The Journeys of Marco Polo and Their Impact
Overview
Marco Polo (c. 1254-1324) was a Venetian merchant and adventurer who made an extended, twenty-four year (1271-95), journey with his father Niccol...
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Marco Polo
1254-1324
Italian Merchant
Marco Polo's extensive travels led him to China, where he spent 17 years and established himself as an official in the Mongolian court. He recorded his exp...
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Marco Polo
Born 1254, Venice, Italy Died 1324, Venice, Italy
In the Book of Ser Marco Polo, Marco Polo described in detail each region he passed through during his 24-year journey in Asia; he also g...
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The Venetian traveler and writer Marco Polo (ca. 1254-ca. 1324) left Venice for Cathay, or China, in 1271, spent 17 years in Kublai Khan's realm, and returned to Venice in 1295. His account of his tra...
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In the following essay, Herriott discusses the superiority of a fifteenth-century Polian manuscript believed to have been lost.
In 1559 the first attempt at a critical edition of Marco Polo appeared i...
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In the following essay, Power discusses Polo's popular and literary reputation, arguing that his work is "a masterpiece of reporting."
I once knew a master at a famous public scho...
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In the following essay, Olschki explores the influence of the poetic history of Alexander the Great on Polo's book.
Until about the middle of the thirteenth century, when the first missionaries...
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In the following excerpt, Latham examines Rusticello's contribution to Polo's book and asserts that, while Polo's observations in other fields tend to be conservative, his remarks...
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In the following essay, Olschki analyzes the accuracy of Polo's observations regarding Asian religion and politics in the thirteenth century.
Marco Polo's intention of conferring upon hi...
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In the following excerpt, Hart examines the impact of Polo's book on the sciences of geography and cartography.
Messer Marco Polo's reputation for veracity as an author suffered greatly ...
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In the following excerpt, Campbell discusses methods of description and narration employed by Polo, suggesting that "the being'' that Polo has given to the East in his book ...
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In the following review, the anonymous critic praises Marsden's edition of Polo's book, provides an overview of the author's life, and comments on the accuracy of the narrative.
&...
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In the essay that follows, Marsh discusses Yule's edition of Polo's book and comments on the traveler's "reputation for veracity" as well as his collaboration with h...
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In the following excerpt, Margesson briefly comments on the influence Polo's narrative had on Christopher Columbus.
While Columbus never directly mentions Polo, his hopes and fancies and the de...
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In the following excerpt, Beazley provides an overview of the surge in geographic exploration that occurred from the mid-thirteenth to the early years of the fifteenth century—providing context...
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In the following excerpt, Penzer provides a detailed analysis of the history of the Polian manuscripts.
The existence of an Elizabethan translation of the Travels of Marco Polo will probably come as a...
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In the following excerpt from a lecture delivered before the British Academy, Ross gives a brief account of Polo's journey and his narrative, and introduces several new theories regarding Polo&...
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I am writing in response to the many claims I have been hearing about Marco Polo and his journey to China. I'm hearing people laugh at his stories about China and dismiss them as "folk tales." As a fe...
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