William of Rubruck

William of Rubruck, a 13th century missionary, left an extraordinary handwritten account of a voyage to central Asia.

His journal is full of personal accounts and observation.

A Franciscan friar and follower of France's King Louis IX (who later became Saint Louis), William of Rubruck was born in Rubruck, Flanders in 1215 and is usually known simply a "Rubruck".

Mission to Mongolia

In 1248, Louis' party, with Rubruck acting as envoy, arrived in Cyprus, on their way to a Crusade in Palestine.

In Cyprus, they met a messenger of Chagatai, the Mongol commander in the area of what is now Iran and southern Russia.

Chagatai had sent a  message that was highly complimentary to Louis and  offered an alliance against the Moslems in Palestine.

Louis sent a favorable reply to Chagatai and a mission to the Great Khan.

This mission, under Friar André de Longjumeau set out in February 1249, with letters and a rich assortment of gifts.

Although André penetrated only to the western edge of the Mongol heartland, he brought back a wealth of information about the Mongols. He also  provided some misinformation, including rumors that the Mongol chief Sartaq, son of the Great Batu of the Golden Horde,  had converted to Christianity.

The next European envoy to the Mongols was a knight named Philip de Toucy who, together with some brother knights, had been sent on a mission to the Golden Horde by Baldwin II, Emperor of Constantinople.

One of  De Toucy's party not only married a Russian princess, but also visited the imperial Mongol camp near Karakorum.

Rubruck, along with the other members of Louis' court, would have met with and spoken to all of these travelers, from whom they would have learned a great deal about the Mongols.

De Toucy's party stayed with Louis, and therefore, with Rubruck, for about a year.

Rubruck's Travels

In the spring of 1252, Rubruck's party, accompanying De Toucy's men on their way back to Baldwin, reached Constantinople.

Rubruck and his companions stayed in Constantinople until May 7, 1253, and then began a 27-month round trip to Karakorum.

From Constantinople, Rubruck's party  traveled by sea to Soldaia (now Sudak), which was a great merchant port in the Crimea, and terminus of the land route to Russia and Asia.

Once they reached land, they set off with six oxcarts. They made contact with Mongols within three days.

Rubruck visited Batu at his camp on the Volga.  From there, he was directed to make for the court of the Great Khan.

Rubruck's Journal

Although the party endured many hardships, Rubruck took the time to write full details of the journey, the countryside, and the different tribes and animals he saw on the way.

He was able to use  his skills as a linguist to sort out the origins of different ethnic groups.

For instance, Rubruck noted the affinity among Russians, Poles, Slavs, and Bohemians, and he traced their descent back to a common origin.

He also gave the first description, by a European, of Chinese writing - comparing it with Tibetan, Arabic, and other scripts.

Rubruck also described the scattered Christian communities he came across. Most of these had been converted to Nestorianism by Arab and Persian merchants.

Nestorians were members of a heretical sect that had been prominent in the 400s. They did not recognize Mary as the mother of God, and believed Jesus Christ to have distinct divine and human personas.

Rubruck also gave an account of Buddhism and was the first European to identify Cathay as the home of silk traders that Europeans called "Seres".

On December 27, 1253, Rubruck's party reached the encampment of the Great Khan, Möngke, a grandson of Genghis Khan.

Rubruck tells us that Möngke's dwelling

was all covered inside with a cloth of gold . . . Möngke was seated on a couch and was dressed in a skin spotted and glossy, like a seal's skin. He is a little man, of medium height, aged 45 years ... he appeared to me to be intoxicated.

The friars' interpreter soon also began to suffer from the effects of too much wine, and so after giving formal greetings, the Europeans retired.

A miserable hut was assigned for their use, but the khan graciously invited the priests to stay at his camp for two months, until the end of the great cold.

Rubruck says that during these months, it was so cold that the tips of his toes froze, so he could no longer go barefoot as was his custom.

When the two months were up, Rubruck accompanied Möngke to his capital, Karakorum, and gave Europe its first account of that city.

People of many different religions, races and ethnicities met in the capital, and Rubruck described them in his journal.

He also wrote highly colorful accounts of endless drinking parties, a common form of entertainment.

Returning Home

One year after leaving Batu's camp, Rubruck and his companions passed through it again on their way home.

They carried with them  letter from Möngke to King Louis, which said:

The commandments of the eternal God are what we impart to you ... if you understand it and shall not give heed to it nor believe it, saying: ‘Our country is far off, our mountains are strong, our sea is wide' and in this belief you make war against us, you shall find out what we can do.

In 1255, they reached Christian soil again and Rubruck returned to the monastery of his order. He sent a report of his travels, and the letter from the khan, to King Louis, who as at Acre (Akko).

Religious missions to Mongolia then ceased for more than 30 years.