The Tartar Relation (Latin: Hystoria Tartarorum, "History of the Tartars") is an ethnographic report on the Mongol Empire composed by a certain C. de Bridia in Latin in 1247. It is one of the most detailed accounts of the history and customs of the Mongols to appear in Europe around that time.
The Relation is one of several reports produced by the Franciscan mission dispatched by Pope Innocent IV to the courts of Batu Khan and Güyük Khan in 1245. This mission was led by Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, who was accompanied by Benedict of Poland and the Bohemians Ceslaus and Stephen. [1] [2] During their return journey through Europe, Carpine wrote that they were obliged to hand over drafts of their official report to the curious. [2] The official report by Carpine is known as the Ystoria Mongalorum . In October 1247, Benedict also dictated an account known as the De itinere Fratrum Minorum ad Tartaros. [2]
The circumstances of the genesis of the Tartar Relation are unclear, although the date of its completion is known precisely: 30 July 1247. [1] [3] The author, C. de Bridia, is not otherwise known and his first name is initialized in the manuscripts. [3] He describes himself modestly as "least among the Franciscans". [1] He is generally thought to have been Polish, and his surname may indicate that he came from Brzeg in Poland. [4]
Marian Plezia believes he was one of the members of the embassy who stayed at the court of Batu and did not go on to Güyük. In this case, the work is partially based on his own experiences and partially on the reports of his colleagues. [1] [2] George D. Painter, on the other hand, argued that de Bridia wrote the account based on a lecture given by Benedict of Poland, probably in Germany, since the manuscript tradition of the text is associated with the Upper Rhineland. [1] Benedict's own De itinere was written in Cologne. [2] Tadeusz Bieńkowski argues for its composition in Wrocław or Kraków, [1] while others have suggested Prague. [5] The friars did travel through Poland on their return journey, and Benedict had probably composed a draft of his own report by then. [3] Gregory Guzman argues that Benedict must have given lectures in his native Polish, which de Bridia translated into Latin. [5]
Some parts of the Relation are certainly borrowed from the Ystoria. [5]
The Tartar Relation is known from two manuscripts, both also containing the Speculum historiale of Vincent of Beauvais. The earlier dates to 1338–1340 and the later to about 1440. The latter was first brought to public attention in 1965 because it had been bound with the Vinland map, a modern forgery. It is part of the Beinecke collection at Yale University Library. Unlike the map, the Relation was generally accepted by scholars as authentic, although there were dissenters. In 2006, an earlier copy of the text in the Lucerne Central and University Library was brought to public attention (having been catalogued as early as 1959). [6]
The Lucerne manuscript (Latin MS P Msc 13.2°) is written in Gothic script. [7] The scribe, Hugo de Tennach, was employed by Peter of Bebelnhein, a teacher in the cathedral of Basel and the prior of Saint Martin's Church in Colmar. He wrote out not only the Tartar Relation but all four volumes of the Speculum. These four manuscripts belonged to the abbey of Pairis until in 1420 they were pawned to the abbey of Saint Urban for 110 Rhenish guilders. The Relation is bound in the fourth volume, although it may once have been part of the third. [8] The Yale manuscript (Beinecke MS 350A) is also associated with the Upper Rhineland and was probably made at Basel. The Lucerne manuscript is all parchment, while the Yale is a mix of parchment and paper. [9] The Yale manuscript is written in bastard cursive. [7]
Colophons in the Lucerne manuscript give the title of the work as Hystoria Tartarorum and specify that it is not part of the Speculum historiale, [10] which contains material on the Mongols derived from the Ystoria Mongalorum and the lost Historia Tartarorum of Simon of Saint-Quentin. [11] The Yale manuscript may be a copy of the Lucerne, but it is more likely they both derive from the same exemplar. They certainly belong to the same manuscript family. [11] The title Tartar Relation, coined by Painter for his 1965 edition, has stuck. [3]
The text of the Relation is almost identical at parts with the Ystoria Mongalorum, but it is not simply a version of Carpine's text. It differs in tone and purpose. [12] Its portrayal of the Mongols (and the Jews) is far more negative. It also lacks the strategic purpose of the Ystoria, preferring to describe the Mongols as divine punishment on Christians. Religious references are pervasive. [13] Gregory Werner proposes that the Relation is "an eschatological reinterpretation of Carpine's account [and] a complement to [it]". [14]
The Relation is dedicated to Boguslaus, "minister of the [Franciscan] friars who live in Bohemia and Poland", and the author claims to be writing in obedience to Boguslaus' authority, suggesting that the text was commissioned. [12] It is an ethnographic report, although it also contains legendary material borrowed from the mirabilia (wonders) genre, [1] perhaps because, as a non-traveler, de Bridia considered them missing from the accounts of the travelers. [15] It reports the existence of dog-face people, ox-footed people and other monstrous races typical of the genre. Another people, the Parossits, appear to be the actual Permians. The Samoyeds are also mentioned. [16] The magnetic island from the legend of Sinbad the Sailor is also incorporated. It is called Narayrgen, which is said to come from the Tatar for "Men of the Sun". [17]
Compared to the Ystoria and Benedict's De itinere, the Relation lacks information on the friars' travels. It is more focused on Mongol history, customs and plans. [5] [3] For its time, its account of Mongol history, genealogies and methods of warfare are among the most detailed. It covers the Mongol invasion of Europe from the 1220s through the 1240s, correctly crediting the invasion to Jochi's command rather than Batu's, as all other western sources do. His account of Genghis Khan's rise, however, is marred by legendary material, such as his encounter with Gog and Magog, inspired by the Alexander Romance . [3]
In places, the text of the Relation uses the correct spelling Tataros rather than the corrupt form Tartaros common in Europe. [18] It records that the Mongols called the pope the "great pope throughout the West" (magnum papam per totum occidentem). [19] Like Friar Julian and the Tractatus de ortu Tartarorum , the Relation portrays the Mongols as operating on three distinct fronts: against the Sultanate of Egypt, against the Sultanate of Rum (Anatolia) and against the Hungarians and Poles. [20]
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The Mongol Empire invaded and conquered much of Kievan Rus' in the mid-13th century, sacking numerous cities including the largest such as Kiev and Chernigov. The siege of Kiev in 1240 by the Mongols is generally held to mark the end of Kievan Rus', which had been undergoing fragmentation. Many other principalities and urban centres in the northwest and southwest escaped complete destruction or suffered little to no damage from the Mongol invasion, including Galicia–Volhynia, Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, Polotsk, Vitebsk, and probably Rostov and Uglich.
The Vinland Map was claimed to be a 15th-century mappa mundi with unique information about Norse exploration of North America but is now known to be a 20th-century forgery. The map first came to light in 1957 and was acquired by Yale University. It became well known due to the publicity campaign which accompanied its revelation to the public as a "genuine" pre-Columbian map in 1965. In addition to showing Africa, Asia and Europe, the map depicts a landmass south-west of Greenland in the Atlantic labelled as Vinland.
The Battle of Legnica, also known as the Battle of Liegnitz or Battle of Wahlstatt, was fought between the Mongol Empire and combined European forces that took place at the village of Legnickie Pole (Wahlstatt), approximately 10 kilometres (6 mi) southeast of the city of Legnica in the Duchy of Silesia on 9 April 1241.
Batu Khan was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Khan. His ulus ruled over the Kievan Rus', Volga Bulgaria, Cumania, and the Caucasus for around 250 years.
Giovanni da Pian del CarpineOFM was a medieval Italian diplomat, Catholic archbishop, explorer and one of the first Europeans to enter the court of the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. He was the author of the earliest important Western account of northern and Central Asia, Rus', and other regions of the Mongol dominion. He served as the Primate of Serbia, based in Antivari, from 1247 to 1252.
Güyük Khan was the third Khagan of the Mongol Empire, the eldest son of Ögedei Khan and a grandson of Genghis Khan. He reigned from 1246 to 1248. He started his military career by participating in the conquest of Eastern Xia and then later in the invasion of Europe. When his father died, he was enthroned as Khagan in 1246. During his almost two year reign, he reversed some of his mother's unpopular edicts and ordered an empire-wide census; he also held some authority in Eastern Europe, appointing Andrey II as the grand prince of Vladimir and giving the princely title of Kiev to Alexander Nevsky.
William of Rubruck or Guillaume de Rubrouck was a Flemish Franciscan missionary and explorer.
Benedict of Poland was a Polish Franciscan friar, traveler, explorer, and interpreter.
Simon of Saint-Quentin was a Dominican friar and diplomat who accompanied Ascelin of Lombardia on an embassy which Pope Innocent IV sent to the Mongols in 1245. Simon’s account of the mission, in its original form, is lost; but a large section has been preserved in Vincent of Beauvais’ Speculum Historiale, where nineteen chapters are expressly said to be ex libello fratris Simonis. The embassy of Ascelin and Simon proceeded to the camp of Baiju at Sitiens in Armenia, lying between the Aras River and Lake Sevan, fifty-nine days' journey from Acre.
Ystoria Mongalorum is a report, compiled by Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, of his trip to the Mongol Empire. Written in the 1240s, it is the oldest European account of the Mongols. Giovanni was the first European to try to chronicle Mongol history.
Ascelin of Lombardy, also known as Nicolas Ascelin or Ascelin of Cremona, was a 13th-century Dominican friar whom Pope Innocent IV sent as an envoy to the Mongols in March 1245. Ascelin met with the Mongol ruler Baiju, and then returned to Europe with a message and Mongol envoys in 1248.
Hayton of Corycus was a medieval Armenian nobleman, monk and historiographer.
Dei patris immensa was a letter written by Pope Innocent IV to the Mongols. It was written on March 5, 1245, was an exposition of the Christian faith, and urged Mongols to accept baptism. It was intended to be carried by the Franciscan friar and papal envoy Laurentius of Portugal. However, nothing more is known about Laurentius' embassy, and it is possible that he never actually left.
Lawrence of Portugal was a Franciscan friar and an envoy sent by Pope Innocent IV to the Mongols in 1245.
Roman Mikhailovich the Old was a Rus' prince of the Olgovichi clan. He was Prince of Bryansk, and probably also Prince of Chernigov, although most primary sources only mention him as Prince of Bryansk.
The siege of Kiev by the Mongols took place between 28 November and 6 December 1240, and resulted in a Mongol victory. It was a heavy morale and military blow to the Principality of Galicia–Volhynia, which was forced to submit to Mongol suzerainty, and allowed Batu Khan to proceed westward into Central Europe.
Polish–Mongolian literary relations are the interrelationships between Polish and Mongolian literature that date to the late Middle Ages. There are also links between Polish and Mongolian philology and literary studies. Their first manifestations were reports about Mongols in the Polish chronicles and in the relations of medieval Polish travelers to Asia. Knowledge about Mongolia in Poland became more vivid in the 19th century, when many Polish adventurers, prisoners in Siberia, learned people and businessmen of the part of Poland under Russian rule engaged heavily in Siberian, Mongolian, and Chinese affairs. Interest in Polish matters in Mongolia is smaller and dates mainly to the 20th century. There are also literary works about Mongolia in the Polish literature and a few translations of Polish literature into Mongolian, or Mongolian literature into Polish.
Roger of Torre Maggiore or Master Roger was an Italian prelate active in the Kingdom of Hungary in the middle of the 13th century. He was archbishop of Split in Dalmatia from 1249 until his death. His Epistle to the Sorrowful Lament upon the Destruction of the Kingdom of Hungary by the Tatars is a unique and important source of the Mongol invasion of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1241 and 1242.
Stephen of Bohemia was a Franciscan friar and a member of the Papal mission to the Mongol Empire in 1245–1247.
The Tractatus de ortu Tartarorum is a Latin treatise on the Mongols (Tartars), consisting of answers given by a Russian bishop named Peter to questions posed by Pope Innocent IV and the College of Cardinals in late 1244. The Tractatus originally circulated among the clergy assembled for the First Council of Lyon in 1245. It had a profound effect on the pope, convincing him to send embassies to the Mongols to negotiate peace.
