Michael Baizerman Author

My new chapter will be devoted to John of Montecorvino, a Franciscan friar who reached China at the end of the 13th century. His letters focus on his missionary activities. He established two episcopal sees and rendered spiritual service for those in need. I have copied a few facts, read his letters, and am now processing notes about this person and the milestones of his life. We enter the period when the united Mongol Empire was split into four polities whose rules had to give up the demand for the world domination. The advance to the Western Europe as well as the incursion into Japan failed to materialize. The Apostolic See with the aid of newly-created orders of mendicant friars resumed its die-hard policy of spreading the word of God among diverse nations. One of the missionaries called to the banner was an Italian priest-monk Giovanni of Montecorvino. The Franciscan friar gained immense diplomatic experience. He was involved into negotiations between the Latin and Greek Ch...

My second champion is a Franciscan friar William (Guilliom) of Rubruck who insists on taking a missionary trip into the heart of the Mongol Empire. Unlike his repeated denouncements of the association with Louis IX of France, our monk seems to be one of the royal associates. He counts the king as one of his spiritual friends. He transmits the royal letter to Sartak Khan and agrees to pass the Great Khan's missive to his royal patron. On the other hand, Guillom is utterly unprepared to be a missionary. He is unaware of local languages and customs. He took with him an incompetent interpreter who cannot support most of spiritual dialogues but clings to bottle on every feast. He is too critical of other faiths-not exactly a kind of conversationalist you would like to have at your dinner table. William probably acts as a royal spy disguised as a missionary. Anyway, his description of the Great Khan's entourage and the capital city Karakorum cast light on political developments...