The Middle Ages in Asia by Roger Pocock
The journeys of the Polo family connect a divided medieval Europe with the court and territories of Kublai Khan. Trading ventures lead the brothers eastward, and Marco's later experience gives the narrative a wider view of the empire's peoples and customs. Wealth and service at court do not remove the travelers' desire to return home, making departure another difficult undertaking. The closing account describes Marco dictating his book while a prisoner after a naval battle. The narrator presents that geographical record as a challenge to the limited expectations of readers who found its wonders difficult to believe.
By Roger Pocock · Genre: Historical Non-Fiction, Travel Literature, Biography · 1,978 words
First lines
A. D. 1260
THE year 1260 found Saint Louis of France busy reforming his kingdom, while over the way the English barons were reforming King Henry III on the eve of the founding of parliament, and the Spaniards were inventing the bull fight by way of a national sport. Our own national pastime then was baiting Jews. They got twopence per week in the pound for the use of their money, but next year one of them was caught in the act of cheating, a little error which led to the massacre of seven hundred.
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Genres
- Historical Non-Fiction — The work provides detailed factual accounts of 13th-century events, real historical figures like Kublai Khan and Marco Polo, and verifiable historical occurrences such as the Polos' journey and the fall of Constantinople.
- Travel Literature — The narrative centers on the extensive travels of the Polo family across Asia, documenting their journeys from Venice to the court of Kublai Khan and back, spanning continents and years.
- Biography — The work focuses significantly on the lives and exploits of the Polo brothers and particularly Marco Polo, tracing their personal experiences and accomplishments across multiple decades.
- Geography — The author explicitly describes the work as geographical in nature, detailing Asian countries, peoples, territories, and their characteristics as encountered during the Polos' travels.
Tags
medieval history · Asian history · cultural studies · historical analysis · medieval period · East Asia · South Asia · Central Asia · Middle East · feudalism · kingdoms and empires · religious history
What this Textopian page supports
The Middle Ages in Asia is listed on Textopian as an article by Roger Pocock, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Article
- Author: Roger Pocock
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Historical Non-Fiction, Travel Literature, Biography, Geography, Adventure Non-Fiction
- Length: 1,978 words
- Structure: 1 section, 19 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Middle Ages in Asia by Roger Pocock
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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