John, who was his eldest son and is the present Sire de
Cepoy,[10] after his Father's decease did have a copy made, and that
very first copy that was made of the Book after its being carried into
France he did present to his very dear and dread Lord Monseigneur de
Valois. Thereafter he gave copies of it to such of his friends as asked
for them.
"And the copy above-mentioned was presented by the said Sire Marc Pol to
the said Lord de Cepoy when the latter went to Venice, on the part of
Monseigneur de Valois and of Madame the Empress his wife, as Vicar
General for them both in all the Territories of the Empire of
Constantinople. And this happened in the year of the Incarnation of our
Lord Jesus Christ one thousand three hundred and seven, and in the month
of August."
Of the bearings of this memorandum on the literary history of Polo's Book
we shall speak in a following section.
[Sidenote: His marriage and his daughters. Marco as a merchant.]
46. When Marco married we have not been able to ascertain, but it was no
doubt early in the 14th century, for in 1324, we find that he had two
married daughters besides one unmarried.
