Book 1, 
556 The VOYAGES and TRAVELS 
SECTION XX. 
The remarkable Travels of William de Rubmquis a Monk^ fent hy Louis DC King of 
France, commonly filed St. Louis, Embaffador into different Parts of the Eaft, parti- 
cularly into Tartary and China, A, EX, 1253, containing abundance of curious Parti- 
culars relating to thofe Countries . 
Written by the Embaflador, and addrefted to his Royal Mafter King Louis, 
l, A fuccincl Account of the Empire of the Tartars, and particularly of the Princes to whom our Author was 
fent. 2. Phe Char alder of Louis IX. of France 3 and a Jhort Hiftory of his Expedition into Syria and Egypt. 
3. The Qccafion and Deftgn of his Embajfy , together with the Char alder of our Author . 4. His dedica- 
tory Epiftle to the King his Mafter. 5. An Account of his Journey to Conftantinople. 6. His Arrival 
at Soldaia, the firft Town m Tartary. 7. An Account of the Habitations of the Tartars. 8. Of their 
Beds , Idols , and fuperftitious Ceremonies . 9. Of their Drinking and Merry-makings. 10. Of their Food 
and Manner of Eating, u. Of a particular kind of Drink ufed by them , called Cofmos. 12. Of the 
Animals in their Country , their Rabbet s y and their Manner of hunting. 13. Of the Manner in which 
the Men Jhave them (elves , and of the Ornaments of their Women. 14. Of the Employments of the female 
Tartars 3 of their Way of Life , and of their Marriages. 15. The Manner of adminiftering Juftice 
among them, and of the Ceremonies ufed at their Funerals. 16. Phe Author refumes the Account of his 
V : yage , and acquaints us with the Ingratitude and Brutality of the Tartars. 17. Of the Court of Za- 
gatay, and of their Adventures there. 18. Of the Alans, who came to viftt them there at the Feaft of 
Whitliintide. 19. An Account of a Saracen who deftred to be baptized , and of certain People that feem to 
he Lepers. 20. Of the great Hardfhips and Difficulties they went through in thefe Pravels , and of the 
Burials of the Comanians. 21. Of the Country in which they found Sartach and his Subjects. 22. Of 
the Court of Sartach, and of its Splendor and Magnificence. 23. Phey are ordered to repair to Baatu, the 
Lather of Sartach. 24. Phe Rcfpefi paid by Sartach, Mangu-Khan, and Ken-Khan, to Chriftians , and of 
the Rife and Progrefs of the Tartar Empire. 25. Of the Ruffians, Hungarians, Alans, and of the Cas- 
pian- Sea. 26. Of the Court of Baatu, and of their Reception there. 27. Pheir Journey from thence to 
the Court of Mangu-Khan. 28. Of the River Jagag, and of the Countries and People on that Side. 
29. Of the Hunger , Phirft , and other Inconveniencies by them fuftained in this Journey. 30. Of the 
Death of Ban, and of the Germans fettled in that Country. 31. Of the ftrange Mixture of Religions in 
this Country, viz. Neftorians, Mohammedans, and Idolaters. 32. Of their Pemples, Idols , and of their 
Manner of worfkipping their fafe Gods. 33. Of fever al Nations in thofe Parts 3 and of thofe whofe 
Cuftom it is to devour their Parents . 34. Of what happened to them at Cailac in their Paffage from 
thence to the Country of the Naymans. 35. A Defer iption of that Country , with an Account of the Death 
of Ken -Khan the Princefs , his Confort , and their eldeft Son. 36. Pheir Arrival at the Court 
of Mangu - Khan. 3 7. An Account of their meeting there with one Sergius, a Neftorian Monk . 
38. A Defcription of their Audience , and what happened thereat. 39. Phey meet with a Woman 
of Lorrain, and a Goldfmith of Paris fettled in thefe Countries. 40. An Account of fever al other Chrif- 
tians they met with there. 41. Of a grand Feaft given by Mangu-Khan, and of the Ceremonies of 
the Neftorians. 42. Of the Faft obferved by thofe People , and of a grand Proceftion made to the Palace of 
the Khan. 43. An Account of a great Cure performed on a Lady by the Monk Sergius. 44. Dejcr iption 
of the Country under the Dominion of the Khan, and of the Cuftoms and Manners of his Subjells. 43. 
Of the fecond Faft of the Neftorians, which falls out in our Lent. 46. Of a noble Piece of Workman - 
manfhip performed by the French Goldfmith , and of the Palace of the Khan at Caracarum. 47. Of fe- 
ver al religious Ceremonies of the Neftorians. 48. Of the Sicknefs of the French Goldfmith , and of Jonas 
the Prieft. 49. A Defcription of the City of Caracarum, and of Mangu-Khan’s fending his Brethren 
to make War againft feveral Nations. 50. How our Author was feveral Limes examined , and of feveral 
Conferences and Difputes he had with the Idolaters. 51. Of our Author's being called before the Khan 
at Whitfontide, and of the Confeftion of Faith made by the Tartars. 52. Of the Sorcerers and Conju- 
rers in this Country , and of the wicked Lives they lead. 53. Phe Letters written by the Khan to the King 
of France, by our Author , and the Refolution taken by his Companion to remain in Tartary. 54. Of our 
Author's Departure from Caracarum for the Court of Baatu, and from thence for the City of Sara y. 55. 
Of the Road from Saray by the Mountains of Alania, of the Lefgies, Derbent, and other Places. 56. Phe 
Remainder of their Journey to the River Araxes, the City of Waxnam, the Country of Sahenna, and 
other Places . 57. Of their PaJJage over the Euphrates, the Caftle of Samuth, the Author's Arrival at 
Cyprus, Antioch, and Tripoli. 58, His Letter from thence to the King his Mafter, and other P articu- 
lar s. 59. Remarks and Obfervations upon this SeSlion, 
1. T T feems to be a Problem hitherto undifcufTed, how 
I it came to pals, that for the Space of fo many 
Ages, the Inhabitants of the northern Parts of the 
World lay fo ftill and quiet, that Hiftory fcarce gives us 
any Account of them 3 and then of a fudden burft out on 
all Sides, and over-run, as it were, the greateft Part of 
the known World. At firft Sight it fhould feem from 
hence, that thefe northern Countries were firft peopled ; for 
otherwife it may appear difficult to account for their being 
fo much more populous than any of the reft, A little 
2 
Attention however, will clear this Point, and fhew us 
plainly, that inftead of contradicting, it is the ftrongeft 
Proof that can be of the World’s being originally peopled 
from the Country of Chaldea. For, whoever conliders 
what an immenfe Tra£t of Land lies to the North of that 
original Seat of Mankind, will eafily difeern the Reafon 
why it required a longer Space to people it throughly than 
the reft of the World; and yet, at the fame Time, if he 
reflects on the Accounts given us by ancient Authors, of 
the Manners of the Scythians^ he will eafily perceive that 
they 
