Chapter XIII: Prologue (4)

M. Pauthier indeed[12] asserts that the French of the MS. Romances of Rusticien de Pise is of the same barbarous character as that of the early French MS. of Polo’s Book to which we have just alluded, and which we shall show to be the nearest presentation of the work as originally dictated by the Traveller. The language of the latter MS. is so peculiar that this would be almost perfect evidence of the identity of the writers, if it were really the fact. A cursory inspection which I have made of two of those MSS. in Paris, and the extracts which I have given and am about to give, do not, however, by any means support M. Pauthier’s view. Nor would that view be consistent with the judgment of so competent an authority as Paulin Paris, implied in his calling Rustician a _nom recommandable_ in old French literature, and his speaking of him as “versed in the secrets of the French Romance Tongue.”[13] In fact the difference of language in the two cases would really be a difficulty in the way of identification, if there were room for doubt. This, however, Paulin Paris seems to have excluded finally, by calling attention to the peculiar formula of preamble which is common to the Book of Marco Polo and to one of the Romance compilations of Rusticien de Pise.

The former will be found in English at pp. 1, 2, of our Translation; but we give a part of the original below[14] for comparison with the preamble to the Romances of Meliadus, Tristan, and Lancelot, as taken from MS. 6961 (Fr. 340) of the Paris Library:—

“_Seigneurs Empereurs et Princes, Ducs et Contes et Barons et
Chevaliers et Vavasseurs et Bourgeois, et tous les preudommes de
cestui monde qui avez talent de vous deliter en rommans, si prenez
cestui (livre) et le faites lire de chief en chief, si orrez toutes
les grans aventure_ qui advindrent entre les Chevaliers errans
du temps au Roy Uter Pendragon, jusques à le temps au Roy Artus
son fils, et des compaignons de la Table Ronde. Et sachiez tout
vraiment que cist livres fust translatez du livre Monseigneur
Edouart le Roy d’Engleterre en cellui temps qu’il passa oultre la
mer au service nostre Seigneur Damedieu pour conquester le Sant
Sepulcre, et Maistre Rusticiens de Pise, lequel est ymaginez yci
dessus,[15] compila ce rommant, car il en translata toutes les
merveilleuses nouvelles et aventures qu’il trouva en celle livre
et traita tout certainement de toutes les aventures du monde, et
si sachiez qu’il traitera plus de Monseigneur Lancelot du Lac, et
Monsʳ Tristan le fils au Roy Meliadus de Leonnoie que d’autres,
porcequ’ilz furent sans faille les meilleurs chevaliers qui à ce
temps furent en terre; et li Maistres en dira de ces deux pluseurs
choses et pluseurs nouvelles que l’en treuvera escript en tous les
autres livres; et porce que le Maistres les trouva escript au Livre
d’Engleterre.”

“Certainly,” Paulin Paris observes, “there is a singular analogy between these two prefaces. And it must be remarked that the formula is not an ordinary one with translators, compilers, or authors of the 13th and 14th centuries. Perhaps you would not find a single other example of it.”[16]

This seems to place beyond question the identity of the Romance-compiler of Prince Edward’s suite in 1270, and the Prisoner of Genoa in 1298.

[Sidenote: Further particulars concerning Rustician.]

42. In Dunlop’s History of Fiction a passage is quoted from the preamble of _Meliadus_, as set forth in the Paris printed edition of 1528, which gives us to understand that Rusticien de Pise had received as a reward for some of his compositions from King Henry III. the prodigal gift of two _chateaux_. I gather, however, from passages in the work of Paulin Paris that this must certainly be one of those confusions of persons to which I have referred before, and that the recipient of the chateaux was in reality Helye de Borron, the author of some of the originals which Rustician manipulated.[17] This supposed incident in Rustician’s scanty history must therefore be given up.

We call this worthy _Rustician_ or _Rusticiano_, as the nearest probable representation in Italian form of the _Rusticien_ of the Round-Table MSS. and the _Rustacians_ of the old text of Polo. But it is highly probable that his real name was _Rustichello_, as is suggested by the form _Rustichelus_ in the early Latin version published by the _Société de Géographie_. The change of one liquid for another never goes for much in Italy,[18] and Rustichello might easily Gallicize himself as Rusticien. In a very long list of Pisan officials during the Middle Ages I find several bearing the name of _Rustichello_ or _Rustichelli_, but no _Rusticiano_ or _Rustigiano_.[19]

Respecting him we have only to add that the peace between Genoa and Venice was speedily followed by a treaty between Genoa and Pisa. On the 31st July, 1299, a truce for twenty-five years was signed between those two Republics. It was a very different matter from that between Genoa and Venice, and contained much that was humiliating and detrimental to Pisa. But it embraced the release of prisoners; and those of Meloria, reduced it is said to less than one tithe of their original number, had their liberty at last. Among the prisoners then released no doubt Rustician was one. But we hear of him no more.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] _B. Marangone, Croniche della C. di Pisa_, in _Rerum Ital. Script._
of _Tartini_, Florence, 1748, i. 563; _Dal Borgo, Dissert. sopra
l’Istoria Pisana_, ii. 287.

[2] The list of the whole number is preserved in the Doria archives,
and has been published by Sign. Jacopo D’Oria. Many of the
Baptismal names are curious, and show how far sponsors wandered
from the Church Calendar. _Assan, Alton, Turco, Soldan_ seem to
come of the constant interest in the East. _Alaone_, a name which
remained in the family for several generations, I had thought
certainly borrowed from the fierce conqueror of the Khalif
(_infra_, p. 63). But as one Alaone, present at this battle, had a
son also there, he must surely have been christened before the
fame of Hulaku could have reached Genoa. (See _La Chiesa di S.
Matteo_, pp. 250, _seqq._)

In documents of the kingdom of Jerusalem there are names still more
anomalous, _e.g._, _Gualterius Baffumeth_, _Joannes Mahomet_. (See
_Cod. Dipl. del Sac. Milit. Ord. Gerosol._ I. 2–3, 62.)

[3] _Memorial. Potestat. Regiens._ in _Muratori_, viii. 1162.

[4] See _Fragm. Hist. Pisan._ in _Muratori_, xxiv. 651, _seqq._; and
_Caffaro_, _id._ vi. 588, 594–595. The cut in the text represents
a striking memorial of those Pisan Prisoners, which perhaps
still survives, but which at any rate existed last century in a
collection at Lucca. It is the seal of the prisoners as a body
corporate: SIGILLUM UNIVERSITATIS CARCERATORUM PISANORUM JANUE
DETENTORUM, and was doubtless used in their negotiations for peace
with the Genoese Commissioners. It represents two of the prisoners
imploring the Madonna, Patron of the Duomo at Pisa. It is from
_Manni, Osserv. Stor. sopra Sigilli Antichi_, etc., Firenze, 1739,
tom. xii. The seal is also engraved in _Dal Borgo_, _op. cit._ ii.
316.

[5] The Abate Spotorno in his _Storia Letteraria della Liguria_, II.
219, fixes on a Genoese philosopher called Andalo del Negro,
mentioned by Boccaccio.

[6] I quote from Galignani’s ed. of Prose Works, v. 712. This has
“Rusticien de _Puise_.” In this view of the fictitious character of
the names of Rusticien and the rest, Sir Walter seems to have been
following Ritson, as I gather from a quotation in Dunlop’s H. of
Fiction. (_Liebrecht’s_ German Version, p. 63.)

[7] _Giron le Courtois_, and the conclusion of _Tristan_.

[8] The passage runs thus as quoted (from the preamble of the
_Meliadus_—I suspect in one of the old printed editions):—

“Aussi Luces du Gau (Gas) translata en langue Françoise une
partie de l’Hystoire de Monseigneur Tristan, et moins assez qu’il
ne deust. Moult commença bien son livre et si ny mist tout les
faicts de Tristan, ains la greigneur partie. Après s’en entremist
Messire Gasse le Blond, qui estoit parent au Roy Henry, et divisa
l’Hystoire de Lancelot du Lac, et d’autre chose ne parla il mye
grandement en son livre. Messire Robert de Borron s’en entremist
et Helye de Borron, par la prière du dit Robert de Borron, _et
pource que compaignons feusmes d’armes longuement_, je commencay
mon livre,” etc. (_Liebrecht’s Dunlop_, p. 80.) If this passage be
authentic it would set beyond doubt the age of the de Borrons and
the other writers of Anglo-French Round Table Romances, who are
placed by the _Hist. Littéraire de la France_, and apparently by
Fr. Michel, under Henry II. I have no means of pursuing the matter,
and have preferred to follow Paulin Paris, who places them under
Henry III. I notice, moreover, that the _Hist. Litt._ (xv. p. 498)
puts not only the de Borrons but Rustician himself under Henry II.;
and, as the last view is certainly an error, the first is probably
so too.

[9] Transc. from MS. 6975 (now Fr. 355) of Paris Library.

[10] _MSS. François_, iii. 60–61.

[11] _Ibid._ 56–59.

[12] _Introd._ pp. lxxxvi.–vii. note.

[13] See _Jour. As._ sér. II. tom. xii. p. 251.

[14] “_Seignors Enperaor, & Rois, Dux & Marquois, Cuens, Chevaliers
& Bargions_ [for Borgiois] _& toutes gens qe uoles sauoir les
deuerses jenerasions des homes_, & les deuersités des deuerses
region dou monde, _si prennés cestui liure & le feites lire & chi
trouerés toutes les grandismes meruoilles_,” etc.

[15] The portrait of Rustician here referred to would have been a
precious illustration for our book. But unfortunately it has not
been transferred to MS. 6961, nor apparently to any other noticed
by Paulin Paris.

[16] _Jour. As._ as above.

[17] See _Liebrecht’s Dunlop_, p. 77; and _MSS. François_, II. 349,
353. The alleged gift to Rustician is also put forth by D’Israeli
the Elder in his _Amenities of Literature_, 1841, I. p. 103.

[18] _E.g._ Geronimo, _Girolamo_; and garofalo, _garofano_; Cristoforo,
_Cristovalo_; gonfalone, _gonfanone_, etc.

[19] See the List in _Archivio Stor. Ital._ VI. p. 64, _seqq._

VIII. NOTICES OF MARCO POLO’S HISTORY, AFTER THE TERMINATION
OF HIS IMPRISONMENT AT GENOA.

43. A few very disconnected notices are all that can be collected of matter properly biographical in relation to the quarter century during which Marco Polo survived the Genoese captivity.

[Sidenote: Death of Marco’s Father before 1300. Will of his brother Maffeo.]

We have seen that he would probably reach Venice in the course of August, 1299. Whether he found his aged father alive is not known; but we know at least that a year later (31st August, 1300) Messer Nicolo was no longer in life.

This we learn from the Will of the younger Maffeo, Marco’s brother, which bears the date just named, and of which we give an abstract below.[1] It seems to imply strong regard for the testator’s brother Marco, who is made inheritor of the bulk of the property, failing the possible birth of a son. I have already indicated some conjectural deductions from this document. I may add that the terms of the second clause, as quoted in the note, seem to me to throw considerable doubt on the genealogy which bestows a large family of sons upon this brother Maffeo. If he lived to have such a family it seems improbable that the draft which he thus left in the hands of a notary, to be converted into a Will in the event of his death (a curious example of the validity attaching to all acts of notaries in those days), should never have been superseded, but should actually have been so converted after his death, as the existence of the parchment seems to prove. But for this circumstance we might suppose the Marcolino mentioned in the ensuing paragraph to have been a son of the younger Maffeo.

Messer Maffeo, the uncle, was, we see, alive at this time. We do not know the year of his death. But it is alluded to by Friar Pipino in the Preamble to his Translation of the Book, supposed to have been executed about 1315–1320; and we learn from a document in the Venetian archives (see p. 77) that it must have been previous to 1318, and subsequent to February 1309, the date of his last Will. The Will itself is not known to be extant, but from the reference to it in this document we learn that he left 1000 _lire_ of public debt[2] (_? imprestitorum_) to a certain Marco Polo, called _Marcolino_. The relationship of this Marco to old Maffeo is not stated, but we may suspect him to have been an illegitimate son. [Marcolino was a son of Nicolo, son of Marco the Elder; see vol. ii., _Calendar_, No. 6.—H. C.]

[Sidenote: Documentary notices of Polo at this time. The sobriquet of Milione.]

44. In 1302 occurs what was at first supposed to be a glimpse of Marco as a citizen, slight and quaint enough; being a resolution on the Books of the Great Council to exempt the respectable Marco Polo from the penalty incurred by him on account of the omission to have his water-pipe duly inspected. But since our Marco’s claims to the designation of _Nobilis Vir_ have been established, there is a doubt whether the _providus vir_ or _prud’-homme_ here spoken of may not have been rather his namesake Marco Polo of Cannareggio or S. Geremia, of whose existence we learn from another entry of the same year.[3] It is, however, possible that Marco the Traveller was called to the Great Council _after_ the date of the document in question.

We have seen that the Traveller, and after him his House and his Book, acquired from his contemporaries the surname, or nickname rather, of _Il Milione_. Different writers have given different explanations of the origin of this name; some, beginning with his contemporary Fra Jacopo d’Acqui, (_supra_, p. _54_), ascribing it to the family’s having brought home a fortune of a million of _lire_, in fact to their being _millionaires_. This is the explanation followed by Sansovino, Marco Barbaro, Coronelli, and others.[4] More far-fetched is that of Fontanini, who supposes the name to have been given to the Book as containing a great number of stories, like the _Cento Novelle_ or the _Thousand and One Nights!_ But there can be no doubt that Ramusio’s is the true, as it is the natural, explanation; and that the name was bestowed on Marco by the young wits of his native city, because of his frequent use of a word which appears to have been then unusual, in his attempts to convey an idea of the vast wealth and magnificence of the Kaan’s Treasury and Court.[5] Ramusio has told us (_supra_, p. _6_) that he had seen Marco styled by this sobriquet in the Books of the Signory; and it is pleasant to be able to confirm this by the next document which we cite. This is an extract from the Books of the Great Council under 10th April, 1305, condoning the offence of a certain Bonocio of Mestre in smuggling wine, for whose penalty one of the sureties had been the NOBILIS VIR MARCHUS PAULO MILIONI.[6]

It is alleged that long after our Traveller’s death there was always, in the Venetian Masques, one individual who assumed the character of Marco Milioni, and told Munchausenlike stories to divert the vulgar. Such, if this be true, was the honour of our prophet among the populace of his own country.[7]

45. A little later we hear of Marco once more, as presenting a copy of his Book to a noble Frenchman in the service of Charles of Valois.

[Sidenote: Polo’s relations with Thibault de Cepoy.]

This Prince, brother of Philip the Fair, in 1301 had married Catharine, daughter and heiress of Philip de Courtenay, titular Emperor of Constantinople, and on the strength of this marriage had at a later date set up his own claim to the Empire of the East. To this he was prompted by Pope Clement V., who in the beginning of 1306 wrote to Venice, stimulating that Government to take part in the enterprise. In the same year, Charles and his wife sent as their envoys to Venice, in connection with this matter, a noble knight called THIBAULT DE CEPOY, along with an ecclesiastic of Chartres called Pierre le Riche, and these two succeeded in executing a treaty of alliance with Venice, of which the original, dated 14th December, 1306, exists at Paris. Thibault de Cepoy eventually went on to Greece with a squadron of Venetian Galleys, but accomplished nothing of moment, and returned to his master in 1310.[8]

During the stay of Thibault at Venice he seems to have made acquaintance with Marco Polo, and to have received from him a copy of his Book. This is recorded in a curious note which appears on two existing MSS. of Polo’s Book, viz., that of the Paris Library (10,270 or Fr. 5649), and that of Bern, which is substantially identical in its text with the former, and is, as I believe, a copy of it.[9] The note runs as follows:—

“Here you have the Book of which My Lord THIEBAULT, Knight and LORD
OF CEPOY, (whom may God assoil!) requested a copy from SIRE MARC
POL, Burgess and Resident of the City of Venice. And the said Sire
Marc Pol, being a very honourable Person, of high character and
respect in many countries, because of his desire that what he had
witnessed should be known throughout the World, and also for the
honour and reverence he bore to the most excellent and puissant
Prince my Lord CHARLES, Son of the King of France and COUNT OF
VALOIS, gave and presented to the aforesaid Lord of Cepoy the first
copy (that was taken) of his said Book after he had made the same.
And very pleasing it was to him that his Book should be carried
to the noble country of France and there made known by so worthy
a gentleman. And from that copy which the said Messire Thibault,
Sire de Cepoy above-named, did carry into France, Messire John, who
was his eldest son and is the present Sire de Cepoy,[10] after his
Father’s decease did have a copy made, and that very first copy
that was made of the Book after its being carried into France he
did present to his very dear and dread Lord Monseigneur de Valois.
Thereafter he gave copies of it to such of his friends as asked for
them.

“And the copy above-mentioned was presented by the said Sire Marc
Pol to the said Lord de Cepoy when the latter went to Venice, on
the part of Monseigneur de Valois and of Madame the Empress his
wife, as Vicar General for them both in all the Territories of the
Empire of Constantinople. And this happened in the year of the
Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ one thousand three hundred and
seven, and in the month of August.”

Of the bearings of this memorandum on the literary history of Polo’s Book we shall speak in a following section.

[Sidenote: His marriage and his daughters. Marco as a merchant.]

46. When Marco married we have not been able to ascertain, but it was no doubt early in the 14th century, for in 1324, we find that he had two married daughters besides one unmarried. His wife’s Christian name was _Donata_, but of her family we have as yet found no assurance. I suspect, however, that her name may have been Loredano (_vide infra_, p. _77_).

Under 1311 we find a document which is of considerable interest, because it is the only one yet discovered which exhibits Marco under the aspect of a practical trader. It is the judgment of the Court of Requests upon a suit brought by the NOBLE MARCO POLO of the parish of S. Giovanni Grisostomo against one Paulo Girardo of S. Apollinare. It appears that Marco had entrusted to the latter as a commission agent for sale, on an agreement for half profits, a pound and a half of musk, priced at six _lire of grossi_ (about 22_l._ 10_s._ in value of silver) the pound. Girardo had sold half-a-pound at that rate, and the remaining pound which he brought back was deficient of a _saggio_, or, one-sixth of an ounce, but he had accounted for neither the sale nor the deficiency. Hence Marco sues him for three _lire of Grossi_, the price of the half-pound sold, and for twenty _grossi_ as the value of the saggio. And the Judges cast the defendant in the amount with costs, and the penalty of imprisonment in the common gaol of Venice if the amounts were not paid within a suitable term.[11]

Again in May, 1323, probably within a year of his death, Ser Marco appears (perhaps only by attorney), before the Doge and his judicial examiners, to obtain a decision respecting a question touching the rights to certain stairs and porticoes in contact with his own house property, and that obtained from his wife, in S. Giovanni Grisostomo. To this allusion has been already made (_supra_, p. _31_).

(_Dimensions of Original, 26·4 inches by 9·4 inches_)

FROM A PHOTOGRAPH SPECIALLY TAKEN IN ST. MARK’S LIBRARY BY SIGNOR
BERTANI.]

[Sidenote: Marco Polo’s Last Will and Death.]

47. We catch sight of our Traveller only once more. It is on the 9th of January, 1324; he is labouring with disease, under which he is sinking day by day; and he has sent for Giovanni Giustiniani, Priest of S. Proculo and Notary, to make his Last Will and Testament. It runs thus:—

“IN THE NAME OF THE ETERNAL GOD AMEN!

“In the year from the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ 1323, on
the 9th day of the month of January, in the first half of the 7th
Indiction,[12] at Rialto.

“It is the counsel of Divine Inspiration as well as the judgment
of a provident mind that every man should take thought to make a
disposition of his property before death become imminent, lest in
the end it should remain without any disposition:

“Wherefore I MARCUS PAULO of the parish of St. John Chrysostom,
finding myself to grow daily feebler through bodily ailment, but
being by the grace of God of a sound mind, and of senses and
judgment unimpaired, have sent for JOHN GIUSTINIANI, Priest of S.
Proculo and Notary, and have instructed him to draw out in complete
form this my Testament:

“Whereby I constitute as my Trustees DONATA my beloved wife, and
my dear daughters FANTINA, BELLELA, and MORETA,[13] in order that
after my decease they may execute the dispositions and bequests
which I am about to make herein.

“First of all: I will and direct that the proper Tithe be paid.[14]
And over and above the said tithe I direct that 2000 _lire_ of
Venice denari be distributed as follows:[15]

“_Viz._, 20 _soldi_ of Venice _grossi_ to the Monastery of St.
Lawrence where I desire to be buried.

“Also 300 _lire_ of Venice denari to my sister-in-law YSABETA
QUIRINO,[16] that she owes me.

“Also 40 _soldi_ to each of the Monasteries and Hospitals all the
way from Grado to Capo d’Argine.[17]

“Also I bequeath to the Convent of SS. Giovanni and Paolo, of the
Order of Preachers, that which it owes me, and also 10 _lire_ to
Friar RENIER, and 5 _lire_ to Friar BENVENUTO the Venetian, of the
Order of Preachers, in addition to the amount of his debt to me.

“I also bequeath 5 _lire_ to every Congregation in Rialto, and 4
_lire_ to every Guild or Fraternity of which I am a member.[18]

“Also I bequeath 20 _soldi_ of Venetian grossi to the Priest
Giovanni Giustiniani the Notary, for his trouble about this my
Will, and in order that he may pray the Lord in my behalf.

“Also I release PETER the Tartar, my servant, from all bondage, as
completely as I pray God to release mine own soul from all sin and
guilt. And I also remit him whatever he may have gained by work
at his own house; and over and above I bequeath him 100 _lire_ of
Venice denari.[19]

“And the residue of the said 2000 _lire_ free of tithe, I direct
to be distributed for the good of my soul, according to the
discretion of my trustees.

“Out of my remaining property I bequeath to the aforesaid Donata,
my Wife and Trustee, 8 _lire_ of Venetian grossi annually during
her life, for her own use, over and above her settlement, and the
linen and all the household utensils,[20] with 3 beds garnished.

“And all my other property movable and immovable that has not
been disposed of [here follow some lines of mere technicality]
I specially and expressly bequeath to my aforesaid Daughters
Fantina, Bellela, and Moreta, freely and absolutely, to be divided
equally among them. And I constitute them my heirs as regards all
and sundry my property movable and immovable, and as regards all
rights and contingencies tacit and expressed, of whatsoever kind
as hereinbefore detailed, that belong to me or may fall to me.
Save and except that before division my said daughter Moreta shall
receive the same as each of my other daughters hath received for
dowry and outfit [here follow many lines of technicalities, ending]

“And if any one shall presume to infringe or violate this Will, may
he incur the malediction of God Almighty, and abide bound under the
anathema of the 318 Fathers; and farthermore he shall forfeit to
my Trustees aforesaid five pounds of gold;[21] and so let this my
Testament abide in force. The signature of the above named Messer
Marco Paulo who gave instructions for this deed.

“‡ I Peter Grifon, Priest, Witness.

“* I Humfrey Barberi, Witness.

Ҡ I John Giustiniani, Priest of S. Proculo, and Notary, have
completed and authenticated (this testament).”[22]

We do not know, as has been said, how long Marco survived the making of this will, but we know, from a scanty series of documents commencing in June of the following year (1325), that he had _then_ been some time dead.[23]

[Sidenote: Place of Sepulture. Professed Portraits of Polo.]

48. He was buried, no doubt, according to his declared wish, in the Church of S. Lorenzo; and indeed Sansovino bears testimony to the fact in a confused notice of our Traveller.[24] But there does not seem to have been any monument to Marco, though the sarcophagus which had been erected to his father Nicolo, by his own filial care, existed till near the end of the 16th century in the porch or corridor leading to the old Church of S. Lorenzo, and bore the inscription: “SEPULTURA DOMINI NICOLAI PAULO DE CONTRATA S. IOANNIS GRISOSTEMI.” The church was renewed from its foundations in 1592, and then, probably, the sarcophagus was cast aside and lost, and with it all certainty as to the position of the tomb.[25]

There is no portrait of Marco Polo in existence with any claim to authenticity. The quaint figure which we give in the _Bibliography_, vol. ii. p. 555, extracted from the earliest printed edition of his book, can certainly make no such pretension. The oldest one after this is probably a picture in the collection of Monsignor Badia at Rome, of which I am now able, by the owner’s courtesy, to give a copy. It is set down in the catalogue to Titian, but is probably a work of 1600, or thereabouts, to which the aspect and costume belong. It is inscribed “_Marcus Polvs Venetvs Totivs Orbis et Indie Peregrator Primus._” Its history unfortunately cannot be traced, but I believe it came from a collection at Urbino. A marble statue was erected in his honour by a family at Venice in the 17th century, and is still to be seen in the Palazzo Morosini-Gattemburg in the Campo S. Stefano in that city. The medallion portrait on the wall of the _Sala dello Scudo_ in the ducal palace, and which was engraved in Bettom’s “Collection of Portraits of Illustrious Italians,” is a work of imagination painted by Francesco Griselini in 1761.[26] From this, however, was taken the medal by Fabris, which was struck in 1847 in honour of the last meeting of the Italian Congresso Scientifico; and from the medal again is copied, I believe, the elegant woodcut which adorns the introduction to M. Pauthier’s edition, though without any information as to its history. A handsome bust, by Augusto Gamba, has lately been placed among the illustrious Venetians in the inner arcade of the Ducal Palace.[27] There is also a mosaic portrait of Polo, opposite the similar portrait of Columbus in the Municipio at Genoa.

[Sidenote: Further History of the Polo Family.]

49. From the short series of documents recently alluded to,[28] we gather all that we know of the remaining history of Marco Polo’s immediate family. We have seen in his will an indication that the two elder daughters, Fantina and Bellela, were married before his death. In 1333 we find the youngest, Moreta, also a married woman, and Bellela deceased. In 1336 we find that their mother Donata had died in the interval. We learn, too, that Fantina’s husband was MARCO BRAGADINO, and Moreta’s, RANUZZO DOLFINO.[29] The name of Bellela’s husband does not appear.

Fantina’s husband is probably the Marco Bragadino, son of Pietro, who in 1346 is mentioned to have been sent as Provveditore-Generale to act against the Patriarch of Acquileia.[30] And in 1379 we find Donna Fantina herself, presumably in widowhood, assessed as a resident of S. Giovanni Grisostomo, on the _Estimo_ or forced loan for the Genoese war, at 1300 _lire_, whilst Pietro Bragadino of the same parish—her son as I imagine—is assessed at 1500 _lire_.[31] [See vol. ii., _Calendar_.]

The documents show a few other incidents which may be briefly noted. In 1326 we have the record of a charge against one Zanino Grioni for insulting Donna Moreta in the Campo of San Vitale; a misdemeanour punished by the Council of Forty with two months’ imprisonment.

In March, 1328, Marco Polo, called Marcolino, of St. John Chrysostom (see p. _66_), represents before the _Domini Advocatores_ of the Republic that certain _imprestita_ that had belonged to the late Maffeo Polo the Elder, had been alienated and transferred in May 1318, by the late Marco Polo of St. John Chrysostom and since his death by his heirs, without regard to the rights of the said Marcolino, to whom the said Messer Maffeo had bequeathed 1000 _lire_ by his will executed on 6th February, 1308 (_i.e._ 1309). The Advocatores find that the transfer was to that extent unjust and improper, and they order that to the same extent it should be revoked and annulled. Two months later the Lady Donata makes rather an unpleasant figure before the Council of Forty. It would seem that on the claim of Messer Bertuccio Quirino a mandate of sequestration had been issued by the Court of Requests affecting certain articles in the Ca’ Polo; including two bags of money which had been tied and sealed, but left in custody of the Lady Donata. The sum so sealed was about 80 _lire_ of grossi (300_l._ in silver value), but when opened only 45 _lire_ and 22 _grossi_ (about 170_l._) were found therein, and the Lady was accused of abstracting the balance _non bono modo_. Probably she acted, as ladies sometimes do, on a strong sense of her own rights, and a weak sense of the claims of law. But the Council pronounced against her, ordering restitution, and a fine of 200 _lire_ over and above “_ut ceteris transeat in exemplum._”[32]

It will have been seen that there is nothing in the amounts mentioned in Marco’s will to bear out the large reports as to his wealth, though at the same time there is no positive ground for a deduction to the contrary.[33]

The mention in two of the documents of Agnes Loredano as the sister of the Lady Donata suggests that the latter may have belonged to the Loredano family, but as it does not appear whether Agnes was maid or wife this remains uncertain.[34]

Respecting the further history of the family there is nothing certain, nor can we give unhesitating faith to Ramusio’s statement that the last male descendant of the Polos of S. Giovanni Grisostomo was Marco, who died Castellano of Verona in 1417 (according to others, 1418, or 1425),[35] and that the family property then passed to Maria (or _Anna_, as she is styled in a MS. statement furnished to me from Venice), who was married in 1401 to Benedetto Cornaro, and again in 1414 to Azzo Trevisan. Her descendant in the fourth generation by the latter was Marc Antonio Trevisano,[36] who was chosen Doge in 1553.

The genealogy recorded by Marco Barbaro, as drawn up from documents by Ramusio, makes the Castellano of Verona a grandson of our Marco by a son Maffeo, whom we may safely pronounce not to have existed, and makes Maria the daughter of Maffeo, Marco’s brother—that is to say, makes a lady marry in 1414 and have children, whose father was born in 1271 at the very latest! The genealogy is given in several other ways, but as I have satisfied myself that they all (except perhaps this of Barbaro’s, which we see to be otherwise erroneous) confound together the two distinct families of Polo of S. Geremia and Polo of S. Giov. Grisostomo, I reserve my faith, and abstain from presenting them. Assuming that the Marco or Marcolino Polo, spoken of in the preceding page, was a near relation (as is probable, though perhaps an illegitimate one), he is the only male descendant of old Andrea of San Felice whom we can indicate as having survived Marco himself; and from a study of the links in the professed genealogies I think it not unlikely that both Marco the Castellano of Verona and Maria Trevisan belonged to the branch of S. Geremia.[37] [See vol. ii., _App. C_, p. 510.]

[49. _bis._—It is interesting to note some of the _reliques_ left by our traveller.

I. The unfortunate Doge of Venice, Marino Faliero, seems to have possessed many souvenirs of Marco Polo, and among them two manuscripts, one in the handwriting of his celebrated fellow-citizen(?), and one adorned with miniatures. M. Julius von Schlosser has reprinted (_Die ältesten Medaillen und die Antike_, Bd. XVIII., _Jahrb. d. Kunsthist. Samml. d. Allerhöchsten Kaiserhauses_, Vienna, 1897, pp. 42–43) from the _Bulletino di arti, industrie e curiosità veneziane_, III., 1880–81, p. 101,[38] the inventory of the curiosities kept in the “Red Chamber” of Marino Faliero’s palace in the Parish of the SS. Apostles; we give the following abstract of it:—

Anno ab incarnacione domini nostri Jesu Christi 1351° indictione
sexta mensis aprilis. Inuentarium rerum qui sunt in camera rubea
domi habitationis clarissimi domini MARINI FALETRO de confinio SS.
Apostolorum, scriptum per me Johannem, presbiterum, dicte ecclesie.

• • • • •

_Item_ alia capsaleta cum ogiis auri et argenti, inter quos unum
anulum con inscriptione que dicit: _Ciuble Can Marco Polo_, et unum
torques cum multis animalibus Tartarorum sculptis, que res donum
dedit predictus MARCUS cuidam Faletrorum.

• • • • •

_Item_ 2 capsalete de corio albo cum variis rebus auri et argenti,
quas habuit praedictus MARCUS a Barbarorum rege.

• • • • •

_Item_ 1 ensem mirabilem, qui habet 3 enses simul, quem habuit in
suis itineribus praedictus MARCUS.

• • • • •

_Item_ 1 tenturam de pannis indicis, quam habuit praedictus MARCUS.

_Item_ de itineribus MARCI praedicti liber in corio albo cum multis
figuris.

_Item_ aliud volumen quod vocatur _de locis mirabilibus Tartarorum,
scriptum manu praedicti_ MARCI.

• • • • •

II. There is kept at the Louvre, in the very valuable collection of China Ware given by M. Ernest Grandidier, a white porcelain incense-burner said to come from Marco Polo. This incense-burner, which belonged to Baron Davillier, who received it, as a present, from one of the keepers of the Treasury of St. Mark’s at Venice, is an octagonal _ting_ from the Fo-kien province, and of the time of the Sung Dynasty. By the kind permission of M. P. Grandidier, we reproduce it from Pl. II. 6, of the _Céramique chinoise_, Paris, 1894, published by this learned amateur.—H. C.]

---------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] 1. The Will is made in prospect of his voyage to Crete.

2. He had drafted his will with his own hand, sealed the draft,
and made it over to Pietro Pagano, priest of S. Felice and Notary,
to draw out a formal testament in faithful accordance therewith
in case of the Testator’s death; and that which follows is the
substance of the said draft rendered from the vernacular into
Latin. (“Ego Matheus Paulo ... volens ire in Cretam, ne repentinus
casus hujus vite fragilis me subreperet intestatum, mea propria
manu meum scripsi et condidi testamentum, rogans Petrum Paganum
ecclesie Scti. Felicis presbiterum et Notarium, sana mente et
integro consilio, ut, secundum ipsius scripturam quam sibi tunc
dedi meo sigillo munitam, meum scriberet testamentum, si me de hoc
seculo contigeret pertransire; cujus scripture tenor translato
vulgari in latinum per omnia talis est.”)

3. Appoints as Trustees Messer Maffeo Polo his uncle, Marco Polo
his brother, Messer Nicolo Secreto (or Sagredo) his father-in-law,
and Felix Polo his cousin (_consanguineum_).

4. Leaves 20 _soldi_ to each of the Monasteries from Grado to Capo
d’Argine; and 150 _lire_ to all the congregations of Rialto, on
condition that the priests of these maintain an annual service in
behalf of the souls of his father, mother, and self.

5. To his daughter Fiordelisa 2000 _lire_ to marry her withal. To
be invested in safe mortgages in Venice, and the interest to go to
her.

Also leaves her the interest from 1000 _lire_ of his funds in
Public Debt (? _de meis imprestitis_) to provide for her till she
marries. After her marriage this 1000 _lire_ and its interest shall
go to his male heir if he has one, and failing that to his brother
Marco.

6. To his wife Catharine 400 _lire_ and all her clothes as they
stand now. To the Lady Maroca 100 _lire_.

7. To his natural daughter Pasqua 400 _lire_ to marry her withal.
Or, if she likes to be a nun, 200 _lire_ shall go to her convent
and the other 200 shall purchase securities for her benefit. After
her death these shall come to his male heir, or failing that be
sold, and the proceeds distributed for the good of the souls of his
father, mother, and self.

8. To his natural brothers Stephen and Giovannino he leaves 500
_lire_. If one dies the whole to go to the other. If both die
before marrying, to go to his male heir; failing such, to his
brother Marco or _his_ male heir.

9. To his uncle Giordano Trevisano 200 _lire_. To Marco de Tumba
100. To Fiordelisa, wife of Felix Polo, 100. To Maroca, the
daughter of the late Pietro Trevisano, living at Negropont, 100. To
Agnes, wife of Pietro Lion, 100; and to Francis, son of the late
Pietro Trevisano, in Negropont, 100.

10. To buy Public Debt producing an annual 20 _lire ai grossi_ to
be paid yearly to Pietro Pagano, Priest of S. Felice, who shall
pray for the souls aforesaid: on death of said Pietro the income to
go to Pietro’s cousin Lionardo, Clerk of S. Felice; and after him
always to the senior priest of S. Giovanni Grisostomo with the same
obligation.

11. Should his wife prove with child and bear a son or sons they
shall have his whole property not disposed of. If a daughter, she
shall have the same as Fiordelisa.

12. If he have no male heir his Brother Marco shall have the
Testator’s share of his Father’s bequest, and 2000 _lire_ besides.
Cousin Nicolo shall have 500 _lire_, and Uncle Maffeo 500.

13. Should Daughter Fiordelisa die unmarried her 2000 _lire_ and
interest to go to his male heir, and failing such to Brother Marco
and his male heir. But in that case Marco shall pay 500 _lire_ to
Cousin Nicolo or his male heir.

14. Should his wife bear him a male heir or heirs, but these should
die under age, the whole of his undisposed property shall go to
Brother Marco or his male heir. But in that case 500 _lire_ shall
be paid to Cousin Nicolo.

15. Should his wife bear a daughter and she die unmarried, her
2000 _lire_ and interest shall go to Brother Marco, with the same
stipulation in behalf of Cousin Nicolo.

16. Should the whole amount of his property between cash and goods
not amount to 10,000 _lire_ (though he believes he has fully as
much), his bequests are to be ratably diminished, except those to
his own children which he does not wish diminished. Should any
legatee die before receiving the bequest, its amount shall fall to
the Testator’s heir male, and failing such, the half to go to Marco
or his male heir, and the other half to be distributed for the good
of the souls aforesaid.

The witnesses are Lionardo priest of S. Felice, Lionardo clerk of
the same, and the Notary Pietro Pagano priest of the same.

[2] According to Romanin (I. 321) the _lira dei grossi_ was also called
_Lira d’imprestidi_, and if the _lire_ here are to be so taken, the
sum will be 10,000 ducats, the largest amount by far that occurs in
any of these Polo documents, unless, indeed, the 1000 _lire_ in § 5
of Maffeo Junior’s Will be the like; but I have some doubt if such
lire are intended in either case.

[3] “(Resolved) That grace be granted to the respectable MARCO PAULO,
relieving him of the penalty he has incurred for neglecting to have
his water-pipe examined, seeing that he was ignorant of the order
on that subject.” (See _Appendix C._ No. 3.) The other reference,
to M. Polo, of S. Geremia, runs as follows:—

[_MCCCII. indic. XV. die VIII. Macii q̄ fiat grā Gūillō aurifici q̄
ipe absolvat a pena ī qua dicit icurisse p̄ uno spōtono sibi iūeto
veuiēdo de Mestre p̄p̄e domū Macī Pauli de Canaregio ūi descenderat
ad bibendū._]

“That grace be granted to William the Goldsmith, relieving him of
the penalty which he is stated to have incurred on account of a
spontoon (_spontono_, a loaded bludgeon) found upon him near the
house of MARCO PAULO of Cannareggio, where he had landed to drink
on his way from Mestre.” (See _Cicogna_, V. p. 606.)

[4] _Sansovino, Venezia, Città Nobilissima e Singolare, Descritta_,
etc., Ven. 1581, f. 236 _v._; _Barbaro, Alberi; Coronelli, Allante
Veneto_, I. 19.

[5] The word _Millio_ occurs several times in the Chronicle of the
Doge Andrea Dandolo, who wrote about 1342; and _Milion_ occurs at
least once (besides the application of the term to Polo) in the
History of Giovanni Villani; viz. when he speaks of the Treasury
of Avignon:— “_diciotto_ milioni _di fiorini d’oro_ ec. _che ogni_
milione _è mille migliaja di fiorini d’ oro la valuta_.” (xi. 20,
§ 1; _Ducange_, and _Vocab. Univ. Ital._). But the definition,
thought necessary by Villani, in itself points to the use of the
word as rare. _Domilion_ occurs in the estimated value of houses
at Venice in 1367, recorded in the _Cronaca Magna_ in St. Mark’s
Library. (_Romanin_, III. 385).

[6] “Also; that Pardon be granted to Bonocio of Mestre for that 152
_lire_ in which he stood condemned by the Captains of the Posts,
on account of wine smuggled by him, in such wise: to wit, that he
was to pay the said fine in 4 years by annual instalments of one
fourth, to be retrenched from the pay due to him on his journey in
the suite of our ambassadors, with assurance that anything then
remaining deficient of his instalments should be made good by
himself or his securities. And his securities are the Nobles Pietro
Morosini and MARCO PAULO MILION̄.” Under _Milion̄_ is written in an
ancient hand “_mortuus_.” (See _Appendix C_, No. 4.)

[7] Humboldt tells this (_Examen_, II. 221), alleging _Jacopo d’Acqui_
as authority; and Libri (_H. des Sciences Mathématiques_, II. 149),
quoting _Doglioni, Historia Veneziana_. But neither authority bears
out the citations. The story seems really to come from Amoretti’s
commentary on the _Voyage du Cap. L. F. Maldonado_, Plaisance,
1812, p. 67. Amoretti quotes as authority _Pignoria, Degli Dei
Antichi_.

An odd revival of this old libel was mentioned to me recently by
Mr. George Moffatt. When he was at school it was common among the
boys to express incredulity by the phrase: “Oh, what a Marco Polo!”

[8] Thibault, according to Ducange, was in 1307 named Grand Master
of the Arblasteers of France; and Buchon says his portrait is at
Versailles among the Admirals (No. 1170). Ramon de Muntaner fell
in with the Seigneur de Cepoy in Greece, and speaks of him as “but
a Captain of the Wind, as his Master was King of the Wind.” (See
_Ducange, H. de l’Empire de Const. sous les Emp. François_, Venice
ed. 1729, pp. 109, 110; _Buchon, Chroniques Etrangères_, pp. lv.
467–470.)

[9] The note is not found in the Bodleian MS., which is the third known
one of this precise type.

[10] Messire Jean, the son of Thibault, is mentioned in the accounts of
the latter in the _Chambre des Comptes_ at Paris, as having been
with his Father in Romania. And in 1344 he commanded a confederate
Christian armament sent to check the rising power of the Turks,
and beat a great Turkish fleet in the Greek seas. (_Heyd._ I. 377;
_Buchon_, 468.)

[11] The document is given in _Appendix C_, No. 5. It was found by
Comm. Barozzi, the Director of the Museo Civico, when he had most
kindly accompanied me to aid in the search for certain other
documents in the archives of the _Casa di Ricovero_, or Poor House
of Venice. These archives contain a great mass of testamentary
and other documents, which probably have come into that singular
depository in connection with bequests to public charities.

The document next mentioned was found in as strange a site, viz.,
the _Casa degli Esposti_ or Foundling Hospital, which possesses
similar muniments. This also I owe to Comm. Barozzi, who had
noted it some years before, when commencing an arrangement of the
archives of the Institution.

[12] The Legal Year at Venice began on the 1st of March. And 1324 was
7th of the Indiction. Hence the date is, according to the modern
Calendar, 1324.

[13] Marsden says of Moreta and Fantina, the only daughters named
by Ramusio, that these may be thought rather familiar terms of
endearment than baptismal names. This is a mistake however.
_Fantina_ is from one of the parochial saints of Venice, S.
Fantino, and the male name was borne by sundry Venetians, among
others by a son of Henry Dandolo’s. Moreta is perhaps a variation
of Maroca, which seems to have been a family name among the Polos.
We find also the male name of Bellela, written _Bellello_,
_Bellero_, _Belletto_.

[14] The _Decima_ went to the Bishop of Castello (eventually converted
into Patriarch of Venice) to divide between himself, the Clergy,
the Church, and the Poor. It became a source of much bad feeling,
which came to a head after the plague of 1348, when some families
had to pay the tenth three times within a very short space. The
existing Bishop agreed to a composition, but his successor Paolo
Foscari (1367) claimed that on the death of every citizen an exact
inventory should be made, and a full tithe levied. The Signory
fought hard with the Bishop, but he fled to the Papal Court and
refused all concession. After his death in 1376 a composition was
made for 5500 ducats yearly. (_Romanin_, II. 406; III. 161, 165.)

[15] There is a difficulty about estimating the value of these sums
from the variety of Venice pounds or _lire_. Thus the _Lira dei
piccoli_ was reckoned 3 to the ducat or zecchin, the _Lira ai
grossi_ 2 to the ducat, but the _Lira_ dei _grossi_ or _Lira
d’imprestidi_ was equal to 10 ducats, or (allowing for higher
value of silver then) about 3_l._ 15_s._; a little more than
the equivalent of the then Pound sterling. This last money is
_specified_ in some of the bequests, as in the 20 soldi (or 1
lira) to St. Lorenzo, and in the annuity of 8 lire to Polo’s wife;
but it seems doubtful what money is meant when _libra_ only or
_libra denariorum venetorum_ is used. And this doubt is not new.
Gallicciolli relates that in 1232 Giacomo Menotto left to the
Church of S. Cassiano as an annuity _libras denariorum venetorum
quatuor_. Till 1427 the church received the income as of _lire dei
piccoli_, but on bringing a suit on the subject it was adjudged
that _lire ai grossi_ were to be understood. (_Delle Mem. Venet.
Ant._ II. 18.) This story, however, cuts both ways, and does not
decide our doubt.

[16] The form of the name _Ysabeta_ aptly illustrates the transition
that seems so strange from _Elizabeth_ into the _Isabel_ that the
Spaniards made of it.

[17] _I.e._ the extent of what was properly called the Dogado, all
along the Lagoons from Grado on the extreme east to Capo d’Argine
(Cavarzere at the mouth of the Adige) on the extreme west.

[18] The word rendered _Guilds_ is “_Scholarum_.” The crafts at Venice
were united in corporations called _Fraglie_ or _Scholae_, each
of which had its statutes, its head called the _Gastald_, and its
place of meeting under the patronage of some saint. These acted as
societies of mutual aid, gave dowries to poor girls, caused masses
to be celebrated for deceased members, joined in public religious
processions, etc., nor could any craft be exercised except by
members of such a guild. (_Romanin_, I. 390.)

[19] A few years after Ser Marco’s death (1328) we find the Great
Council granting to this Peter the rights of a natural Venetian, as
having been a long time at Venice, and well-conducted. (See App. C,
_Calendar of Documents_, No. 13.) This might give some additional
colour to M. Pauthier’s supposition that this Peter the Tartar was
a faithful servant who had accompanied Messer Marco from the East
30 years before. But yet the supposition is probably unfounded.
Slavery and slave-trade were very prevalent at Venice in the Middle
Ages, and V. Lazari, a writer who examined a great many records
connected therewith, found that by far the greater number of slaves
were described as _Tartars_. There does not seem to be any clear
information as to how they were imported, but probably from the
factories on the Black Sea, especially Tana after its establishment.

A tax of 5 ducats per head was set on the export of slaves in 1379,
and as the revenue so received under the Doge Tommaso Mocenigo
(1414–1423) amounted (so says Lazari) to 50,000 ducats, the
startling conclusion is that 10,000 slaves yearly were exported!
This it is difficult to accept. The slaves were chiefly employed
in domestic service, and the records indicate the women to have
been about twice as numerous as the men. The highest price recorded
is 87 ducats paid for a Russian girl sold in 1429. All the higher
prices are for young women; a significant circumstance. With the
existence of this system we may safely connect the extraordinary
frequence of mention of illegitimate children in Venetian wills and
genealogies. (See _Lazari, Del Traffico degli Schiavi in Venezia_,
etc., in _Miscellanea di Storia Italiana_, I. 463 _seqq._) In 1308
the Khan Toktai of Kipchak (see Polo, II. 496), hearing that the
Genoese and other Franks were in the habit of carrying off Tartar
children to sell, sent a force against Caffa, which was occupied
without resistance, the people taking refuge in their ships. The
Khan also seized the Genoese property in Sarai. (_Heyd._ II. 27.)

[20] “_Stracium et omne capud massariciorum_”; in Scotch phrase
“_napery and plenishing_.” A Venetian statute of 1242 prescribes
that a bequest of _massariticum_ shall be held to carry to the
legatee all articles of common family use except those of gold
and silver plate or jeweller’s work. (See _Ducange, sub voce._)
_Stracci_ is still used technically in Venice for “household linen.”

[21] In the original _aureas libras quinque_. According to Marino
Sanudo the Younger (_Vite dei Dogi_ in _Muratori_, xxii. 521) this
should be pounds or _lire_ of _aureole_, the name of a silver
coin struck by and named after the Doge _Aurio_ Mastropietro
(1178–1192): “Ancora fu fatta una Moneta d’argento che si chiamava
_Aureola_ per la casata del Doge; _è quella Moneta che i Notai de
Venezia mettevano di pena sotto i loro instrumenti_.” But this was
a vulgar error. An example of the penalty of 5 pounds of gold is
quoted from a decree of 960; and the penalty is sometimes expressed
“_auri purissimi librae_ 5.” A coin called the _lira d’oro_ or
_redonda_ is alleged to have been in use before the ducat was
introduced. (See _Gallicciolli_, II. 16.) But another authority
seems to identify the _lira a oro_ with the _lira dei grossi_. (See
_Zanetti, Nuova Racc. delle Monete &c. d’Italia_, 1775. I. 308.)