Prester John 5: The Mongol Priest-King

Ong Khan, sometimes identified as Prester John, in Marco Polo’s Le Livre des Merveilles - Wikimedia

The Mongols, their conquests, and the travellers who went to see them were all going to necessitate some changes to the Prester John narrative. This episode is all about those changes.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here.

Sources:

• Prester John: The Legend and its Sources, compiled and translated by Keagan Brewer. Taylor & Francis, 2019.

• Sir John Mandeville: The Book of Marvels and Travels, translated by Anthony Bale. Oxford University Press, 2012.

• Aigle, Denise. The Mongol Empire Between Myth and Reality. Brill, 2014.

• Jackson, Peter. The Mongols and the West:1221-1410. Routledge, 2018.

• Rachewiltz, Igor de. Prester John and Europe's Discovery of East Asia. Australian National University Press, 1972.

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To See the Mongols 5: The Great Debate

Friar William goes through stone-cracking cold, frozen toes, and the threat of demons to reach the camp of Mongke Khan. There, his interpreter causes him more problems, and he falls into the bizarre religious life of the camp before being drawn into a debate between Muslims, Buddhists, and Christians before the khan. Thanks for listening!

(MP3)

If you like what you hear, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

 Sources: 

• Carpini, Giovanni. The Story of the Mongols: Whom we Call the Tartars, translated by Erik Hildinger. Branden Books, 1996.

• The Mission of Friar William of Rubruck, translated by Peter Jackson. The Hakluyt Society, 1990.

• The Mongol Mission: Narratives and Letters of the Franciscan Missionaries in Mongolia and China in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries, edited by Christopher Dawson. Sheed & Ward, 1955.

• Gladysz, Mikolaj. The Forgotten Crusaders: Poland and the Crusader Movement in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries, translated by Paul Barford. Brill, 2012.

• Jackson, Peter. The Mongols and the West: 1221-1410. Pearson Longman, 2005.

• Morgan, David. The Mongols. Blackwell, 1986.

• Rachewiltz, Igor de. Papal Envoys to the Great Khans. Faber & Faber, 1971.

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To See the Mongols 2: A New Khan

Giovanni Carpine returns, to the podcast, and to Lyon. This episode we hear about his journey to the kurultai, the great council which raised Guyuk as the new great khan, his diplomatic dealings with Guyuk, and the news and views he brought home with him. Thanks for listening!

(MP3)

If you like what you hear, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

• Carpini, Giovanni. The Story of the Mongols: Whom we Call the Tartars, translated by Erik Hildinger. Branden Books, 1996.

• The Mongol Mission: Narratives and Letters of the Franciscan Missionaries in Mongolia and China in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries, edited by Christopher Dawson. Sheed & Ward, 1955.

• The Secret History of the Mongols, translated by Urgunge Onon. RoutledgeCurzon, 2001.

• Jackson, Peter. The Mongols and the West: 1221-1410. Pearson Longman, 2005.

• Jackson, Peter. "Medieval Christendom's Encounter with the Alien." In Travellers, Intellectuals, and the World Beyond Medieval Europe, edited by James Muldoon, 347-369. Routledge, 2016.

• Marshall, Robert. Storm from the East: From Genghis Khan to Khubilai Khan. University of California Press, 1993.

• Morgan, David. The Mongols. Blackwell, 1986.

• Rachewiltz, Igor de. Papal Envoys to the Great Khans. Faber & Faber, 1971.

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