William of Rubruck
William of Rubruk ( other spellings: see below ) (* 1215-1220 in Cassel, France today; † around 1270 ) was a Franciscan and explorer, who studied the culture of the Mongols as one of the first Europeans.
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Name Variants
The name survives in various spellings, which are caused by transcriptions in various languages:
William of Rubruk, William of Ruysbroeck, William of Ruysbroek, Guilelmus de Ruysbroek, William Rubruquis, Willem van Ruysbroek, Willelmus de Rubruk, William of Roebruk, William of Rubruck, William Rubruquis, Guilelmus de Rubruc, William of Rubruck, Willem van Ruysbroeck, Guillaume de Rubrouck, Gulielmus de Rubruquis, Guillaume de Rubruquis, Willem van Ruusbroec.
Early life
The Flame came at a young age the Franciscan Friars at, studied in Paris and traveled in 1248 in the wake of King Louis IX. to the Holy Land, where he remained four years in Acre.
On mission to the Great Khan
1252 finally he stepped on behalf of the king to a trip to the Far East. Rubruk first traveled to Constantinople Opel, where together with Friar Bartholomew of Cremona, an interpreter and a servant he left for Central Asia on May 7, 1253.
In Karakorum
After an adventurous journey, they reached on December 27, 1253 (according to other sources in April 1254 ), the Mongolian capital Karakorum. There they were allowed to stay with the permission of the former Great Khan Mangu Khan ( Mangu ) about half a year at his court. This fourth successor of Genghis Khan received them on January 4, 1254 audience.
In religious, political and diplomatic terms Wilhelms trip was a big disappointment, because contrary to the expectations of Louis IX. had the Great Khan with his tolerant attitude to other religions and cultures to no interest to support Western Christendom in the fight against Islam and in an attempt to reconquer the Holy Land after the Kingdom of Jerusalem, killed at the Battle of Hattin in 1187 to Muslims had. Regarding the Pope's expectations met William and his brother in faith while living on the control of the Mongol Empire Christians, yet another missionary of the Mongols them did not appear promising. He himself used to stay at inter-religious discussions with Buddhists, Moslems and Nestorians.
Return journey
In the spring of 1255 William left of Rubruk Karakorum, returned back to Cyprus in 1255, where he no longer encountered the French king due to his previous departure, and then came on August 15, 1255 in Tripoli in Beirut. There his superiors not let him continue on his principals to Rome or France, but entrusted him with the job of a lecturer in theology at Acre. In Acre, he dictated his travel itinerary report Willelmi de Rubruc in the form of a letter to the French king, and let him bring this about by his traveling interpreter. He counts in research as the first European description that contains reliable information from the Mongol Empire essentially.
Around 1257, Wilhelm was again in Paris, more life data are not known.
Middle of the 14th century attacked Jean de Mandeville for his fictional "travel" among other things, to the reports of William of Rubruk back.
Critical Edition
- Wilhelmus Rubruquensis: Itinerarium ad partes orientales. In: Anastasius van den Wyngaert (ed.): Sinica Franciscana. Volume 1: Itinera et relationes Fratrum Minorum saeculi XIII et XIV Quaracchi - Fierenze 1929, pp. 164-332.
German translations
- William of Rubruk: journey to the Mongols from 1253 to 1255. translated and explained by Friedrich Risch. ( = Publications of the Research Institute of Comparative History of Religion at the University of Leipzig, Series 2, 13 ) Leipzig 1934.
- William of Rubruk: Travel to the Great Khan of the Mongols: Konstantin Opel to Karakorum 1253-1255. Newly edited and published by Hans Dieter light. Edition Erdmann, Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-522-60430- X.
- William of Rubruk: The Great Khan of the Mongols. From 1253 to 1255. Edited by Hans D. Light. Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-86503-003-3.