Rabban Bar Sauma 3: Barbazoma, Tartarus, Orientalis

This is Rabban Bar Sauma part 3 of 4: the story of the Mongol envoy's diplomatic efforts in Paris, Bordeaux, and Rome, his experience as a pilgrim to the sites and saints of Italy and France, and his attempts to improve the Ilkhanid cause against the Mamluks. (MP3)

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

Sources:

• The Monks of Kublai Khan, translated by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge. The Religious Tract Society, 1928.

• Epstein, Steven. Genoa and the Genoese, 958-1528. University of North Carolina Press, 2001.

• Jackson, Peter. The Mongols and the Islamic World. Yale University Press, 2017.

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

• Kolbas, Judith. The Mongols in Iran: Chingiz Khan to Uljaytu 1220–1309. Routledge, 2006.

• Lower, Michael. The Tunis Crusade of 1270: A Mediterranean History. Oxford University Press, 2018.  

• Nicol, Donald M. Byzantium and Venice: A Study in Diplomatic and Cultural Relations. Cambridge University Press, 1992. 

• Prestwich, Michael. Edward I. Yale University Press, 2008.

• Rossabi, Morris. Voyager from Xanadu: Rabban Sauma and the First Journey from China to the West. Kodansha International, 1992.

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Rabban Bar Sauma 2: Ilkhanid Infighting, Ilkhanid Envoy

In this episode, our monkish friends attempt to navigate the violent waters of Ilkhanid Mongol politics, and Bar Sauma himself embarks on another long journey, this time heading for Rome.(MP3)

Sources:

• The Monks of Kublai Khan, translated by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge. The Religious Tract Society, 1928.

• Aigle, Denise. The Mongol Empire Between Myth and Reality: Studies in Anthropological History. Brill Academic Pub, 2014.

• Benjamin, Sandra. Sicily: Three Thousand Years of Human History. Steerforth Press, 2010.

• Grousset, René. The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia, translated by Naomi Walford. Rutgers, 2002. 

• Jackson, Peter. The Mongols and the Islamic World. Yale University Press, 2017.

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

• Kolbas, Judith. The Mongols in Iran: Chingiz Khan to Uljaytu 1220–1309. Routledge, 2006.

• Pfeiffer, Judith, "Reflections on a 'Double Rapprochement': Conversion to Islam among the Mongol Elite during the Early Ilkhanate," in Beyond the Legacy of Genghis Khan, edited by Linda Komaroff. Brill Academic Pub, 2006.

• Rose, Susan. Medieval Naval Warfare, 1000-1500. Routledge, 2002.

• Rossabi, Morris. Voyager from Xanadu: Rabban Sauma and the First Journey from China to the West. Kodansha International, 1992.

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Rabban Bar Sauma 1: The Monks of Kublai Khan

First in a series on Rabban Bar Sauma, covering his life from miracle-baby through cave-bound monk and on to pilgrim, with ambassador to the cities of western Europe not far behind. This episode takes us from Yuan China to Jerusalem, or perhaps not quite that far. (MP3)

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

Sources:  

• The History of Yaballaha III Nestorian Patriarch and of his Vicar Bar Sauma Mongol Ambassador to the Frankish Courts at the End of the Thirteenth Century, translated by James A. Montgomery. Columbia University Press, 1927.

• The Monks of Kublai Khan, translated by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge. The Religious Tract Society, 1928.

• Nestorian Tablet: Eulogizing the Propagation of the Illustrious Religion in China, with a Preface, composed by a priest of the Syriac Church, 781 A.D. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/eastasia/781nestorian.asp 

• Jackson, Peter. The Mongols and the Islamic World. Yale University Press, 2017.

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

• Keevak, Michael. The Story of a Stele: China's Nestorian Monument and Its Reception in the West, 1625-1916. Hong Kong University Press, 2010.

• Rossabi, Morris. Khublai Khan: His Life and Times. University of California Press, 1988. 

• Rossabi, Morris. Voyager from Xanadu: Rabban Sauma and the First Journey from China to the West. Kodansha International, 1992.

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Geoffrey's Crusade 5: Boniface, Baldwin, and the Bulgarians

All good things must end, and even those not so good. With this episode, we bring the Fourth Crusade to something of an end. It's Baldwin and Boniface's rivalry. It's the king of the Bulgarians. It's the long spiral.

If you like what you hear, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.
I'm on Twitter @circus_human and my website is www.humancircuspodcast.com.

Sources:  

• Geoffrey de Villehardouin. Memoirs or Chronicle of The Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople, translated by Frank T. Marzials. J.M. Dent, 1908.

• Three Old French Chronicles Of The Crusades: The History Of The Holy War; The History Of Them That Took Constantinople; The Chronicle Of Reims, translated by Edward Noble Stone. University Of Washington Publications In The Social Sciences, 1939.

• O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniates, translated by Harry J. Magoulias. Wayne State University Press, 1984.

• Madden, Thomas F. Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.

• Madden, Thomas F. Venice: A New History. Viking, 2012.

• Norwich, John Julius. Byzantium: The Decline and Fall. Viking, 1995.

• Queller, Donald E. The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople, 1201-1204. Leicester University Press, 1978.

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Halloween Special: Medieval Ghost Stories

This episode is a Halloween special full of medieval ghost, revenant, and Wild Hunt stories from the 11th and 12th centuries, featuring Orderic Vitalis, Thietmar of Merseburg, William of Newburgh, and, briefly representing the 6th-century, Gregory of Tours. Enjoy! (MP3)

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

Sources:

• Joynes, Andrew. Medieval Ghost Stories: An Anthology of Miracles, Marvels and Prodigies. Boydell Press, 2006.

• Schmitt, Jean-Claude. Ghosts in the Middle Ages: The Living and the Dead in Medieval Society. The University of Chicago Press, 1998.

• Shinners, John, ed. Medieval Popular Religion, 1000-1500 (2nd Edition). Broadview Press, 2007.

• Vitalis, Ordericus. The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy. Bohn, 1854. 

• Warner, David A, ed. Ottonian Germany: The Chronicon of Thietmar of Merseburg. Manchester University Press, 2001. 

• Widukind of Corvey. Deeds of the Saxons. Catholic University of America Press, 2014.

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Geoffrey's Crusade 4: Simon and the Seven Thieves

This one will be a bit of a side step in the Fourth Crusade story. This is a story of furta sacra, or sacred theft, following the fall of Constantinople, and of one theft in particular. This the story of Saint Simon and how he came to Venice. (MP3)

The medieval Christmas card Kickstarter which I mentioned can be found here.

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

Sources:  

• Geoffrey de Villehardouin. Memoirs or Chronicle of The Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople, translated by Frank T. Marzials. J.M. Dent, 1908.

• Three Old French Chronicles Of The Crusades: The History Of The Holy War; The History Of Them That Took Constantinople; The Chronicle Of Reims, translated by Edward Noble Stone. University Of Washington Publications In The Social Sciences, 1939.

• O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniates, translated by Harry J. Magoulias. Wayne State University Press, 1984.

• Madden, Thomas F. Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.

• Madden, Thomas F. Venice: A New History. Viking, 2012.

• Norwich, John Julius. Byzantium: The Decline and Fall. Viking, 1995.

• Perry, David M. Sacred Plunder: Venice and the Aftermath of the Fourth Crusade. Penn State Press, 2015.

• Perry, David M. “The Translatio Symonensis and the Seven Thieves: A Venetian Fourth Crusade Furta Sacra Narrative and the Looting of Constantinople."

• Queller, Donald E. The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople, 1201-1204.  Leicester University Press, 1978.

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Geoffrey's Crusade 3: One Alexius After Another

This is part three of my Fourth Crusade series. It's got emperors, fires, and first hand accounts of the taking of Constantinople. Hope you enjoy it! (MP3)

My Medieval Christmas Kickstarter can be found here!

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

Sources:  

• Geoffrey de Villehardouin. Memoirs or Chronicle of The Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople, translated by Frank T. Marzials. J.M. Dent, 1908.

• Three Old French Chronicles Of The Crusades: The History Of The Holy War; The History Of Them That Took Constantinople; The Chronicle Of Reims, translated by Edward Noble Stone. University Of Washington Publications In The Social Sciences, 1939.

• O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniates, translated by Harry J. Magoulias. Wayne State University Press, 1984.

• Madden, Thomas F. Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.

• Madden, Thomas F. Venice: A New History. Viking, 2012.

• Norwich, John Julius. Byzantium: The Decline and Fall. Viking, 1995.

• Queller, Donald E. The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople, 1201-1204.  Leicester University Press, 1978.

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Geoffrey's Crusade 2: Imperial Virtues

The Fourth Crusade continues, with the assault on Zara, a long winter in the city, and one reasonable occasion to go to Constantinople.

(MP3)

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

Sources:

• Geoffrey de Villehardouin. Memoirs or Chronicle of The Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople, translated by Frank T. Marzials. J.M. Dent, 1908.

• Three Old French Chronicles Of The Crusades: The History Of The Holy War; The History Of Them That Took Constantinople; The Chronicle Of Reims, translated by Edward Noble Stone. University Of Washington Publications In The Social Sciences, 1939.

• O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniates, translated by Harry J. Magoulias. Wayne State University Press, 1984.

• Madden, Thomas F. Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.

• Madden, Thomas F. Venice: A New History. Viking, 2012.

• Queller, Donald E. The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople, 1201-1204. Leicester University Press, 1978.

Geoffrey's Crusade 1: Venetian Appointments

Using the the chronicles of two participants in the Fourth Crusade - the one a common knight (Robert de Clari), the other a leader involved in decision making and the important work of an envoy (Geoffrey de Villehardouin) - we follow the growth of the Fourth Crusade through the elevation of Pope Innocent III, the negotiation with the Venetians, the ruinous agreement that was the result, and all the way up to the gates of Zara.

(MP3)

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

Sources:

• Geoffrey de Villehardouin. Memoirs or Chronicle of The Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople, translated by Frank T. Marzials. J.M. Dent, 1908.

• Three Old French Chronicles Of The Crusades: The History Of The Holy War; The History Of Them That Took Constantinople; The Chronicle Of Reims, translated by Edward Noble Stone. University Of Washington Publications In The Social Sciences, 1939.

• Madden, Thomas F. Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.

• Madden, Thomas F. Venice: A New History. Viking, 2012.

• Queller, Donald E. The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople, 1201-1204. Leicester University Press, 1978.

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Marco and the Polos 7: Marco Polo Comes Home

On this, the last episode of my Marco Polo series, Marco comes home to Venice. I touch on a bit of the history of the book (or books), The Travels of Marco Polo, and we follow Marco as he disentangles himself from the stifling embrace of Kublai Khan, encounters many things new and strange to him on the coast of India, and finds himself mixing with Ilkhan royalty. Thanks for listening!

(MP3)

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

Sources:

• The Travels of Marco Polo, the Venetian, translated by William Marsden, edited by Thomas Wright. George Bell & Sons, 1907.

• The Travels of Marco Polo: The Complete Yule-Cordier Edition, translated by Henry Yule and revised by Henri Cordier. Courier Corporation, 1993.

• Bergreen, Laurence. Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu. Vintage Books, 2008.

• Lambton, Ann K. S. Continuity and Change in Medieval Persia. The Persian Heritage Foundation, 1988.

• Larner, John. Marco Polo and the Discovery of the World. Yale University Press, 1999.

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