CHAPTER IX.
Travels of William de Rubruquis into Tartary, about the year 1253253



INTRODUCTION
   These travels were undertaken by order of Louis IX. of France, usually called St Louis. In the original, or at least in the printed copies which have come down to our times, Rubruquis is said to have commenced his journey in the year 1253; but this date is attended with some difficulties, as we are certain that king Louis was a prisoner from 1249 to 1254. It is possible, indeed, that he may have dispatched this mission while a prisoner; yet it is more probable, that the date may have been vitiated in transcription. The real name of this early traveller, who was a friar of the minorite order, is said to have been Van Ruysbroek254, from a village of that name near Brussels, Latinized, or Frenchified rather, into De Rubruquis. By Hakluyt he is named Rubruk. The version here offered to the public, is a translation from the Latin copy in Hakluyt, as addressed by the adventurous traveller to his royal master, after his return from traversing the whole extent of Tartary; the English translation, by that early and meritorious collector, being far too antiquated for modern readers.
   Dedication by the Author
   To the Most Excellent and Most Christian Lord Louis, by the Grace of GOD the illustrious King of the French; Friar William de Rubruquís, the meanest of the Minorite Order, wisheth health and continual triumph in CHRIST JESUS.
   It is written in the book of Ecclesiasticus, "That the truly wise man shall travel through strange countries; for he hath tried the good and evil among men." All this, Sire, I have performed; and I wish I may have done so as a wise man, and not as a fool. For many do foolishly those things which have been done by wise men, and I fear I may be reckoned among that number. But as you were pleased to command me at my departure, that I should write down every thing I saw among the Tartars, and should not fear to write long letters, I now therefore obey your orders, yet with awe and reverence, as wanting fit language in which to address so great a king.

SECTION I. Commencement of the Journey
   Be it known, therefore, to your sacred majesty, that in the year 1253, on the 7th of May, we entered into the sea of Pontus, which the Bulgarians call the Great Sea255; which I was informed, by certain merchants, is 1008 miles in length, and is in a manner divided, about its middle, into two parts, by means of two provinces which project into it, one on the north, and the other on the south. That which is on the south is called Synope, and contains the castle and port of the Sultan of the Turks. The northern province is called Gasaria by the Latins256, and Cassaria by the Greek inhabitants of its coast, which is the same with Caesaria; and from thence certain headlands extend southwards into the sea, towards Synope, from the nearest part of which they are 300 miles distant; so that the distance from these points to Constantinople is 700 miles in length and breadth, and 700 miles to Hiberia in the east, which is a province of Georgia.
   We arrived in the province of Gasaria, or Casaria, which is of a triangular form, having a city named Kersova on its western extremity, in which St Clement suffered martyrdom. While sailing past that city, we saw an island containing a church, which is said to have been built by the angels. In the middle of this province, and on a cape to the south, stands the city of Soldaia, directly facing Synope. And here all merchants land who come from Turkey, in their way to the north, and embark here again on their return from Russia and the north for Turkey; these latter bring ermines and martins, and other valuable furs, and the former carry cloths made of cotton, or bombasins, and silk webs, and aromatic spices. On the east of this province is the city of Matriga257, where the Tanais flows into the Pontus, by a mouth of twelve miles wide258. Before this river enters the Euxine, it forms itself into a sea towards the north, of seven hundred miles in length and breadth, but in no place above six paces deep, so that it is not navigable for large vessels: For which reason, the merchants of Constantinople, when they arrive at the city of Matriga, send their barks to the Tanais, where they purchase dried fish, sturgeons, thosas, barbels, and many other sorts of fish.
   This province of Casaria has the sea on three sides; on the west, where stands Kersova, or the city of St Clement; on the south, where is the city of Soldaia, at which we landed; and on the east, where Matriga is situated at the mouth of the Tanais. To the east of that mouth is the city of Zikia, and the countries of the Suevi and Hiberi still further east, all of which are not under the dominion of the Tartars. To the south is Trebisond, which has its own prince, named Guido, who, although of the imperial race of Constantinople, is under the Tartar dominion; and next to it is Synope, which belongs to the sultan of the Turks, who is likewise subjected to the Tartars. Beyond this is the country of Vastacius, whose son is named Astar, after his maternal grandfather, and this country is not under the dominion of the Tartars. From the mouth of the Tanais to the Danube, and even beyond the Danube towards Constantinople, including Walachia, which is the country of Assanus, and the lesser Bulgaria as far as Solonia, pay tribute to the Tartars, who of late years have exacted an axe from each family, and all the corn which they find in heaps, in addition to the regular tribute.
   We landed at Soldaia259 on the 21st of May, where certain merchants of Constantinople had previously arrived, who reported that ambassadors from the Holy Land were coming thither, on their way to Sartach; although I had publickly declared on palm Sunday, in the church of St Sophia, that I was no ambassador from you or any one, and only travelled to these infidels, in conformity with the rule of our order. On our arrival, these merchants advised me to be cautious of what I said; for, as they had already reported that I was an ambassador, if I should now say the contrary, I should be refused a free passage. Upon this, I addressed myself to the lieutenants of the city, because the captains had gone with the tribute to Baatu, and were not yet returned: saying, "We have heard in the Holy Land, that your lord Sartach260 had become a Christian, which hath greatly rejoiced all the Christians, and especially the most Christian King of the French, who is there in pilgrimage, fighting against the Saracens, that he may redeem the Holy Land out of their hands: Wherefore, I desire to go to Sartach, that I may carry him letters from the king my master, in which he gives him intelligence of importance to all Christendom." They received us graciously, and entertained us hospitably in the cathedral church; The bishop had been at the court of Sartach, and told me many good things concerning him, which I did not find afterwards to be true. They then gave us our choice, either to have carts drawn by oxen, for carrying our baggage, or sumpter horses; and the Constantinopolitan merchants advised me to purchase covered carts, like those in which the Russians carry their peltry, in which I should put every thing which was wanted for daily use; because, if I were to take packhorses, I should be constrained to pack and unpack at every baiting place, and that besides, I should ride more easily in the carts than on horseback. By following their evil advice, I was two months in travelling to Sartach, which I might have accomplished in one on horseback. I had brought with me from Constantinople fruits of various kinds, muscadel wine, and delicate biscuits, to present to the captains, that I might obtain free passage, having been advised by the merchants, that these persons gave a very cold reception to such as applied to them empty handed. The governors or captains being absent, I caused all these things to be packed up in one of the carts, being informed that they would be acceptable presents to Sartach.
   We began our journey about the beginning of June, having four covered carts of our own, and two others which they furnished to us, in which we carried our bedding, and we were allowed five riding horses for ourselves, our company consisting of five persons; viz. myself and my companion, Friar Bartholomew of Cremona, Goset, the bearer of these letters, the man of God Turgeman261, and a servant or slave, named Nicholas, whom I had purchased at Constantinople, out of the alms we had received. The people of Soldaia likewise allowed us two men to drive our carts, and to take care of our horses and oxen.
   There are several lofty promontories on the shore of Casaria, between Kersova262 and the mouth of the Tanais; and there are forty castles between Kersova and Soldaia, at almost each of which a distinct language is spoken; and among these are many Goths who speak the Teutonic language263. Beyond these mountains, towards the north, extends a most beautiful wood, in a plain, which is full of springs and rivulets; and beyond this wood is an extensive plain, continuing for five days journey to the northern extremity of this province, where it contracts into a narrow space, having the sea on the east and west, and a great ditch is drawn between these two seas. In this plain the Comani dwelt before the coming of the Tartars, and compelled the before-mentioned cities and castles to pay tribute; and upon the coming of the Tartars, so vast a multitude of the Comani took refuge in this province, flying to the sea shore, that the living were forced to feed upon the dying, as I was assured by a merchant, an eye-witness, who declared, that the survivors tore in pieces with their teeth, and devoured the raw flesh of the dead as dogs do carrion. Towards the extremity of this province, there are many large lakes, having salt springs on their banks, and when the water of these springs reaches the lake, it coagulates into hard salt like ice. From these salt springs, Sartach and Baatu draw large revenues; as people come from all parts of Russia to procure salt, and for each cart-load, they pay two webs of cotton cloth, equal in value to half an yperpera. Many vessels come likewise by sea for salt, all of which pay tribute, in proportion to the quantities which they carry away. On the third day after leaving Soldaia, we fell in with the Tartars, on joining whom, I thought myself entered into a new world; wherefore, I shall use my best endeavours to describe their manners and way of life,

SECTION II. Of the Tartars and their Houses
   They have no permanent city, and they are ignorant of the future. They divide all Scythia among them; and each leader, according to the number of his followers, knows the boundaries of his pastures, and where he ought to feed his flocks in winter and summer, and in spring and autumn. In winter they descend into the warmer regions of the south, and in summer they travel towards the colder countries of the north. Such pastures as have no water, are reserved for winter use, when there is snow on the ground, as the snow there serves instead of water.
   The houses in which they sleep are founded on a round structure of wattled rods, and the roof is formed of wickers, meeting above in a small roundel, from which arises a neck like a chimney, all of which they cover with white felt; and they often cover over the felt with lime, or white earth and powdered bones to make it bright: sometimes their houses are black; and the felt about the neck of the dome is decorated with a variety of pictures. Before the door, likewise, they hang a felt, ornamented with painting; and they employ much coloured felt, painted with vines, trees, birds, and beasts, for decorating their dwellings. Some of these houses are so large as to measure thirty feet in breadth. I once measured the distance between the wheel ruts of one of their waggons to be twenty feet, and when the house was upon the waggon, it spread beyond the wheels at least five feet on each side. I have counted twenty-two bullocks dragging one waggon, surmounted by a house; eleven in one row, according to the breadth or the waggon, and other eleven before these. The axle of this waggon was very large, like the mast of a ship; and one man stood in the door of the house, upon the waggon, urging on the oxen. They likewise make quadrangular structures of small split wicker, like large chests, and frame for them an arched lid or cover of similar twigs, having a small door at the front end; and they cover this chest or small house with black felt, smeared over with suet or sheeps' milk264, to prevent the rain from penetrating; and these are likewise decorated with paintings or feathers. In these they put all their household goods and treasure; and they bind these upon higher carts, drawn by camels, that they may be able to cross rivers without injuring their contents. These chests are never taken down from the carts to which they belong. When their dwelling-houses are unloaded from the waggons, their doors are always turned to the south; and the carts, with the chests which belong to each house, are drawn up in two rows, one on each side of the dwelling, at about the distance of a stone's throw.
   The married women get most beautiful carts made for themselves, which I am unable to describe without the aid of painting, and which I would have drawn for your majesty, if I had possessed sufficient talents. One rich Moal, or Tartar, will have from a hundred to two hundred such carts with chests. Baatu has sixteen wives, each of whom has one large house, besides several small ones, serving as chambers for her female attendants, and which are placed behind the large house; and to the large house of each wife there belong two hundred chest-carts. When the camp is formed, the house of the first wife is placed on the west, and all the rest extend in one line eastwards, so that the last wife is on the east, or left of all. And between the station of each wife there is the distance of a stone's throw, so that the court of a rich Moal appears like a large city, but in which there are very few men. One girl is able to lead twenty or thirty carts; for the ground being quite plain, they fasten the carts, whether drawn by camels or oxen, behind each other, and the girl sits on the front of the foremost cart of the string, directing the cattle, while all the rest follow with an equable motion. If they come to any difficult passage, the carts are untied from each other, and conducted across singly; and they travel at a very slow pace, only so fast as an ox or a lamb can easily walk.

SECTION III. Of their Beds and Drinking-cups
   After having placed the house on the ground, with its door turned to the south, the bed of the master is placed to the north, opposite the door. The place of the women is always on the east, or on the masters left hand, where he sits on his bed with his face to the south, and the place of the men on his right hand, to the west; and when any men enter into the house, they never hang up their quivers on the womens side. Over the head of the lord there is placed an image or puppet of felt, which is called the masters brother, and a similar image over the head of the mistress, which is called her brother; and a little higher between these, there is one very small and thin, which is, as it were, the keeper of the house. The mistress places at the foot of her bed, on the right hand, in a conspicuous place, the skin of a kid, stuffed with wool, or some such material, and beside that a small puppet looking towards the maidens and women. Near the door, on the womens side of the house, there is another image, with a cows udder, as the guardian of the women who milk the kine. On the masters side of the door is another image, having the udder of a mare, being the tutelary deity of the men who milk the mares. When they meet together for drinking, they, in the first place, sprinkle the master's idol with some of the liquor, and then all the rest in their order; after which a servant goes out of the house with a cup of drink, and sprinkles thrice towards the south, making a genuflexion between each, in honour of the fire, then towards the east, in honour of the air, next towards the west, in honour of the water, and lastly, towards the north, for the dead. When the lord takes the cup in his hand to drink, he first pours a part on the ground; and if he is to drink on horseback, he first spills a portion on the neck and mane of his horse. After the servant has made his libations to the four quarters of the world, he returns into the house, and two other servants are ready with two other cups and salvers, to carry drink to the lord and his wife, who sit together on a bed. When he has more than one wife, she with whom he slept the night before sits beside him that day, and all the other wives must come to her house that day to drink; and all the gifts which the lord receives that day are deposited in her chests. Upon a bench there stands vessels of milk and other drinks, and drinking cups.

SECTION IV. Of their Kinds of Drink, and Fashion of Drinking
   In winter they make excellent drink of rice, millet, and honey, which is clear like wine; and they have wine brought to them from distant countries. In summer they care not for any drink except cosmos, which always stands within the door, and beside it is a minstrel with his instrument of music. I saw no citerns, lutes, and viols, such as ours, but they have many other instruments which we have not. When the lord begins to drink, one of his servants exclaims aloud Ha! and the minstrel begins to play. When they make a great feast, all the guests clap their hands and dance to the music, the men before the lord, and the women before the lady of the house. When the lord hath drank, the servant calls out as before, and the minstrel ceases; then all drink round in their turns, both men and women, and they sometimes carouse on hearing the news of a victory, to a shameful and beastly degree. When they desire to provoke one to drink, they seize him by the ears, dragging them strongly, as if to widen his throat, clapping their hands, and dancing before him. When they mean to do great honour to any person, one takes a full cup, having one on his right hand, and another on his left, and these three advance towards him who is to receive the cup, singing and dancing before him; but when he reaches out his hand to receive the cup, they suddenly draw back, and come forwards again in the same manner, and they thus delude him three or four times, till he seems very eager, when they give him the cup, and keep dancing, singing, and stamping with their feet, till he has finished his draught

SECTION V. Of their Food
   They eat indifferently of all dead animals, even such as have died of disease; and among such numbers of cattle and flocks, many animals must die almost continually. Bat in summer, when they have plenty of cosmos, or mares milk, they care little for any other food. When an ox or horse happens to die, they cut its flesh into thin slices, which they dry in the sun and air, which preserves it from corruption, and free from all bad smell. From the intestines of their horses they make sausages, better than those which are made of pork, and which they eat when newly made, but the rest of the flesh is reserved for winter use. Of the hides of oxen they form large bags, which they dry in a wonderful manner in the smoke. Of the hinder part of their horse skins they fabricate excellent sandals. They will make a meal for fifty, or even an hundred men, of the carcase of one ram. This they mince in a bowl, mixed with salt and water, which is their only seasoning, and then, with the point of a knife, or a little fork made on purpose, like those with which we eat pears and apples stewed in wine, they reach to every one of the company a morsel or two, according to the number; the master of the house having first served himself to his mind, before any of the rest, and if he gives a particular portion to any one, that person must eat it up, without giving any of it to another, or if he is unable to eat the whole, he takes it home with him, or gives it to his servant to take care of, if he has one, otherwise he puts it into his own saptargat, or square leather bag, which they carry always with them for such purposes, or for preserving any bones which they have not time to pick thoroughly, that they may clean them well afterwards, and that nothing may be lost.

SECTION VI. How they make the Drink called Cosmos
   Cosmos is made from mares milk, in the following manner: They fasten a long line between two posts fixed in the ground, and to it they tie the young foals of the mares which are to be milked, by which means the mares are induced to stand quietly beside their foals, and allow themselves to be milked. If any mare happens to be unruly, her foal is brought, and allowed to suck a little, after which the milker again succeeds. Having thus procured a quantity of new drawn milk, it is poured into a large skin bag, which is immediately agitated by blows with a wooden club, having its lower end hollow, and as large as a man's head. After some time the milk begins to ferment like new wine, and to acquire a degree of sourness. The agitation is continued in the same manner until the butter comes; after which it is fit for drinking, and has a pungent yet pleasant taste, like raspberry wine, leaving a flavour on the palate like almond milk. This liquor is exceedingly pleasant, and of a diuretic quality; is exhilarating to the spirits, and even intoxicating to weak heads.
   Cara-cosmos, which means black cosmos, is made for the great lords, in the following manner: The agitation, as before described, is continued until all the lees or coagulated portion of the milk subsides to the bottom, like the lees of wine, and the thin parts remain above like whey, or clear must of wine. The white lees are given to the servants, and have a strong soporific quality. The clear supernatent liquor is called cara-cosmos, and is an exceedingly pleasant and wholesome beverage265. Baatu has thirty farms around his dwelling-place, at about a day's journey distant, each of which supplies him daily with the caracosmos from the milk of an hundred mares, so that he receives the daily produce of three thousand mares, besides white cosmos which the rest of his subjects contribute: For, as the inhabitants of Syria pay the third part of their productions to their lords, so the Tartars pay their mares milk every third day.
   From the milk of their cows they make butter, which they do not salt for preservation, but boil and clarify it, after which it is poured into bags made of sheep-skin, and preserved for winter use. The residue of the milk is kept till it becomes quite sour, after which it is boiled, and the coagula or curds, which form, are dried in the sun till quite hard, and are preserved in bags for winter provision. This sour curd, which they call gryut, when wanted for use in winter when they have no milk, is put into a bag with hot water, and by dilligent beating and agitation, is dissolved into a sour white liquor, which they drink instead of milk; for they have a great aversion to drink water by itself.

SECTION VII. Of the Beasts they eat, of their Garments, and of their Hunting parties
   The great lords have farms in the southern parts of their dominions, from whence millet and flour are brought them for winter provisions; and the meaner people procure these in exchange for sheep and skins. The slaves content themselves with thick water266. They do not eat either long tailed or short tailed mice. There are many marmots in their country, which they call Sogur, which gather during winter, in companies of twenty or thirty together, in burrows, where they sleep for six months; these they catch in great numbers and use as food. There are likewise a kind of rabbits, with long tails like cats, having black and white hairs at the extremity of their tails. They have many other small animals fit for eating, with which they are well acquainted. I have seen no deer, and very few hares, but many antelopes. I saw vast numbers of wild asses, which resemble mules. Likewise an animal resembling a ram, called artak, with crooked horns of such amazing size, that I was hardly able to lift a pair of them with one hand. Of these horns they make large drinking-cups. They have falcons, gyrfalcons, and other hawks in great abundance, all of which they carry on their right hands. Every hawk has a small thong of leather fastened round his neck, the ends of which hang down to the middle of his breast; and before casting off after game, they bow down the hawk's head towards his breast, by means of this thong, with their left hand, lest he be tossed by the wind, or should soar too high267. The Tartars are most expert hunters, and procure a great part of their sustenance by the chase.
   When the Tartars intend to hunt wild beasts, a vast multitude of people is collected together, by whom the country is surrounded to a large extent in a great circle; and by gradually contracting this circle towards its centre, they at length collect all the included game into a small space, into which the sportsmen enter and dispatch the game with their arrows.
   From Cataya, and other regions of the east, and from Persia, and other countries of the south they procure silk stuffs, cloth of gold, and cotton cloth, of which they make their summer garments. From Russia, Moxel, Greater Bulgaria, Pascatir, which is the greater Hungary, and Kersis, all of which are northern countries and full of woods, and from other countries towards the north which are subject to their authority, they procure valuable furs of many kinds, which I have not seen in our parts. With these they make their winter garments; and they have always at least two fur gowns, one of which has the fur inwards, and the other has the fur outwards to the wind and snow; which outer garments are usually made of the skins of wolves, foxes, or bears. But while they sit within doors, they have gowns of finer and more costly materials. The garments of the meaner sort are made of the skins of dogs and goats.
   They likewise have breeches made of skins. The rich often line their garments with silk shag, which is exceedingly soft, light, and warm. The poor line theirs with cotton cloth, wadded with the finest wool which they can sort out from their fleeces; and of the coarser wool they make felts for covering their houses and chests, and for sleeping upon. Their ropes are likewise made of wool, mixed with a third part of horse hair. Of felt they also make cloths to lay under their saddles, and caps to defend their heads from rain. In all these things they use vast quantities of wool. Your majesty has seen the habits of these people268.

SECTION VIII. Of the Fashion of their Hair, and the Ornaments of their Women
   The men have a square tonsure on their crowns, from the two front corners of which they shave two seams down to their temples. The temples also, and hinder part of the head, to the nape of the neck, are shaved, and the forehead, except one small lock which falls down to the eyes. On each angle of the hind head, they leave a long lock of hair, which they braid and knot together under each ear. The dress of unmarried women differs little from that of the men, except in being somewhat longer. But on the day after marriage, the head is shaved, from the middle down to the forehead, and the woman puts on a wide gown, like that of a monk, but wider and longer. This opens before, and is tied under the right side. In this the Tartars and Turks differ, as the Turks tie their garments always on the left side. They have an ornament for their heads which they call Botta, which is made of the bark of a tree or any other very light substance, made in a round form, so thick as may be grasped with both hands, becoming square at the upper extremity, and in all about two feet long, somewhat resembling the capital of a pillar. This cap is hollow within, and is covered over with rich silk. On the top of this they erect a bunch of quills, or slender rods, about a cubit long, or even more, which they ornament with peacocks feathers on the top, and all around with the feathers of a wild drake, and even with precious stones. The rich ladies wear this ornament on the top of their heads, binding it on strongly with a kind of hat or coif, which has a hole in its crown adapted for this purpose, and under this they collect their hair from the back of the head, lapped up in a kind of knot or bundle within the botta; and the whole is fixed on by means of a ligature under their throat. Hence, when a number of these ladies are seen together on horseback, they appear at a distance like soldiers armed with helmets and lances. The women all sit astride on horseback like men, binding their mantles round their waists with silken scarfs of a sky-blue colour, and they bind another scarf round their breasts. They likewise have a white veil tied on just below their eyes, which reaches down to their breasts. The women are amazingly fat, and the smaller their noses, they are esteemed the more beautiful. They daub over their faces most nastily with grease; and they never keep their beds on account of child-bearing.

SECTION IX. Of the Duties and Labours of the Women, and of their Nuptials
   The employments of the women are, to lead the waggons, to load and unload the horses, to milk the cows, to make butter and gryut, to dress skins, and to sew them together, which they generally do with sinews finely split and twisted into long threads. They likewise make sandals, and socks, and other garments, and felts for covering their houses. They never wash their garments, alleging that it would offend God, and that hanging them up to dry would occasion thunder; and they even beat any person who pretends to wash their garments, and take their clothes from them. They are astonishingly afraid of thunder, during which they turn all strangers from their dwellings, and wrapping themselves in black felt, remain covered up till it is over. They never wash their bowls or dishes; or if they do wash the platters into which the boiled meat is to be put, they do it merely with the scalding broth, which they throw back into the pot.
   The men make bows and arrows, saddles, bridles, and stirrups, construct houses and carts, takes care of the horses, and milk the mares, agitate the cosmos or mares milk, make leather sacks, in which these are kept, take care of, and load the camels, tend the cows, sheep, and goats, and these are sometimes milked by the men, sometimes by the women. They dress hides with sheeps milk, thickened and salted. When they mean to wash their head and hands, they fill their mouths with water, which they squirt out gradually on their hands, and moisten their hair or wash their heads.
   No man can have a wife unless by purchase; so that many maids are rather old before marriage, as their parents always keep them till they can get a good market. They keep the first and second degrees of consanguinity inviolate, but pay no regard to affinity, as one man may have either at once, or successively two sisters. Widows never marry, as their belief is, that all who have served a man in this life, shall do so in the next; so that widows believe that they shall return after death to their husbands. Hence arises an abominable custom among them, that the son sometimes marries all his father's wives except his own mother; for the court or household of the father and mother always devolves to the younger son, and he has to provide for all his father's wives, which fall to his share along with the inheritance; and he considers, that if he takes his father's wives, it will be no injury or disgrace to him though they went to his father in the next world. When any one has made a bargain with another for his daughter, the father of the maid gives a feast to the bridegroom, and the bride runs away and hides herself in the house of one of her relations. Then the father says to the bridegroom, "My daughter is now yours, take her wherever you can find her." On which he seeks for her, with the assistance of his friends, till he discovers her concealment, and then leads her as if by violence to his house.