History of the Mongols
Ystoria Mongalorum quos nos Tartaros appellamus (c. 1247-1250)
The first of the handful of 13th century European reports on the Mongol Empire, John of Plano Carpini's History of the Mongols is both a travel narrative and an attempted history of the Mongols.
While his report concerns a general overview of the customs, geography, and religion of the Mongols, John pays special attention to their battle strategy and military capability. In the fifth (of nine) chapter, John mentions Prester John in the larger context of a discussion of Genghis Khan. The description of Genghis Khan's 1221 military victory over a king "commonly called Prester John" is clearly inflected with imaginative flourish.
From Dawson’s English translation (p.22):
Chingis [Genghis Khan] sent another son with an army to attack the Indians, and he conquered Lesser India. These black people are Saracens, and are called Ethiopians. This army advanced to make war on the Christians in Greater India. Hearing this, the king of that country, commonly called Prester John, assembled an army and went to meet them; and he made figures of men out of copper and set them in saddles on horses, putting fire inside them, and he placed men with bellows on the horses behind the copper figures, and with many such figures and horses fitted up like this they advanced to fight the Tartars.”
Read an excerpt of History of the Mongols at the Silk Road Project.
For the Latin text, see Wyngaert.
For more on John’s report, see Bennett.
