Marco Polo
translation: Henry Yule, Henri Cordier

THE TRAVELS OF MARCO POLO
Volume II.
complete book, e-book

Nové Literární doupě!

Literární doupě bylo modernizováno a přechází pod novou doménu literdo.com!.

Nový web LD vám přínáší ještě více knih s možností výhodného stahování většího množství e-knih podle vlastního výběru (tedy nejen jednotlivých knih nebo balíčků podle autorů) ve formátech ePub , PDF  a MOBI.

 Přejít na nový web Literární doupě

 

CHAPTER XXXVI.

ACCOUNT OF THE CITY OF JUJU.

When you leave the Bridge, and ride towards the west, finding all the way excellent hostelries for travellers, with fine vineyards, fields, and gardens, and springs of water, you come after 30 miles to a fine large city called JUJU, where there are many abbeys of idolaters, and the people live by trade and manufactures. They weave cloths of silk and gold, and very fine taffetas.[NOTE 1] Here too there are many hostelries for travellers.[NOTE 2]

After riding a mile beyond this city you find two roads, one of which goes west and the other south-east. The westerly road is that through Cathay, and the south-easterly one goes towards the province of Manzi.[NOTE 3]

Taking the westerly one through Cathay, and travelling by it for ten days, you find a constant succession of cities and boroughs, with numerous thriving villages, all abounding with trade and manufactures, besides the fine fields and vineyards and dwellings of civilized people; but nothing occurs worthy of special mention; and so I will only speak of a kingdom called TAIANFU.

NOTE 1.—The word sendaus (Pauthier), pl. of sendal, and in G.T. sandal. It does not seem perfectly known what this silk texture was, but as banners were made of it, and linings for richer stuffs, it appears to have been a light material, and is generally rendered taffetas. In Richard Coeur de Lion we find

  "Many a pencel of sykelatoun
  And of sendel of grene and broun,"

and also pavilions of sendel; and in the Anglo-French ballad of the death of William Earl of Salisbury in St. Lewis's battle on the Nile—

  "Le Meister du Temple brace les chivaux
   Et le Count Long-Espée depli les sandaux."

The oriflamme of France was made of cendal. Chaucer couples taffetas and sendal. His "Doctor of Physic"

  "In sanguin and in persë clad was allë,
  Linëd with taffata and with sendallë."

[La Curne, Dict., s.v. Sendaus has: Silk stuff: "Somme de la delivrance des sendaus" (Nouv. Compt. de l'Arg. p. 19).—Godefroy, Dict., gives: "Sendain, adj., made with the stuff called cendal: Drap d'or sendains (1392, Test. de Blanche. duch d'Orl., Ste-Croix, Arch. Loiret)." He says s.v. CENDAL, "cendau, cendral, cendel, … sendail, … étoffe légere de soie unie qui parait avoir été analogue au taffetas." "'On faisait des cendaux forts ou faibles, et on leur donnait toute sorte de couleurs. On s'en servait surtout pour vetements et corsets, pour doublures de draps, de fourrures et d'autres étoffes de soie plus précieuses, enfin pour tenture d'appartements.' (Bourquelot, Foir. de Champ. I. 261)."

  "J'ay de toilles de mainte guise,
  De sidonnes et de cendaulx.
  Soyes, satins blancs et vermaulx."
      —Greban, Mist. de la Pass., 26826, G. Paris.—H.C.]

The origin of the word seems also somewhat doubtful. The word [Greek: Sendes] (...)

(......)