Greek Journey To The Tatars Essay

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Franciscan friar, explorer, and interpreter. Benedykt Polak ((Latin: Benedictus Polonus) accompanied Giovanni da Pian del Carpine in his epic journey as a delegate of Pope Innocent IV to the Great Khan Güyük of the Mongol Empire in 1245-1247 (the first formal Papal mission to the Mongols). He was the author of the earliest important Western account of Central Asia – the chronicle De Itinere Fratrum Minorum ad Tartaros (“On the travel of Franciscan friars to the Tatars”). His other work Historia Tartarorum (“The history of the Tatars”), which contains a very important description of the Battle of Legnica (1241), was published in 1965 by the academics of Yale University. An astute observer, Polak was the first European to try to chronicle the history of Tatars, and the account of his travels rendered Europe with the first glimmer of insight into Tatar customs and beliefs. Moreover, while some scholars argue the Age of Discovery began in 1492, others point towards earlier dates such as the journey of Polak …show more content…

Jan Długosz was a priest, chronicler, diplomat, who worked as secretary to the Bishop of Cracow, Zbigniew Oleśnicki, and tutor to the sons of King Kazimierz IV of Poland. He is best known for his Annales seu cronici incliti regni Poloniae (“Annals or Chronicles of the famous Kingdom of Poland”), a magnum opus which not only covers events in Central Europe, but also in Southeastern Europe, from the 10th century until 1480 (when Długosz died). Długosz is regarded as the medieval Herodotus and father of Polish historiography. A skilled writer, he was highly knowledgeable about a wide range of subjects and was not content to repeat the statements made by other chroniclers, but he examined for himself the oldest Polish, Bohemian, Hungarian, Ruthenian, and German documents, so as to write with great care his chronicles. Today, Długosz’s valuable works offer abundant and reliable material not only for Polish, but also for general

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