William of Rubruck

William of Rubruck (c. 1220 – c. 1293) was a Flemish Franciscan missionary and explorer. His account is one of the masterpieces of medieval geographical literature comparable to that of Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta. Born in Rubrouck, Flanders, he is known also as William of Rubruk, Willem van Ruysbroeck, Guillaume de Rubrouck or Willielmus de Rubruquis. He travelled to various places of the Mongol Empire in Asia before his return to Europe.

William accompanied King Louis IX of France on the Seventh Crusade in 1248. On May 7, 1253, on Louis' orders, he set out from Constantinople on a missionary journey to convert the Tatars to Christianity. He actually followed the route of the first journey of the Hungarian Friar Julian, and in Asia that of the Italian Friar Giovanni da Pian del Carpine. With William's party were Bartolomeo da Cremona, an attendant called Gosset, and an interpreter named in William's report Homo Dei, meaning "man of God", perhaps representing the Arabic Abdullah, "servant of God."

After reaching the Crimean town of Sudak, William continued his trek with oxen and carts. Nine days after crossing the Don he met Sartaq Khan, ruler of the Kipchak Khanate. The Khan sent William on to his father, Batu Khan, at Sarai near the Volga. Five weeks later, after the departure from Sudak, he reached the encampment of Batu Khan, Mongol ruler of the Volga River region. Batu refused conversion but sent the ambassadors on to the Great Khan of the Mongols, Möngke Khan. He and his travelling companions set off on horseback on September 16, 1253 on a 9,000 km journey to the court of the Great Khan at Karakorum. Upon arrival they were received courteously, and he was given an audience on January 4, 1254. William's account provided an extensive description of the city's walls, markets and temples, and the separate quarters for Muslim and Chinese craftsmen among a surprisingly cosmopolitan population. Among Europeans he encountered were the nephew of an English bishop, a woman from Lorraine who cooked William's Easter dinner and a French silversmith, making ornaments for the Khan's women and altars for the Nestorian Christians. Guillaume Bouchier was the Frenchman. He stayed at the Khan's camp until July 10, 1254, when they began their long journey back home. William and his companions reached the Crusader State of Tripoli on August 15, 1255. William of Rubruck's was the fourth European mission to the Mongols: previous ones were led by Giovanni da Pian del Carpine and Ascelin of Lombardia in 1245 and André de Longjumeau in 1249. The King was encouraged to send another mission by reports of the presence of Nestorian Christians at the Mongolian court.

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