Of the Book by the Faithful may merit an
abounding Grace from the Lord; whether that in contemplating the variety,
beauty, and vastness of God's Creation, as herein displayed in His
marvellous works, they may be led to bow in adoring wonder before His
Power and Wisdom; or, that, in considering the depths of blindness and
impurity in which the Gentile Nations are involved, they may be
constrained at once to render thanks to God Who hath deigned to call His
faithful people out of such perilous darkness into His marvellous Light,
and to pray for the illumination of the hearts of the Heathen. Hereby,
also, the sloth of undevout Christians may be put to shame, when they see
how much more ready the nations of the unbelievers are to worship their
Idols, than are many of those who have been marked with Christ's Token to
adore the True God. Moreover, the hearts of some members of the religious
orders may be moved to strive for the diffusion of the Christian Faith,
and by Divine Aid to carry the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, forgotten
among so vast multitudes, to those blinded nations, among whom the harvest
is indeed so great, and the labourers so few.
"But lest the inexperienced Reader should regard as beyond belief the many
strange and unheard of things that are related in sundry passages of this
Book, let all know MESSER MARCO POLO, the narrator of these marvels, to be
a most respectable, veracious, and devout person, of most honourable
character, and receiving such good testimony from all his acquaintance,
that his many virtues claim entire belief for that which he relates. His
Father, Messer Nicolo, a man of the highest respectability, used to relate
all these things in the same manner. And his uncle, Messer Maffeo, who is
spoken of in the Book, a man of ripe wisdom and piety, in familiar
conversation with his Confessor when on his death-bed, maintained
unflinchingly that the whole of the contents of this Book were true.
"Wherefore I have, with a safer conscience, undertaken the labour of this
Translation, for the entertainment of my Readers, and to the praise of Our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator of all things visible and invisible."
APPENDIX F. - Note of MSS. of Marco Polo so far as they are known.
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION OF MSS.
Latin French Italian German Irish Total
GREAT BRITAIN
and IRELAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Cambridge 3 ... ... ... ...
Dublin 1 ... ... ... ...
Lismore Castle ... ... ... ... 1
Glasgow 2 ... ... ... ...
London 4 2 1 ... ...
Oxford 1 1 ... ... ...
FRANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Paris 4 7 1 ... ...
LUXEMBOURG . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
BELGIUM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Brussels ... 1 ... ... ...
ITALY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Venice 4 ... 2 ... ...
Ferrara ... ... 1 ... ...
Milan 1 ... ... ... ...
Modena 1 ... ... ... ...
Florence 1 ... 8 ... ...
Lucca .... ... 1 ... ...
Siena ... ... 1 ... ...
Rome 4 1 4 ... ...
SPAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Escurial 1 ... ... ... ...
Toledo 1 ... 1 ... ...
SWITZERLAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Bern ... 1 1 ... ...
Vevey ... 1 ... ... ...
GERMANY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Munich 4 ... ... 4 ...
Wolfenbuettel 2 ... ... ... ...
Berlin 1 ... ... 1 ...
Wuerzburg 1 ... ... ... ...
Giessen 1 ... ... ... ...
Jena 1 ... ... ... ...
Mentz 1 ... ... ... ...
AUSTRIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Prague 1 ... ... ... ...
Vienna ... ... ... 1 ...
SWEDEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Stockholm ... 2 ... ... ...
41 16 21 6 1 85
I add Lists of the Miniatures in two of the finer MSS. as noted from
examination.
LIST OF MINIATURES IN THE GREAT VOLUME OF THE FRENCH NATIONAL LIBRARY,
COMMONLY KNOWN AS 'LE LIVRE DES MERVEILLES' (Fr. 2810) WHICH BELONG TO THE
BOOK OF MARCO POLO.
1. Frontispiece. "Comment les deux freres se partirent de Constantinople
pour cherchier du monde."
2. Conversation with the Ambassadors at Bokhara (fol. 2).
3. The Brothers before the G. Kaan (f. 2 v.).
4. The Kaan giving them Letters (f. 3).
5. " " " " a Golden Tablet (f. 3 v.).
6. The Second Departure from Venice (f. 4).
7. The Polos before Pope Gregory (f. 4 v.)
8. The two elder Polos before the Kaan presenting Book and Cross (f. 5).
9. The Polos demand conge (f. 6).
10. (Subject obscure) (f. 7).
11. Georgians, and Convent of St. Leonard (f. 8).
12. The Calif shut up in his Treasury (f. 9).
13. The Calif ordering Christians to move the Mountain (f. 10).
14. Miracle of the Mountain (God is seen pushing it) (f. 10 v.)
15. The three Kings en route (f. 11 v.).
16. " " " adoring the Fire (f. 12).
17. (Subject obscure - Travelling in Persia?) (f. 12 v.)
18. Cattle of Kerman (f. 13 v.).
19. Ship from India arriving at Hormus (f. 14 v.).
20. Travelling in a Wood, with Wild Beasts (f. 15 v.).
21. The Old Man's Paradise (f. 16 v.).
22. The Old Man administering the Potion (f. 17).
23. Hunting Porcupines in Badashan (f. 18).
24. Digging for Rubies in Badashan (f. 18).
25. Kashmir - the King maintaining Justice (i.e., seeing a Man's head cut
off) (f. 19 v.).
26. Baptism of Chagatai (f. 20 v.).
27. People of Charchan in the Desert (f. 21 v.).
28. Idolaters of Tangut with Ram before Idol (f. 22 v.).
29. Funeral Festivities of Tangut (f. 23).
30. (Subject obscure) (f. 24).
31. Coronation of Chinghiz (f. 25 v.).
32. Chinghiz sends to Prester John (f. 26).
33. Death of Chinghiz (f. 27).
34. (Subject obscure) (f. 28).
35. Some of Pliny's Monsters (apropos de bottes) (f. 29 v.).
36. A Man herding White Cattle (?) (f. 30 v.).
37. Kublai hawking, with Cheeta en croupe (f. 31 v.).
38. Kaan on Elephant, in Battle with Nayan (f. 33).
39. Nayan with his wife surprised by the enemy (f. 34).
40. The Kaan's four Queens (f. 36).
41. The Kaan's Palace, with the Lake and Green Mount (f. 37).
42. The Kaan's Son's Palace (f. 38).
43. The Kaan's Banquet (f. 39).
44. " worship of Idols (f. 40).
45. The Kaan travelling in Horse-litter (f. 41).
46. " hunting (f. 42).
47. " in Elephant litter (f. 42 v.).
48.
