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3.24 AVERAGE
3.24 AVERAGE
What more shall I tell you? The town consists of Saracens and idolaters with a few Nestorian Christians. The people use paper (or salt) for money and the idolaters burn their dead. They trade in zinc, oil, lamb and peat. Their king is very wealthy and pays a tribute to the Great Khan. There is a sort of monkey that lives in the forests that sounds like a parrot but is unable to bend its knees.
That's not actually a paragraph from The Travels, but I swear to god it could be. There's a few good parts but it gets very monotonous. I did a thread on the cool parts here.
adventurous
informative
Apesar de repetitivo e de, ao contrário do que eu pensava, não ser um relato das suas viagens, mas um relato do que se recorda, é um testemunho interessante.
Marco Polo's eigen reisverslag zoals deze die heeft gedicteerd aan ene Rustichello tijdens zijn gevangenschap in Genua. Hoewel dit verslag begint met een opsomming van zijn lotgevallen en die van zijn vader en oom, bestaat het grootste gedeelte uit een nogal anonieme reisgids langs streken en steden. Deze bevatten veel herhalingen (heel veel steden bevatten 'onderdanen van de grootchan' en 'afgodendienaren'), veel extreme superlatieven (de grootste/mooiste/bloederigste/zoals je nooit gezien hebt enz.) en regelrechte nonsens (over de vogel Rok bijvoorbeeld), maar ook een paar mooie legenden (bijna allen christelijk, maar ook over Boeddha bijvoorbeeld) en beschrijvingen van veldslagen.
Omdat Marco Polo zijn eigen geloofwaardigheid nogal onderuit haalt met zijn superlatieven en legenden, omdat hij alles duidelijk door een christelijke bril ziet (net als Ibn Battoeta (zie [b:The Travels of Ibn Battutah|517598|The Travels of Ibn Battutah|ابن بطوطة|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175470006s/517598.jpg|505529]) dat een halve eeuw later dat door een Islamitische zou doen) en de rest van zijn verslag nogal droog is, is er van 'wonderen' nauwelijks sprake. Daarvoor is zijn relaas per saldo te saai.
Het boeiendst zijn de beschrijvingen van Koeblai Chan en zijn hofhouding zelf, dit is duidelijk waar Marco Polo het meest van weet. Verder zijn zijn beschrijvingen van Zuid-Oost-Azië interessant. Al met al wel een interessant kijkje in de (denk)wereld van de middeleeuwen.
Omdat Marco Polo zijn eigen geloofwaardigheid nogal onderuit haalt met zijn superlatieven en legenden, omdat hij alles duidelijk door een christelijke bril ziet (net als Ibn Battoeta (zie [b:The Travels of Ibn Battutah|517598|The Travels of Ibn Battutah|ابن بطوطة|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175470006s/517598.jpg|505529]) dat een halve eeuw later dat door een Islamitische zou doen) en de rest van zijn verslag nogal droog is, is er van 'wonderen' nauwelijks sprake. Daarvoor is zijn relaas per saldo te saai.
Het boeiendst zijn de beschrijvingen van Koeblai Chan en zijn hofhouding zelf, dit is duidelijk waar Marco Polo het meest van weet. Verder zijn zijn beschrijvingen van Zuid-Oost-Azië interessant. Al met al wel een interessant kijkje in de (denk)wereld van de middeleeuwen.
Again, nie oceniam książek na uczelnie ale nie było tak źle, chociaż taki trochę bajkopisarz ten Marco
adventurous
slow-paced
While no-one can dispute this book's iconic status I wouldn't be rushing to pick it up and read it. Marco Polo's account of his travels (or, in the main, his account of other people's accounts of their travels) veers from the repetitively prosaic, to the implausible, to the downright preposterous. The best parts were the often bizarre anecdotes about local customs and traditions which Marco encountered/made up, but too much of the book is composed of identikit descriptions of Chinese towns or battles between Tartar warlords. Polo was also seemingly quite selective in how he assessed non-Christian peoples; his admiration for the Chinese and Yuan-era Mongols borders on the Dantean 'noble pagan' paradigm, and contrasts sharply with the sharp racism and religious prejudice towards Muslims (Saracens), and peoples of India, Africa and the islands in between.
I have to say the bit at the end where he begins to write a description of the peoples of the Black Sea, and then almost mid-sentence says 'actually, let's not, you probably know all of that already' did make me laugh out loud.
I have to say the bit at the end where he begins to write a description of the peoples of the Black Sea, and then almost mid-sentence says 'actually, let's not, you probably know all of that already' did make me laugh out loud.
adventurous
medium-paced
challenging
slow-paced
adventurous
inspiring
slow-paced
I picked up this travel narrative in part because I’ve had it on my list for a while, but also because I’ve been reading more non-English texts from the middle ages. Part of my rating might be biased in that I’m not the biggest fan of travel narratives as a genre, but then again, part of it is also criticizing the edition I read, mainly regarding the lack of supplementary materials.
Things I Liked
1. Middle Ages Beyond Europe: Although Marco Polo’s narrative is the work of a European man, it does offer a look at a European perspective of the East. Some of it is surprisingly “tolerant” and admirable - Polo misses no opportunity to praise Kublai Khan, despite the fact that Kublai is not a Christian. There are moments, however, when the narrative seems to be somewhat fictional or biased; but overall, it’s always beneficial to read a text about Europe’s interactions with the East, even if only to get a sense of what they thought of non-European countries and populations.
2. Side Stories: I love how this text offers little in-set narratives: an account of a miracle here, some aside about customs or histories there. These stories make the work as a whole feel less like a textbook or catalog of geographical areas and more like a work to be enjoyed from time to time.
3. Supplementary Materials: Some of the supplementary materials contained in this edition are great. I particularly appreciated the genealogies, maps, and index to help me locate specific persons, places, or things (like animals, products, etc). The introduction also contains a streamlined narrative of historical events, which is useful if a reader is coming at this text from a historical perspective.
Things I Didn’t Like
1. Supplementary Materials: Despite the helpfulness of some of the materials, I kind of wish there was more to them, particularly with respect to manuscript culture, a broad overview of the travel narrative genre, etc. Some of these things, I admit, may be embedded in the intro, but there are so few headings and divisions that I can’t find information very easily.
2. Value as a Reading Text: Travel narratives are less useful as a text for reading for fun and more useful as a reference (unless, of course, you’re reading the little narrative asides). As a result, one should remember that this volume isn’t meant to thrill and excite, as narratives and fictions do, but it’s use if more suited to reference or seeing what medieval Europe thought of/knew about the East.
Recommendations: I would recommend this book if you're a fan of medieval travel narratives and/or you are interested in medieval European perspectives on the East.
Things I Liked
1. Middle Ages Beyond Europe: Although Marco Polo’s narrative is the work of a European man, it does offer a look at a European perspective of the East. Some of it is surprisingly “tolerant” and admirable - Polo misses no opportunity to praise Kublai Khan, despite the fact that Kublai is not a Christian. There are moments, however, when the narrative seems to be somewhat fictional or biased; but overall, it’s always beneficial to read a text about Europe’s interactions with the East, even if only to get a sense of what they thought of non-European countries and populations.
2. Side Stories: I love how this text offers little in-set narratives: an account of a miracle here, some aside about customs or histories there. These stories make the work as a whole feel less like a textbook or catalog of geographical areas and more like a work to be enjoyed from time to time.
3. Supplementary Materials: Some of the supplementary materials contained in this edition are great. I particularly appreciated the genealogies, maps, and index to help me locate specific persons, places, or things (like animals, products, etc). The introduction also contains a streamlined narrative of historical events, which is useful if a reader is coming at this text from a historical perspective.
Things I Didn’t Like
1. Supplementary Materials: Despite the helpfulness of some of the materials, I kind of wish there was more to them, particularly with respect to manuscript culture, a broad overview of the travel narrative genre, etc. Some of these things, I admit, may be embedded in the intro, but there are so few headings and divisions that I can’t find information very easily.
2. Value as a Reading Text: Travel narratives are less useful as a text for reading for fun and more useful as a reference (unless, of course, you’re reading the little narrative asides). As a result, one should remember that this volume isn’t meant to thrill and excite, as narratives and fictions do, but it’s use if more suited to reference or seeing what medieval Europe thought of/knew about the East.
Recommendations: I would recommend this book if you're a fan of medieval travel narratives and/or you are interested in medieval European perspectives on the East.