Voyage dans l’empire mongol

In this book authors Rene and Claude Kappler provide an extensive commentary on the travel notes of the Franciscan monk, William of Rubrouck. Rubrouck was sent in 1253 on a mission by French King Saint Louis to the court of the Mongol king in modern day southern Russia, who was believed to be a Christian. Guillaume de Rubrouck travels sixteen thousand kilometers in two years from Constantinople to Karakorum, capital of the Mongol Empire, in the harshest of conditions and finally encounters the Great Khan Monke, grandson of Chinggis Khaan. His letter to St. Louis written originally in Latin is translated into French and precedes Marco Polo’s adventures. An ambassador without a title, a missionary sent by his God and a stranger in strangers’ land, Rubrouck’s documentation of his travels provides fascinating evidence of the clash of two cultures.