bring into the field not only the force specified by their
tenures, but all the horsemen and infantry in their power: every
township was compelled to send eight, six, or four footmen well
armed with lances, bows and arrows, swords, crossbows, and
hatchets, who should serve forty days at the expense of the
township; and the cities and burghs received orders to furnish as
many horsemen and footmen as the sheriff might appoint. No excuse
was to be allowed on account of the shortness of the time, the
approach of the harvest, or any other private inconvenience.
64. It is amusing to compare the opposite writers of this period.
Wikes and the letter-writer in Westminster are royalists, and
severely censure the ambition and treason of Leicester, but, in
the estimation of the chroniclers of Dunstable and of Waverly, he
lived a saint and died a martyr.
65. By these we are to understand Northern and Southern China,
separated by the great Hoang-ho on the eastern, and by the
southern limits of Shen-si on the western side.
66. This conduct toward the professors of the several systems of faith
is perfectly consistent with the character of Kublai, in which
policy was the leading feature. It was his object to keep in good
humor all classes of his subjects, and especially those of the
capital or about the court, by indulging them in the liberty of
following unmolested their own religious tenets, and by flattering
each with the idea of possessing his special protection. Many of
the highest offices, both civil and military, were held by
Mahometans.
67. Neither do those who profess the Mussulman faith regard Mahomet
as a divinity, nor do the Jews so regard Moses; but it is not to
be expected that a Tartar emperor should make very accurate
theological distinctions.
68. This word, probably much corrupted by transcribers, must be
intended for one of the numerous titles of Buddha.
69. The _saggio_ of Venice being equal to the sixth part of an ounce,
these consequently weighed twenty ounces, and the others in
proportion up to fifty ounces.
70. In many parts of the East, the parasol or umbrella with a long
handle, borne by an attendant, is a mark of high distinction, and
even denotes sovereignty when of a particular color.
71. This is Polo's name for Kublai's capital--_Khan-Balig_ ("the
Khan's city")--the Chinese Peking, captured by the Mongols in
1215. In 1264 Kublai made it his chief residence, and in 1267 he
built a new city--Marco Polo's Tai-du, more properly Ta-tu--a
little to the northeast of the old one.
72. Subdivisions of counties, corresponding to the English hundreds.
73. Llewelyn's brother.
74. It is said that Edward promised the Welsh "a native prince; one
who could not speak a word of English," and then presented to
their astonished gaze the new-born infant.
75. A British diplomat who has been for many years director of the
imperial maritime customs of China.
76. These names appear to be intended for Abaka-khan, a Mongol or
Mogul, and Vang-san-chin, a Chinese. Many of the latter nations
were employed by Kublai, both in civil and military capacities,
and rendered him good service.
77. By the port of Zaitun is probably meant Amoy, and by Kinsai the
port of Ningpo or of Chusan, which are at the entrance of the
river which flows by Hang-chau, the Kinsai of Polo.
78. The idea of being rendered invulnerable by the use of amulets is
common among the natives of the eastern islands.
79. If the original operations were directed, as might be presumed,
against the ancient capital, we should infer that the city here
spoken of was Ozaka, situated at the mouth of the river upon
which, at some distance from the coast, Kioto stands, and which is
known to have been formerly much frequented by Chinese shipping.
But, according to P. Gaubil, the island was that of Firando, near
the city of Nagasaki, not then a place of so much importance as it
has since become.
80. There is here a manifest error in the date, which instead of 1264
should rather be 1284. In the early Venice epitome it is 1269, as
well as in the early texts printed by the Paris Geographical
Society; and in the Basel edition, 1289. Polo cannot be made
accountable for these contradictions among his transcribers.
81. No clew presents itself by which to discover the island meant by
the name of Zorza or--allowing for the Venetian
pronunciation--Jorja. Some suppose it to be in one of the lakes of
Tartary.
82. Translated and edited by Francis Egerton, Earl of Ellesmere.
83. In his charter to the city, King Henry exempts his Jews, who were
to remain the exclusive property of himself and his successors.
84. The remarkable letter of Robert Grostête, then Archdeacon of
Leicester, afterward the famous Bishop of Lincoln, to the Countess
on this subject, shows the feelings of the most enlightened
churchman in those times toward the Jews. His mercy, if it was
mercy, would spare their lives. "As murderers of the Lord, as
still blaspheming Christ and mocking his Passion, they were to be
in captivity to the princes of the earth. As they have the brand
of Cain, and are condemned to wander over the face of the earth,
so were they to have the privilege of Cain, that no one was to
kill them. But those who favored or harbored them were to take
care that they did not oppress Christian subjects by usury. It was
for this reason that Simon de Montfort had expelled them from
Leicester. Whoever protected them might share in the guilt of
their usuries."
85. This act, translated from the Norman French, is remarkable in that
the King admits that they (the Jews) are, and have been, very
profitable to him and his ancestors.
86. The act for the expulsion of the Jews has not come down to us; we
know not, therefore, the reasons alleged for the measure. Of the
fact there can be no doubt (see _Report on the Dignity of a Peer_,
p. 180), and there are many documents relating to the event, as
writs to the authorities in Gloucester and York, to grant them
safe-conduct to the ports where they were to embark.
87. "Great," writes the author of _Anglia Judaica_, "were the spoils
they left behind them. Whole rolls, full of patents relating to
their estates, are still remaining in the Tower, which, together
with their rents in fee and their mortgages, all escheated to the
King."
END OF VOLUME VI.