Sec. 66.  Grounds of Polo’s Pre-eminence among Mediaeval Travellers. 67.  His true claims to glory. 68.  His personal attributes seen but dimly. 69.  Absence of scientific notions. 70.  Map constructed on Polo’s data. 71.  Singular omissions of Polo in regard to China; historical inaccuracies. 72.  Was Polo’s Book materially affected by the Scribe Rusticiano? 73.  Marco’s reading embraced the Alexandrian Romances.  Examples. 74.  Injustice long done to Polo.  Singular Modern Example.

XII.  CONTEMPORARY RECOGNITION OF POLO AND HIS BOOK.

Sec. 75.  How far was there diffusion of his Book in his own day? 76.  Contemporary References to Polo.  T. de Cepoy; Pipino; Jacopo d’Acqui; Giov.  Villani. 77.  Pietro d’Abano; Jean le Long of Ypres. 78.  Curious borrowings from Polo in the Romance of Bauduin de Sebourc. 78 bis. Chaucer and Marco Polo.

XIII.  NATURE OF POLO’S INFLUENCE ON GEOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGE

Sec. 79.  Tardy operation, and causes thereof. 80.  General characteristics of Mediaeval Cosmography. 81.  Roger Bacon as a Geographer. 82.  Arab Geography. 83.  Marino Sanudo the Elder. 84.  The Catalan Map of 1375, the most complete mediaeval embodiment of Polo’s Geography. 85.  Fra Mauro’s Map.  Confusions in Cartography of the 16th Century from the endeavour to combine new and old information. 86.  Gradual disappearance of Polo’s nomenclature. 87.  Alleged introduction of Block-printed Books into Europe by Marco Polo in connexion with the fiction of the invention of Printing by Castaldi of Feltre. 88.  Frequent opportunities for such introduction in the Age following Polo’s.

XIV.  EXPLANATIONS REGARDING THE BASIS ADOPTED FOR THE PRESENT TRANSLATION

  Sec. 89.  Texts followed by Marsden and by Pauthier. 90.  Eclectic Formation
  of the English Text of this Translation. 91.  Mode of rendering Proper
  Names.

THE BOOK OF MARCO POLO.

PROLOGUE.

PRELIMINARY ADDRESS OF RUSTICIANO OF PISA

I.—­HOW THE TWO BROTHERS POLO SET FORTH FROM CONSTANTINOPLE TO TRAVERSE THE WORLD

  NOTES.—­1.  Chronology. 2.  “The Great Sea.”  The Port of Soldaia.

II.—­HOW THE TWO BROTHERS WENT ON BEYOND SOLDAIA

  NOTES.—­1.  Site and Ruins of Sarai. 2.  City of Bolghar. 3.  Alau Lord of
  the Levant (i.e. Hulaku). 4.  Ucaca on the Volga. 5.  River Tigeri.

III.—­HOW THE TWO BROTHERS, AFTER CROSSING A DESERT, CAME TO THE CITY OF BOCARA, AND FELL IN WITH CERTAIN ENVOYS THERE

  NOTES.—­1.  “Bocara a City of Persia.” 2.  The Great Kaan’s Envoys.

IV.—­HOW THE TWO BROTHERS TOOK THE ENVOYS’ COUNSEL, AND WENT TO THE COURT OF THE GREAT KAAN