William of Rubruck - a draft copy

The second chapter in my current research is devoted to William of Rubruck who was sent by the French king to Sartack Khan to check up on rumors of his baptism and give spiritual aid to certain German slaves captured by the Tartars. The traveler reached the khan but made sure that the steppe notable stuck to his nomadic traditional values. William had never seen the prisoners.

However, the Mongol chiefs were indecisive what to do with this weird monk and he eventually made his way to the court of the Great Khan Mongke and visited his capital city Karakorum.

His account presents a wide range of data which I classified into a few topics: Appearance, Dwellings, Religion, etc. I find that William was neither an ambassador nor a missionary but rather a spy. The Mongol leaders probably understood this and wanted to manipulate him to serve their own interests.

Now, when a draft copy is over, I will study materials connected to the life of a great missionary, John of Montecorvino, who was sent as a papal legate on the Eastern mission and stayed in China for the rest of his life, founding the first Roman Catholic agency there.

The Great Khan and his first lady sitting at the entrance to their ger 

https://threegoldbees.com/other-articles/rubruck-mongols/