Marco Polo’s Book

Marco Polo and his book may seem to have been well served by scholars, yet the majority have been concerned to write about his travels in Asia, what he did or did not see, and how useful he is as a source on the East. John Critchley's subject, on the other hand, is the text of Polo's book itself and the political and ideological context - the crusades, the Mongol missions, the French presence in Italy - in which it was put together by its author(s), and read by its audience. The homogeneity of the 'original' Franco-Italian text and the accepted relationship between this text and the Latin recensions is tested by computer analysis. An examination of vocabulary and other textual features draws out the different attitudes and contributions of Polo himself and his various editors and translators. Critchley's book will be of interest not only to those concerned with the history of later medieval Europe but also to specialists in medieval Asia, who will find it useful to know about the background and composition of so famous and frequently cited a work. On pourrait penser que Marco Polo et son livre ont ete amplement debattus par les specialistes en la matiere, cependant la majorite a surtout ecrit A propos de ses voyages en Asie, ce qu'il avait ou n'avait pas vu et sur son utilite en tant que source de references sur l'Orient. Le sujet traite par John Critchley par contre, est le texte mAme du livre de Polo, ainsi que le contexte politique et ideologique - les croisades, les missions mongoles, la presence franAaise en Italie - dans lequel il a ete compose par son ou ses auteurs et dans lequel ses lecteurs ont pu le lire. L'homogeneAte du texte franco-italien d'origine et le rapport accepte entre celui-ci et les revisions latines ont ete analyses par ordinateur. Un examen du vocabulaire et d'autres caracteristiques litteraires fait transparaA(R)tre les differences d'attitudes et de contributions entre Polo

Marco Polo and his book may seem to have been well served by scholars, yet the majority have been concerned to write about his travels in Asia, what he did or did not see, and how useful he is as a source on the East. John Critchley's subject, on the other hand, is the text of Polo's book itself and the political and ideological context - the crusades, the Mongol missions, the French presence in Italy - in which it was put together by its author(s), and read by its audience. The homogeneity of the 'original' Franco-Italian text and the accepted relationship between this text and the Latin recensions is tested by computer analysis. An examination of vocabulary and other textual features draws out the different attitudes and contributions of Polo himself and his various editors and translators. Critchley's book will be of interest not only to those concerned with the history of later medieval Europe but also to specialists in medieval Asia, who will find it useful to know about the background and composition of so famous and frequently cited a work. On pourrait penser que Marco Polo et son livre ont ete amplement debattus par les specialistes en la matiere, cependant la majorite a surtout ecrit A propos de ses voyages en Asie, ce qu'il avait ou n'avait pas vu et sur son utilite en tant que source de references sur l'Orient. Le sujet traite par John Critchley par contre, est le texte mAme du livre de Polo, ainsi que le contexte politique et ideologique - les croisades, les missions mongoles, la presence franAaise en Italie - dans lequel il a ete compose par son ou ses auteurs et dans lequel ses lecteurs ont pu le lire. L'homogeneAte du texte franco-italien d'origine et le rapport accepte entre celui-ci et les revisions latines ont ete analyses par ordinateur. Un examen du vocabulaire et d'autres caracteristiques litteraires fait transparaA(R)tre les differences d'attitudes et de contributions entre Polo