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* Here is an important passage in which Vincent of Beauvais explained his sources for his entire descriptions of the Mongols and their conquests. One source is the extant report of John of Plano Carpini. The other source is an evidently longer but sadly lost report by Simon of Saint-Quentin. Jean Richard helpfully highlighted these two passages and placed them as a sort of preface to his edition of the text on which the following is based. We follow his lead as well with regard to moving these statements to form a prefatory statement before the translation. See: Jean Richard (ed.), Histoire des Tartares (Paris: Paul Geuthner, 1965), 21-22.
1 In 1245, the Dominican and Franciscan missions to the Mongols were commissioned by Pope Innocent IV. 2 The Order of Preachers, a more formal term for the Dominicans, is used in the text. 3 Vincent of Beauvais has added material from the book which Simon of Saint-Quentin provided to him - as he did with Carpini's material on the Mongols. This was evidently the encyclopedist's historiographical modus operandi - mixing his materials together but lifting sentences from them in largely verbatim form.
4 The Order of Friars Minor, a more formal term for the Franciscans, is used in the text.
5 Benedict the Pole also left his own account of the Carpini embassy to Mongolia (1245-1247) which he took part in - it provides many additional and useful details. See: Anastasius van den Wyngaert, Sinica Franciscana, 135-143; Christopher Dawson, The Mongol Mission, 79-84.
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Note for readers: [Throughout the entire text of this translation, passages that appear in brackets and italics in the text are those passages which Vincent of Beauvais took from John of Plano Carpini’s book.] Passages that are not in italics and not in brackets are taken from Simon of Saint-Quentin’s now lost book. Introduction [Excerpts from Book XXXII of the Speculum historiale in which Vincent of Beauvais explains his sources, the respective books of John of Plano Carpini and Simon of Saint-Quentin, and his method of using them] XXXII, 2. The First Mission of the Dominican and Franciscan Friars to the Tartars XXXII, 25. Excerpt Book XXX [The chapters in this book of the Speculum historiale are a careful mixing of Saint-Quentin’s and Carpini’s statements to create an ethnographic study of the Mongols, focused on their customs, character, military practices, and equipment. As well, it tells of the rise of Chinggis Khan and his early conquests.] XXX, 69. The murder of King David of India by the Tartars XXX, 70. Simeon Rabban Ata, the Nestorian monk XXX, 71. The exterior qualities of the Tartars XXX, 73. Their laws and statutes XXX, 74. Their pride and impiety XXX, 75. Their greed and avarice XXX, 76. Their lack of restraint and excess XXX, 77. Their cruelty and deceit XXX, 78. Their diet XXX, 79. Their clothing XXX, 81. How they tend to invade territories XXX 82. How they besiege fortresses XXX, 83. How they behave toward captives and those that surrender XXX, 84. About their slaves XXX, 85. Their women XXX, 86. Their death and burial XXX, 87. The nations which the Tartars subjugated after the killing of their lord XXX, 88. How they drove the Khwarazmians, destroying them, into exile XXX, 89. The destruction of the Persians Book XXXI [The relevant chapters and material in this book of the Speculum historiale are almost entirely based on Simon of Saint-Quentin’s work. They describe the situation of the Mongol conquest in the Caucasus and Anatolia, and local reactions to it. As such, there is much material on the local conditions and customs in the lands of the Seljuks and their subjects in Greater Armenia, as well as neighbors such as Lesser Armenia, Georgia, and other smaller states. It is based on the firsthand information that Simon and his party received as they journeyed through these regions before finally encountering the Mongols. The itinerary is not certain, but it is quite likely the Dominican mission went northward from Acre to Lesser Armenia, then made their way across Seljuk Anatolia northeastward through Greater Armenia. They stopped in Georgia and another Dominican who had lived there for seven years joined them. They then went southward, stayed with the Mongols during their embassy. They then went south to Tabriz, Mosul, and back to Acre, the final stage from the Mongols taking 59 days. Their route can be confidently deduced from a variety of information. The journey from the Mongol army camp in Armenia to Acre was a stated two months, and yet Simon of Saint-Quentin, who joined the embassy from Acre was on the journey for about two years, and Guichardus, who joined the group in Georgia, was on the journey for five months (Book XXXII, 52). The wealth of knowledge in Simon’s report even on local sites and lore points to a prolonged stay even in Seljuk territory over the two years (Jackson 2005, 92-93). Also, at their departure from Baiju’s camp in late July 1247, the Dominicans were attempting to rush back to the Acre and board a ship to Europe before the weather closed the sea route in October (Richard 2005, 76). We would add that it makes little sense intuitively that Simon and his companions engaged in a leisurely journey through the larger region directly after obtaining harsh ultimatums threatening destruction from the Mongol leadership in response to papal letters. For a fuller discussion of the itinerary, see Book XXXII, 50. n. 1] XXXI, 95. The destruction of the Georgians (from the History of the Tartars) XXXI, 96. The chrism of the Georgians and their errors XXXI, 97. The devastation of the Armenians XXXI, 98. The errors of the Armenians XXXI, 139. Of the tyranny of Baba Rasul and the rampage among the Turks XXXI, 140. On the destruction of him and his followers XXXI, 141. Of the long war on the Turks waged by the Tartars XXXI, 142. The fame and magnitude of the kingdom of Turkey XXXI, 143. Their wealth XXXI, 144. Of the magnates subjected to his (the sultan's) lordship XXXI, 145. On the establishment of the sultan there by the Franks XXXI, 146. The steadfastness of the Franks against the Tartars XXXI, 147. The destruction of certain Turkish cities XXXI, 149. The devastation of Hungary and Poland by Batu, commander of the Tartars (from the History of the Tartars) XXXI, 150. The devastation of the kingdom of the Turks XXXI, 151. Of Coterinus who subsequently intended to become sultan Book XXXII [The relevant chapters in this book of the Speculum historiale are once again based almost entirely on Simon of Saint-Quentin’s account. They initially describe the dynastic and political confusion in the Seljuk state after the Mongols subjugated it, as well as the response of Lesser Armenia. They also provide some remarkable details on Mongol armies and the coronation of a khan. The rest of the chapters are entirely devoted to the meeting between the Mongols and the Dominicans in Armenia, appended by edicts from the Mongol commander, Baiju, and the Great Khan Guyuk. Remarkably, eight chapters describe only the first day of the embassy when the meeting between Baiju’s courtiers and the Dominican papal emissaries got off to a rocky start, as both the Mongols as the Dominicans had competing worldviews and world missions. Here we have a vivid, almost excruciating, account of medieval diplomacy at work.] XXXII, 26. The ascension of Rukn al-Din to sultan of Turkey XXXII, 27. The rampage of Wazir the tyrant XXXII, 28. The confirmation of a pact between the Turks and Tartars XXXII, 29. How the king of Lesser Armenia submitted to the Tartars XXXII, 32. The ceremony that was the enthronement (Friar Simon) XXXII, 34. Of the names of him and the princes; the army (Friar Simon) XXXII, 40. How the Preaching Friars were admitted to the prince of the Tartars, Baiju Noyan (from the little book of Friar Simon) XXXII, 41. How the Tartars asked them for gifts and about the arrival of the Franks XXXII, 42. How the friars refused to worship Baiju Noyan XXXII, 43. How the friars urged Christianity on the Tartars XXXII, 44. How they debated a death sentence on the friars XXXII, 45. How they argued with each other about the method of adoration XXXII, 46. How they refused to go to the khan XXXII, 47. How the letters of the lord pope were translated into the Tartar language XXXII, 48. How the Tartars detained the friars among them for a long time with deceptions and mockery XXXII, 49. How they were compelled to wait for Eljigidei XXXII, 50. How they went back after his arrival XXXII, 51. The letter that was sent from the prince of the Tartars to the pope XXXII, 52. The letter that was sent from their emperor to the very same prince XXXII, 53. The demonstration among the Turks of certain miracles by the sign of the cross |
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