Paris, Imprimerie Berthaud freres, 31, rue de
Bellefond, 2 vol. in 8.
Marco Polo, Planches, 1-84.
II., p. 539.
ANTWERP, Museum Plantin-Moretus. Exhibited in Room III., No. 61:
Extraits du Livre de Marco Polo de Venise et d'un livre sur l'origine de
quelques villes belges.
132 leaves; 185 x 270 millimeters, XVth Century. Adorned initials,
alternately blue and red. Headings of chapters underlined in red. Leather
binding XVIth century, with small flowers de luce; copper clasps and ten
nails. On the last leaf, in a running hand: Este liber partinet Nicholao
le buqueteur; the name of Abraham Vander Veken (Abra Vander Veque), and
the date 1600, 3/22, on the first and on the last but one leaves.
Fol. 2 recto. Extracta de libro dni Pauli de Venecijs de diver sis
provincijs et regnis maior[um] et de diversis moribus habitantiu[m] et de
multis mirabilibus in hijs locis et Asije. Eleven lines further: Quomodo
iverunt at Berchaman. Fol. 95 r: De Sancto Thoma apto ubi jacet et qno
mortu(us) est. Fol. 106 r: Epilogatio de maiori Yndia. F. 117 v, last
chapter: De dissentione orta inter Alandum Tartaror[um] et Bcha regem.
Ends, f. 118 r: Hii tamen reges proximi parentis erant et ambo ex
Chinchini imperialis progenie descendentes. Explicit.
The end of the MS. (f. 118-132) has for object the origin of Belgian
villages.
I owe this information to M.J. DENUCE.
II., p. 542.
FLORENCE, Riccardian Library, Catalan.
This manuscript has been discovered by Prof. Giovanni Vacca who has kindly
sent me the following information regarding this curious document not
mentioned by Yule, Amat di S. Filippo, or Uzielli: MS., 2048 cartac. sec.
XV. (?), bearing the following faulty title: Storia del Catay in lingua
spagnuola; 66 leaves, the last of which with a note by Piero Vaglienti.
Writing is pretty clear, much like that of the Catalan Map of 1375.
The text begins with the description of the city of Lop, and ends with
Georgia,
Fol. 65 v: "anaquesta provencia sisfa molta de seda evy ciutatz e viles
e castels assaiz e ay moltz bons azcos. Calre no se queus pusca dir er
perque fas vos si anaquest libre veus na sra benefit."
Somewhat similar to the end of MS. 2207, Ottob., sec. XIV., membr. of the
Vatican Library (reproduced by Amat di S. Filippo):
"En ycelle province fait on moult de soyt. Et si y a moult de villes,
cites et chasteaux, moult bons et beau. Autre chose ne vous en scay dire
par quoi je vous fais fins en ce livre."
Generally the text is correct; one does not find the great errors
contained in the Italian text given by Bartoli; it seems to follow very
closely the French text of the Societe de Geographie edited in 1824.
Here is a description of the city of Gambalech (fol.
