.. I'm not sure if the confusion is due to Marco Polo not having notes available when he told the story to Rustichello while
Show More
he was in prison, to the difficulties of translation or to fact that much of what he related was second-hand. Probably it was a combination of these factors, although more of the last.

I do regret the fact that my edition has no map, as it would have been fun to follow the route visually. My edition does contain an itinerary, though, so that made up for the lack somewhat.

I do wish that Marco Polo had dwelt more on his (and his father and uncle's) personal experiences while traveling, though. I can only imagine some of the hardships they faced.

On then other hand, I loved the descriptions of cities, palaces, customs, etc..

It certainly is an incredible read - so rich in Eastern history, culture, and lore.
Show Less
LibraryThing member soylentgreen23
Marco Polo did not, really, write this book - it was put together by a hack romantic writer by the name of Rustichello; however, we should be wary of diminishing Polo's contribution to this classical volume, since he, with his father and uncle, travelled further and more comprehensively than any
Show More
other man of his times. The modern equivalent would probably require a trip to Saturn or something.

However, just because it is a classic doesn't mean that 'The Travels' was well-written. There are many mistakes and repetitions in the work, and at times it becomes a slog working through accounts of peoples described as being 'idolators, subject to the great Khan's rule, who use paper money.' Really, there are pages of that stuff - every paragraph begins the same way.

That said, it is surprising, considering the nearly eight hundred years that have passed since the book was written, that it is as readable as it is.
Show Less
LibraryThing member NielsenGW
Polo's Travels are a good look at the exploration boom in 14th Century Europe. His forays into the Asian continent and his descriptions of the geography, peoples, and customs culminate in Columbus's Great Adventure in 1492. These stories are told in the third person, as Polo himself dictated them
Show More
to Rustichello to collect for a book. While his descriptions sometime border on the quick and simplistic, the sheer amount of locales as well as the many fantastical stories is indeed marvelous.
Show Less
LibraryThing member bigmoose
In some of the books I read this past year about European explorers discovering the world, etc., this work by Marco Polo was referenced as having been inspirational to many of them, such as Columbus and Vespucci. So, I wanted to experience it myself. However, the reading became too tedious and many
Show More
times just plain unbelievable. I skimmed the latter half of the book and had to stop. I suppose if I had read this in, say, 1450, I may have been inspired, too. But, in 2010, it was just disappointing.
Show Less
LibraryThing member isabelx
In the country are many wild elephants and rhinoceroses, which are much inferior in size to the elephant, but their feet are similar. Their hide resembles that of the buffalo. In the middle of their forehead they have a single horn; but with this weapon they do not injure those whom they attack,
Show More
employing only for this purpose their tongue, which is armed with long, sharp spines, and their knees or feet; their mode of assault being to trample upon the person, and then to lacerate him with the tongue. Their head is like that of the wild boar, and they carry it low towards the ground. They take delight in muddy pools and are filthy in their habits. They are not of that description of animals which suffer themselves to be taken by maidens, as our people suppose, but are quite of a contrary nature.

Marco Polo's tale of his many years of travels in the second half of the 13th century. Together with his father and uncle, Marco Polo travelled via Central Asia to far Cathay, where they spent many years at the court of the Tartar emperor Kublai-Khan, before eventually returning to Venice by sea, via Indonesia, India and Abyssinia.

Very interesting, although it tends to be a bit repetitive, with the descriptions of numerous towns and cities starting off with phrases along the lines of "The inhabitants are idolaters, subjects of the Great Khan and use his paper money".
Show Less
LibraryThing member amerynth
"Travels of Marco Polo" -- a ghostwritten account of Polo's travels around Asia-- was a really difficult book to get into. Many of the descriptions become tedious (countless people are described merely as idolators who eat flesh and drink milk...) The most interesting bits, which are sprinkled
Show More
throughout the book, focus on Tartar military history -- the conquests of Kublai Khan and his relatives. I also really enjoyed Polo's retelling of various legends (such as the diamond encrusted fish...) Overall, it was worth wading through the long descriptions to get to the good stuff, but it isn't a book I'd ever pick up for a second reading.
Show Less
LibraryThing member mattviews
In 1260, Niccolo Polo, the father of Marco Polo, and his brother Maffeo went across Black Sea in the hope of a profitable brisk of trade. So the brothers from Venice brought many dazzling jewels and set out from Constantinople by ship to Sudak and onward to Barku. A war broke out in Barka's Land
Show More
forced the brothers to travel the opposite direction from which they had come. After they had crossed the desert, they came to Bukhara (in Persia) and by fortuity met a Tartar (Mongol) envoy on the way back to the Great Khan in Khan-balik (Beijing). On learning that they were merchants from Venice whom had never been seen in the country, the envoy invited the brothers to accompany him to Khan-balik to see the Great Khan.
The Great Khan received the brothers honorably and welcomed them with such lavish hospitality after a year's journey. The curious Khan asked the brothers about their Emperors, about the government of their dominions, about the maintenance of justice, about the Pope and practices of the Roman Church, and about the Latin customs. He decided to send emissaries to the Pope, and asked the brothers to accompany on the mission with one of his barons. He entrusted them a letter written in the Turkish language for the Pope and asked him to send a hundred prominent men learned in the Christian religion to condemn idolaters' performances and shun devil. These well versed were to demonstrate for the idolaters their capability of doing diabolic arts but would not, because only evil spirits performed such enchantments.

As the brothers approached Egypt, they got wind of the Pope's death and so they would go to Venice and visit their families pending the election of a new Pope. During the homeward voyage, Niccolo learned that his wife had passed away and left behind a 15-years-old son Marco Polo, who authored this book. After staying in Venice for about 2 years, they left for Jerusalem to get the oil from the lamp at Christ's sepulcher which the Great Khan had requested for his deceased mother, who was a Christian. The Travels chronicles the three years' journey back to Khan-balik from Venice, via the ancient trade corridor now known as the Silk Road, and details all the peculiar sights and peoples along the present Iran, Iraq, India, Tibet, Pamir, Mongolia, and China. It also records the many regions Marco Polo traveled during his numerous emissaries for the Great Khan during his 17 years in China.

The Great Khan found favor with the then 21-years-old Marco Polo, who had acquired a remarkable knowledge of the letters and customs of the Tartars. Observing his wisdom and perspicacity, Khan sent him as his emissary to Kara-jang (Yunnan) in the far southwest, a mission Marco polo fulfilled brilliantly. When he went on his mission, being well aware of mistakes of previous emissaries, he paid close attention to all the novelties and curiosities that came his way, so that he may report them to the Great Khan. On his return Marco Polo would present himself before the Khan and first gave a full account of the business on which he had been sent. Then he went on to recount these remarkable things he sighted on the way. In The Travels, one will find detailed account of interesting, if not bizarre, customs and practices at which Marco Polo marveled, the very same stories that entertained the Khan who became well disposed to the young lad.

For 17 years, Kubilai (the sixth khan in the Yuan dynasty) was so well satisfied with Marco Polo's conduct of affairs that he held him in high esteem and showed him such favor as keeping him so near his person. He observed more of the peculiarities of China than any of his contemporaries, because he traveled more extensively in these outlandish regions, and not to mention he gave his mind more intently to observing and recording them. The Travels reflects the stupendous extent of his travel, as Marco Polo often bypasses many places that were of no particular interest to him.

Emissaries sent Marco Polo all over Manzi (southern China) and Cathay (northern China), rendering a vivid delineation of the native people, customs, cultures with amazing verisimilitude. For example, he marveled at the funeral customs in which the deads were provided with horses, slaves, camels, clothes in great abundance - all cut out of paper (a tradition that still prevails among Chinese) and burned alongside. For the Chinese believed the deads would have all the money in gold and all the necessities in the next world, alive in fresh and bone, and that all the honor they did while he was burning would be done to the deads correspondingly in the next world by their gods and idols.

Marco Polo also wrote a detailed account of India and its practices of diabolic arts and similar funeral customs. From other historical resources, he probably acquired his knowledge partly when he was there on the Khan's business, partly on his return trip with the bride for Arghun, and that he derived some of it from first-hand observation, some from reliable testimony, and some from mariners' charts. He also wrote about the life of Sakyamuni Buekhan, who was revered founder of the Buddhist religion, for he refused to be the successor of his king father but continued to lead a life of great virtue, chastity, and austerity.

In 1293, the Great Khan reposed such confidence in the brothers that he entrusted to their care not only the princess of Kokachin but also the daughter of the king of the Manzi, so that they might escort them to Arghun, Khan of all the Levant. The Polo brothers' adventure in the East thus completed on the note of a successful escort to Kaikhatu. The Travels, also known as The travels of Marco Polo, chronicled all wonders of Marco Polo's encounters in the East for 33 years.
Show Less
LibraryThing member xuebi
One of the first accounts of travelling to the Far East and of what Polo found there, The Travels are often repetitive and it is questionable how much of the account is embellished. Yet, Polo's account shaped European perceptions of China and it remains a useful window into how Europe related to
Show More
the rest of the world during the Middle Ages.
Show Less
LibraryThing member JVioland
Currently, this historical figure is an object of ridicule. He was when he lived. Curiously, there are some inconsistencies in his report, but overall I believe he has told the truth (mostly) of his adventures. A good tale none-the-less and worth the read.
LibraryThing member antiquary
Personally, I agree with the scholars who believe Polo actually did travel generally as described, though other scholars deny it.
It is important to remember this version is "as told to" a writer of popular romances whjo freely inserted stock romance material.
LibraryThing member LynnB
This book is a reprint of Marco Polo's own account of his travels. In the style of his day, it is largely a factual account of what he saw...there is little context and nothing of how he felt or hardships he personally experienced.

There is some thought that Marco Polo exaggerated his claims, but
Show More
the text nevertheless shows what was of interest to Polo and his readers. I found the introduction by Milton Rugoff and the afterward by Howard Mittelmark most enlightening they described a bit about Marco Polo's life and how he came to travel the world.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Garrison0550
Okay, so it's not an airport romance easy read, it does take a bit of a push to get through. But, hey, it's Marco Polo, it's got to be done. You'll be glad you did!
LibraryThing member MrsLee
Who doesn't know what the Travels of Marco Polo are about? Controversy about the veracity of this book abound, but I will leave that for the scholars to debate. For me, the readability and peek into the past is what matters. It is quite readable and indeed even engrossing in portions. Other
Show More
portions needed mighty skimming to keep me from quitting the book altogether.

Having a smartphone by your side is a wonderful way to read this. So many things sound utterly fantastic and as if they are part of the romanticism of the man Rustigielo who actually wrote the book while listening to Marco Polo, and yet, when you look into it with diligence, low and behold that thing does (or did) exist, or that custom was practiced and so on. Camelopard (giraffe) anyone? Or how about the descriptions of asbestos, a fabric which doesn't burn and is mined from the ground? This is full of delightful discoveries like that.

The illustrations from the Fourteenth century are quite comical in their representations of things like rhinoceros (pictured as a unicorn) and battles, and women dancing before an idol in India (fully gowned nuns with veils in the illustration). They make you stop and think though. Probably the artist had never seen or heard of such things before, so they had to pull from their own imagination what they would look like.

This is a book I am glad to have read, but don't expect it to be engrossing from cover to finish.
Show Less
LibraryThing member john257hopper
This is one of the most famous travel narratives in history, and probably the most famous from Medieval Europe. Its significance in opening up educated European minds to countries and cultures way outside their experience can hardly be overstated ("what really seems to have shocked Marco’s
Show More
audience was his detailed depiction of entire civilizations that were completely unknown to them. This was a world where express messengers sped letters by foot, horse and dog-sled across thousands of miles in a matter of days, and where banknotes were legal tender when paper was barely known in the West;") He re-opened up knowledge of Asia lost since before the rise of Islam and was the first Westerner to describe the existence of Japan. Of course, his account is also spiced with myths and legends about fabulous beasts such as gryphons and legendary figures such as the fabled eastern Christian ruler Prester John. Polo was inevitably affected by the assumptions of his time, for example in believing Christianity superior to all other belief systems, but nevertheless remains remarkably open to other cultures and experiences. I thought this was particularly evident in the chapter on India, one of his less well known journeys, which was less relatively less repetitive and censorious than some of the others. Despite the book's intrinsic significance and interest, it is very repetitive in places, with very similar or even near identical descriptions applied to numerous city states in what is now China, or the other territories in the vast and sprawling Mongol Empire (its founder Genghis Khan, the grandfather of Marco Polo's patron Kubhlai Khan, conquered more land than anyone else in history in founding the world's largest empire on a single land mass). He is very fond of stock phrases about idolators, paper money, subjects of the Great Khan, and cities having all the necessities of life in abundance. Rhetorical devices such as "What else shall I tell you?" and "Why make a long story of it?" pepper the narrative. All this said, we don't know exactly how much of this narrative was written by Polo himself, a combination of curious traveller and hard-headed businessman, or by his co-writer Rustichello of Pisa, a professional romance writer whom Polo met in prison in Genoa in the late 1290s, after Polo had been captured in the conflict between that city state and his home city of Venice. What we do know is that nearly all of the places Polo mentioned in his book have been identified and he undoubtedly undertook his travels as he said (some sceptics have occasionally doubted the fundamental truth of his account because of his errors or omissions). Rightly a landmark of European literature.
Show Less
LibraryThing member P_S_Patrick
Fact or fiction? As once the most well-travelled man in the world, who would contradict Marco Polo? When, 750 years or so ago, he told the West of his travels through a thousand lands and cities between Venice and the farthest East. Of an Oriental city with 12000 bridges, where dogs are eaten, and
Show More
paper used is money, of unicorns, enchanters, of Xanadu, and Kublai Khan who rules a third of the earth, exotic manners and customs, of deserts filled with spirits, and on an island in the Arabian sea colossal eagles that pick up elephants and dash them to the earth.
Part of the poetic license is excused by the nature of this work’s recording. While imprisoned, Marco Polo narrated his adventures to a famous travelling romance writer, Rusticello, who had the good fortune to be sharing the same prison, and jotted them down. So the stories were embellished along the way, and blame for any exaggeration can at least be shared.
As an historical record then it cannot all be taken at face value, however considering that there is no evidence of anyone from the West travelling as widely as Marco Polo did until about 100 years ago, this remains a unique document of considerable historical interest. Albeit one that must be interpreted with caution. For pure entertainment however, this is difficult to surpass as far as historical travel writings are concerned. There is also a lot of material of interest in terms of history, culture, anthropology, sociology, and politics. By reading this we see the many ways in which societies can be structured, and the many permutations, real or fictitious, that humans can create.
Show Less
LibraryThing member starbox
Phew, finished it! My first comment would be that I had the cheapo Wordsworth Classics version, with minimal notes, and had to have computer going whole time to reference the places and people mentioned (most place names have changed hugely since thew 1200s) If you're planning to read it, DO get a
Show More
better version!
It IS actually pretty interesting- to be transported into such an ancient, remote world by a European. In 3 (or in some versions 4) volumes, the reader is transported into the Polos' adventures.
Vol 1 starts with Marco's father and uncle taking off for a trading venture to Constantinople (leaving the pregnant wife of former in Venice)...and somehow just keeping going and ending up in Beijing with Kublai Khan. When they finally go home, the wife is dead and the unborn babe a 19 year old youth! They soon resume their travels with young Marco in tow. And here I'd have loved more info on the people involved- what was the motivation? Adventure, money (living gratis at the Great Khan's court)? Or missionary zeal? (The Khan wanted to learn more of the Church of Rome)? Vol 1 continues with short chapters on many places of Iran, Central Asia etc.
Vol 2 is given up to China, where they were based. Kublai Khan is treated with utter awe and respect; Marco is sent by him on various missions throughout the kingdom and continues the reports, many pretty samey and dull. Apparently Marco never actually got to many of the places included and relies on information from others.
Vol 3 takes us into SE Asia, Japan, Java, India, Zanzibar etc, as Marco is sent further afield. Those mongols surely did control,a ginormous realm!
And latter Vol 3(or Vol 4) focusses on battles between warring Mongol factions- uncle against nephew etc-through Turkey and beyond.
It's quite a read...interesting (somewhat) .
Show Less
LibraryThing member Alhickey1
A biography of the Venetian traveler whose trips throughout Asia and China gave the European world its first knowledge of the Far East.
This is the companion volume for Contemporaries of Marco Polo by the same publisher.
LibraryThing member kslade
Interesting book!
LibraryThing member mamzel
This book gives us the accounts of Marco Polo along with other writers of the time and modern interpretations as well. The pages are styled to resemble an antique medium but unfortunately the font is small and uncomfortable to read. The wonderful aspect is the inclusion of art from the period and
Show More
modern photographs of the areas described. Of particular interest are items from Le livre des merveilles du monde which is a collection of illustrations of people and animals. One modern map of China was totally irrelevant to the cities mentioned in that part of the book which puzzled me.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Ghost_Boy
MARCO?

...

...

...

POLO!

If I never watched the Netflix show, I'd probably have little interest in this book. While this book is interesting, it's boring.

With that said I found the background history more entertaining. I suggest you find a biography or a history book on this topic first. I made that
Show More
mistake. Or read the introduction. It's important to know that while Marco Polo get's full credit for this, it's pretty obvious he didn't fully write this all.

The best part of this and maybe the reason to read this book is when he starts talking about the Khans. It's interesting they didn't seem to mind Polo and Polo seemed to admire them and respect them. Unlike other explorers, all he was doing was observing and trading. He wasn't looking to convert, kill, or conquer people. However, I need to read more about Polo, because this is my impression after reading only this book.

Basically, yes this is a classic and yes this inspired others, but in my option it's not worth reading unless you are interested. Now to find other books about Marco Polo and the Khans.
Show Less

Language

Original language

Latin

Original publication date

1298: "Livres des merveilles du monde" (in Franco-Venetian)
1298
1579: First English translation by John Frampton
1903 (Yule-Cordier translation)

Physical description

384 p.; 7 inches

ISBN

0140440577 / 9780140440577

Other editions

Page: 1.0603 seconds