The Tartar Relation of C. de Bridia
A Franciscan's 1247 Latin history of the Mongols, written from the reports of the Carpini mission, surviving in one fifteenth-century manuscript bound with the Vinland Map.
Full title History of the Tartars (the ‘Tartar Relation’), Beinecke MS 350A.1
Brother C. de Bridia
The 'Tartar Relation' (Hystoria Tartarorum) was written by a Franciscan who signs himself C. de Bridia, dated 30 July 1247, at the request of his Franciscan superior. He drew on oral reports from members of John of Plano Carpini's mission to the Mongol court (1245 to 1247), especially Benedict the Pole. It covers Mongol history, customs and campaigns, including details not in Carpini. The only known copy is a paper manuscript of about 1440 now at Yale (Beinecke MS 350A), famous because it was bound with the disputed Vinland Map. The atlas does not hold the text: the corpus has only a catalogue description of the manuscript, and the 1965 edition with translation is lending-only.
- How they knew
- From informants
- Who “Tartar” means here
- The Mongols of the empire of Güyük and Batu, whose armies had invaded Russia, Poland and Hungary in 1240 to 1242, along with the peoples they ruled.
- Why read it
- It is an independent early witness to what the first papal envoys learned about the Mongols, parallel to Carpini, and a good example of how a manuscript's history (here, the Vinland Map controversy) can overshadow its content.
- Watch out
- The atlas has no text of this work, so nothing here is quoted. The account is second hand, from travellers' oral reports, and survives in a single late copy.
What it says
No quotes from this one yet. Its text is out of reach for now, or the scan could not be read.
The fine print
How we know
informant testimony Written down from what informants reported.
informant testimony: written 1247 from the oral reports of Carpini's companions (Benedict the Pole) at the request of a Franciscan provincial; surviving copy c. 1440s
Research notes
- Text derives from the same mission as Carpini's Ystoria but is a separate redaction; only one manuscript known; authenticity of the manuscript text itself is generally accepted while the accompanying Vinland Map is disputed. Editions: Skelton, Marston and Painter 1965 (IA vinlandmaptartar00skel, lending) and Önnerfors 1967 (not open).
- Further copies: archive.org/details/vinlandmaptartar00skel (1965 edition with facsimile and English translation, lending only)
Why it matters
Independent thirteenth-century Latin account of Mongol history and customs parallel to Carpini, with details (e.g. the 1241 Hungarian campaign, Mongol tribal names) not in Carpini; famous for being bound with the disputed Vinland Map.
Places named
Mongolia; Central Asia; Russia; Hungary; Poland
Peoples named
Mongols; Tartars; Comans; Kipchaks; Rus; Hungarians; Poles; Batu; Guyuk