_The last audience of Rubruquis with Mangu-khan, and the letter he received
for the King of France._
On Whitsunday I was called into the presence of the khan, and before I went
in, the goldsmiths son, who was my interpreter, informed me that it was
determined I was to return to my own country, and advised me to say nothing
against it. When I came before the khan I kneeled, and he asked me whether
I said to his secretaries that he was a Tuinian. To this I answered, "My
lord, I said not so; but if it please your highness I will repeat what I
then said;" and I recited what I had spoken, as mentioned before, and he
answered: "I thought well you said not so, for it was a word you ought not
to have spoken; but your interpreter hath ill rendered your words." Then,
reaching forth the staff on which, he leaned towards me, he said, "be not
afraid." To which I answered smiling, that if I had feared I should not
have come hither. He then said, as if confessing his faith: "We Moals
believe that there is but one God, and we have an upright heart towards
him." "Then," said I, "may God grant you this mind, for without his gift it
cannot be." He then added, "God hath given to the hand divers fingers, and
hath given many ways to man. He hath given the Scriptures to you, yet you
keep them not. You certainly find not in the Scriptures that one of you
should dispraise another?" "No," said I; "and I signified unto your
highness from the beginning, that I would not contend with any one." "I
speak not," said he, "respecting you. In like manner, you find not in your
Scriptures, that a man ought to swerve from justice for the sake of money?"
To this I answered, "That our Scriptures taught no such evil doctrine,
neither had I come into, these parts to get money, having even refused that
which was freely offered to me." And one of the secretaries, then present,
certified, that I had refused a jascot and a piece of silk. "I speak not of
that," said the khan; "God hath given you the Scriptures and you keep them
not; but he hath given to us soothsayers, and we do what they bid us, and
live in peace." He drank four times, as I think, before he disclosed these
things; and, while I waited attentively in expectation that he might
disclose any thing farther respecting his faith, he began another subject,
saying: "You have stayed a long time here, and it is my pleasure that you
return. You have said that you dared not to carry my ambassadors with you;
will you carry my messenger, or my letters?" To this I answered, "If he
would make me understand his words, and that they were put in writing, I
would willingly carry them, to the best of my power." He then asked if I
would have gold or silver, or costly garments? I answered, that we received
no such things; but not having wherewith to bear our expences, we could not
get out of his country without his help. He then said, that he would
provide us in all necessaries through his country, and demanded how far we
would be brought. I said it were sufficient if he gave us a pass into
Armenia. To this he answered: "I will cause you to be carried thither,
after which look to yourself. There are two eyes in one head, yet they both
look to one object. You came here from Baatu, and therefore you must return
by him." Having requested and obtained leave to speak, I addressed him
thus: "Sir! we are not men of war, and desire that they who would most
justly govern according to the will of God may have dominion in the world.
Our office is to teach men to live according to the law of God: For this,
purpose we came into these parts, and would willingly have remained here if
it had been your pleasure; but since you are pleased that we should return,
I shall carry your letters according to my power, in obedience to your
commands. I request of your magnificence, that, when I have delivered your
letters, it may be lawful for me to come back into your dominions; chiefly
because you have servants of our nation at Balac, who want a priest to
teach them and their children the law of our religion, and I would
willingly stay with them." He then asked whether I knew that our lords
would send me back to him? To this. I answered, "I know not what may be the
purpose of my sovereign; but I have licence to go wherever I will, where it
is needful to preach the word of God, and it seems to me necessary in these
parts; wherefore, whether my lords send ambassadors or not, if it is your
pleasure, I will return." Then, after a long pause, as if musing, he said,
"You have a lone way to go, make yourself strong with food, that you may be
enabled to endure the journey." So he ordered them to give me drink, and I
departed from his presence, and returned not again. From that time I could
have no time nor place to expound to him the catholic faith; for a man must
not speak before him, unless what he pleaseth to order or allow, except he
were an ambassador, who may speak what he will, and they always demand of
such whether he has any thing more to say.
The soothsayers are the priests of the Mongals, and whatever they command
to be done is performed without delay. I shall describe their office, as I
learnt it from the goldsmith and others. Of these soothsayers there are
great numbers, under the direction of a chief priest, whose house is always
about a stone's throw in front of the great house of Mangu-khan, and under
his charge are all the chariots which carry idols. The other soothsayers
dwell behind the court, in places appointed for them; and such as have
confidence in their art come to consult them from various distant parts.
Some of them are skilful in astronomy, especially their chief, and they
foretel eclipses of the sun and moon. When these are to happen, all the
people prepare their food, that they may not be under the necessity of
going out of doors, and during the eclipse they play on various instruments
of music, and set up loud shouts: when it is over, they indulge in feasting
and carousing, to express their joy.
These soothsayers pretend to foretell lucky and unlucky days for all
affairs; and the Tartars never levy an army, or undertake a war without
their approbation. They had long since resumed their attack on Hungary, but
that the soothsayers have always opposed it. They make every thing which is
sent to court pass between two fires, as a purification, likewise, all the
household stuff belonging to a dead person must be purged in the same
manner; and, if any living creature drop down, or any thing whatever fall
to the ground during the ceremony, it becomes the property of the
soothsayers, who, besides, have a certain proportion of every thing which
they purify as their due. There was, therefore, a twofold reason why Friar
Andrew Carpini was made to pass between the fires; both because he brought
presents, and because Con-khan, for whom these had been brought, was dead:
But as I brought nothing, this was not required of me.
Once on a time, some very costly furs were presented at the court of the
Christian lady, whom Pascha, the good woman of Metz served, and the
soothsayers, in passing them between the fires, took more than was their
due. Another woman, who had the custody of the treasures belonging to that
lady, accused them of the fraud to her mistress, who reproved them severely
for their conduct. Sometime afterwards the lady fell sick, and the
soothsayers accused the servant, who had detected their fraud, of having
bewitched her. She received the bastinado for seven days successively, and
other tortures, to make her confess; and on hearing of her mistress's
death, begged to be killed that she might follow her, for that, in truth,
she had never done her the smallest injury. But, as she confessed nothing,
Mangu-khan commanded that she should live. After this the soothsayers
accused the daughters nurse of the deceased lady, which nurse was a
Christian, and wife to the chief of the Nestorian priests. She and her
servant-maid were tortured to make a confession, and the maid answered,
that the nurse had sent her to receive responses from a certain horse. The
nurse also confessed that she had used some spells to procure the love of
her lady, but had never done any thing to hurt her. On being demanded to
say whether her husband knew of her incantations, she excused him, saying
that he had burnt the characters which she had made. Then she was put to
death, and the husband was sent to be judged by his bishop in Kathay.
It happened that the principal wife of Mangu brought forth a son, and the
soothsayers were brought to foretell the destiny of the infant, when they
prophesied that he should live long and prosperously, and become a great
lord; but he died in a few days. On being reproached for their falsehood,
they said that the nurse of Cerina, who had been lately put to death, had
killed the boy, and pretended to have seen her carrying him away. There
were then in the camp a son and daughter of the nurse, whom the lady
immediately sent for in a rage, and ordered them to be put to death. Some
time afterwards this came to the ears of Mangu-khan, who was much enraged
at the conduct of his wife. He caused the man to be beheaded who had slain
the nurses son, and made his head to be hung round the neck of the woman
who had killed her daughter, ordering her to be cudgelled with burning
fire-brands, through among all the tents, and then put to death. He would
also have put his wife to death if it had not been for the sake of the
children he had by her; but he commanded her to be shut up for seven days
without food, and went out from his court for a whole, moon.
After the feast of Pentecost, they began to prepare their letters for your
Majesty, and, in the mean time, the khan returned to Caracarum, and held a
great feast on the 15th of June, at which all the ambassadors were desired
to be present, but I went to church to baptize the three children of a poor
German. William the goldsmith was chief butler at this feast, as he had the
charge of the silver tree which poured out the drink. On this occasion the
khan gave, during four successive days, a complete suit of apparel each day
to all his courtiers, every day a new colour; and he made them a speech,
saying, "I have sent my brothers afar into dangers among foreign nations;
it shall be seen how you will conduct yourselves when I send you to extend
the boundaries of our empire."
At this time there was an ambassador at the court from the khans of Bagdat,
of whom it was reported, when Mangu declared he would not grant them peace
unless they would destroy all their warlike ammunition, that he answered,
"We will do this when you pluck off all the hoofs from your horses." I saw
there, also, the ambassadors from a soldan of India, who brought with him
eight leopards and ten hare-hounds who were taught to sit on a horses croup
in hunting, like the leopards. When I asked of them, the way to India, they
pointed to the west, and they travelled with me, on our return, always
westwards, for nearly three weeks. I also saw there the ambassador of the
sultan of Turkey, who brought rich presents to the khan. At length the
letters being ready for your majesty, they called for me and explained
them, and the following is their substance, so far as I could understand
them by my interpreter:
"The commandment of the Eternal GOD is this: As there is but one Eternal
GOD in heaven, so upon earth let there be but one Lord, Zingis-khan, son of
God, and Mangu-tinij[1]. This is the word which is spoken to you; whether
Moals, Namans, Markets, or Musselmen; wherever man may hear or horse may
go, cause it to be heard and understood, that such as have heard my
commands and do not obey, or would levy an army against me, shall be as
having eyes and not seeing, as having hands and unable to hold any thing,
and as having feet, yet unable to walk.
"This is the commandment of the Eternal GOD, and by the virtue of the
Eternal GOD, the commandment of Mangu-khan, the great emperor of the Moals,
is given to Lodowick the French King, and to all other lords and priests,
and to the great world of the Franks, that they understand my words and the
commandments of the Eternal GOD, made to Zingis-khan; neither but from
Zingis-khan ever came this commandment unto you[2].
"A certain man, named David, came unto you as an ambassador from the Moals,
but he was a liar; and with him you sent your ambassador to Khen-khan.
After Khen-khan was dead, your ambassador came to this court, and Charmis
his wife sent you a nassick cloth. But how could that wicked woman, more
vile than a dog, know matters appertaining to war and peace, and to settle
the great world in quiet?
"Those two monks who came from you to Sartach, were sent by Sartach to
Baatu; but as Mangu-khan is the greatest over the world of the Moals, Baatu
sent them unto us. And now that the great world of the Franks, and the
priests, and monks, may live in peace and enjoy their goods, and that the
commandment of GOD might be heard among you, we would have sent certain
Moals as our ambassadors to you by your priests; but your messenger
answered, that betwixt us and you there was a warlike nation, with many bad
men and troublesome ways, so that they were afraid they could not bring our
ambassadors in safety to you; but if we would deliver them our letters,
containing our commandments to King Lodowick, they engaged to carry them.
For this cause we have not sent our ambassadors along with them; but we
have sent you this, the commandment of the Eternal GOD, by your priests.
And this is the commandment of the Eternal GOD, which we have given you to
understand, and when you shall hear and believe it, if you will obey, send
your ambassadors unto us, so that we may be satisfied whether you will have
peace or war. When, by the power of the Eternal GOD, the whole world shall
be in unity, peace, and joy, from the rising of the sun to where it sets,
then shall it appear what we will do. But if ye shall see and hear the
commandment of the Eternal GOD, and will not hearken to or believe it,
saying, our country is far off, our hills are strong, our sea is great; and
in this confidence shall lead an army against us to know what we can do; he
that made what is hard easy, and that which is far off near, the Eternal
GOD himself knows that alone."
While these things were going forwards, my companion heard that we were to
return by the wilderness to Baatu, under the guidance of a Moal, on which
he ran to Bulgai, the chief secretary, signifying to him, by signs, that he
should certainly die if he went that way. On the day when we were to
receive our pass, which was a fortnight after the feast of St John, 8th
July, the secretary said to him; it is the pleasure of Mangu, that your
companion shall return by Baatu, and as you are sick, you may remain and
shall be provided in necessaries till some ambassador come, with whom you
may return more easily by a way where there are villages. The friar
answered "God grant the khan a long and prosperous life, I will remain."
Then they brought us three garments, saying, that as we refused gold or
silver, and had stayed long here, praying for the khan, he entreats that
each would accept a single garment, that you may not depart empty handed.
[1] Explained as signifying the sound of iron, probably in allusion to his
martial power.--E.
[2] The obscurity of this passage is inexplicable.--E.