Pauthier, G[uillaume]. Le Livre de Marco Polo, citoyen de Venise, conseiller privé et commissaire impérial de Khoubilaï-Khaân; rédigé en français sous sa dictée en 1298 par Rusticien de Pise.

€ 350,00

An early French critical edition of the "Travels of Marco Polo", published from three manuscripts from the Bibliothèque Impériale de Paris, translated and annotated by Jean-Pierre Guillaume Pauthier. "The Travels of Marco Polo", also commonly known as "Book of the Marvels of the World", is Marco Polo's travelogue written down by Rustichello da Pisa in 1298. Polo's adventures in the unfamiliar lands of Asia were enthusiastically received in Europe, which made the book one of the most popular works of its time. Until 1530, the travelogue was translated into ten languages and 135 manuscripts were produced (Cruse, 171), a popularity that did not disappear after the invention of printing. The interest around the book also called for critical editions; and the first example was written by Giovanni Battista Ramusio and published in 1559.

Pauthier's critical edition is based on three manuscripts: BnF Français 5631 and BnF Français 2810, with variants of BnF Français 5649. BnF Français 5631 is a variant of the so-called corrected French version, written down by Thiébault de Cepoy as dictated by Marco Polo. Focusing on BnF 5631 along with two variants, this edition further provides historical and geographical context.

Jean-Pierre Guillaume Pauthier was a renowned French Orientalist mainly working on China. He published numerous studies on the history and civilization of China and famously translated Confucius.