Dear All
There is a little more to be said regarding this topics.
Roger Bacon, in his Opus Majus, has lots to say about Central Asia, based
on William of Rubruck's first-hand observations. I remember reading
somewhere that Bacon had actually met William, so he might have some
tidbits that don't appear in Rubruck's own narrative.
In relation to the Mendicants and Central Asia, there is a reasonably
recent article in Journal of Medieval History, vol 22, no 1, pp. 53-67
(1966), with a good bibliography. The author is Professor Gregory Guzman at
Bradley University, Peoria. It's full title is European Clerical Envoys to
the Mongols, Reports of Western Merchants in Eastern Europe and Central
Asia, 1231-1255.
This article refers to some quite obscure primary sources, including those
relating to some of the earliest missions eastwards, those of the Hungarian
friars in the 1230s.
Professor Guzman has written (among much else) an unpublished thesis on
Simon of Saint-Quentin and the Dominicans in Central Asia, which may be of
interest.
Yours
Cameron
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