Benedictus Polonus – Historical-Literal Translation

• Ethnic Identification:
  Mordvins are a Finno-Ugric language group that still lives in the region today. The Byleros are commonly identified as the Burtas, a people maybe allied with the Volga Bulgars, but the identification remains uncertain. The Bascardos are probably Bashkirs who seemed to preserve pre-Magyar traditions.
• Legendary Elements:
  The legendary Cynocephales or dog-headed men are a classic example of the “monstrous races” of medieval legend entering the report despite Benedictus being an eyewitness. This illustrates the blend of observation and inherited folklore still common at the time. There is speculation that they were Uralic bear-cult shamans wearing canine masks. Perhaps we can even think of a connection to the Christophorus legend? The Parocitae, with their tiny mouths, are another legendary people from medieval ethnographic tradition, with no clear modern identification. Some modern researchers have speculated that this legend could be influenced by knowledge of some Arctic Samoyed Nenets people who traditionally consumed raw or blood foods through bone tubes, which could have been misinterpreted as “small mouths.”
• Geographical Context:
  The sequence mirrors the actual Volga trade route: Mordvin lands → Burtas territory → Bashkir steppes → Arctic groups. The passage blends possibly firsthand observation (hairstyles) with travelers’ lore about northern “monstrous races.” Yet, it could be entirely based on hearsay.

Geographical Terminology: Preserving medieval toponyms without modernization: Iarach, Kangitae, Turkia, Iankynt, Karakytai, Naymani, Syra orda, Cuiuckan

Ethnonyms: Karakytai explained as “Black Kitay” (nigri Kitay)—the Western Liao Empire, conquered by the Mongols in the 1220s. Their founders were Khitan, who fled the fall of their reign after their realm was conquered by the Chinese.

• Route Reconstruction:
  Iarach → Kangitae marks the transition from Pontic (Comania) to the Kazakh steppe. The Kangitae are sometimes conflated with the Qangli Turks of the era. Turkya → Iankynt corresponds to the Syr Darya region, with Jankent as the last major Islamic city before the Mongol heartlands. The Karakytai wilderness means the former Western Liao area; this deserted stretch of land reflects the devastation after the recent Mongol conquest. The Maeotian marshes misplace the Caspian wetlands. This is a geographical inaccuracy; the true Maeotian marshes are to the southwest of Comania, around the area of the Azov-Don delta. The Caspian marshlands would be almost 1000 km to the southeast.
• Political Context:
  The Naymans are a powerful steppe confederation, recently conquered, now incorporated into the Mongol empire. The Syra orda (Yellow Tent) served as the ceremonial tent/ camp at Karakorum for Güyük’s imperial election and enthronement. One might connect the color yellow to Mongol cosmology, with yellow representing the center.
• Chronology:
  The arrival on 22 July 1246 (Feast of Mary Magdalene) happens close to Güyük ́s election in the summer of 1246; the four-month stay corresponds to preparations and celebrations of the imperial quriltai. That the exact date is correct, however doubtful. It may be a simple error or a literary-theological way to give meaning to their arrival.

Terminology: baldakino: Baldac is the medieval Latin name for Baghdad, hence Baghdad gold cloth. Samitis (ablative plural), as an expensive cloth, shows the textile’s important ceremonial appearance. xennia: the text adopts the Greek expression for diplomatic “gifts”.

Firsthand Account: “himself reported orally” and “The same friar also testified” emphasis authenticates Benedictus’ eyewitness status as well as the fact that the text was very likely written down by a scribe according to Benedictus’ report.

Syntax: Maintained the causal quia clause (“for none of the envoys…”) to explain why Franciscans would wear such a rich attire. All subclauses are kept as faithful to the Latin original syntax as possible.

• Election Ritual:
  The three-day progression, in different colors each day (gold, white, red), is a unique eyewitness account of the ceremonial surrounding the election. Its specific symbolic meaning remains unclear from the report itself. The “five thousand men of rank and power” might refer to allied chiefs and embassies from all around and within the Mongol empire at the 1246 quriltai. The brothers’ gold cloth, which they had to wear, marked them as envoys.
• Material Culture:
  Baldakino means highly valued Baghdad-woven gold textiles traded along the Silk Road as political currency. Samitum was a heavy, luxurious silk fabric, often with gold or silver threads, which was appropriate for such a high ceremonial occasion. It was a widely respected product of Near-East or Byzantine industry.
• Diplomatic Context:
  The emphasis on “3,000 envoys” confirms the global reach of Mongol diplomacy. The Papal mission was just one of many such delegations. Even considering the need for translators, servants, etc.; the number seems inflated and should be understood symbolically. The Greek term xennia is used for the “gifts” brought by the envoys, functioning as tribute or tokens of submission to Mongol authority. The friars may have understood the system as analogous to the one Byzantium had established.

Terminology: The description of the throne room is kept as literal as possible.

Syntax: Closely maintained the participial constructions decoratum et desuper cancellatum etc. describing the throne platform. maxima quae: Likely a resumptive pronoun reinforcing maxima, not introducing a new clause.

• Imperial Architecture:
  The description of the Syra orda (“Yellow Tent”) aligns with Mongol traditions of the great royal tent. Archaeological finds at Karakorum confirm the use of large ceremonial spaces and elevated throne platforms, though no structure has been found matching this specific tent. The four distinct stepped approaches (ascensuum) to the throne platform (tabulatum) physically structured the access according to a strict social and political hierarchy. The elevated platform, enclosed by railings (cancellatum), shows Mongol hierarchical principles. The steps (gradus) are part of the ascending paths, not separate from them. The three entrances were a key feature for the ceremonial regulation of space and movement, with the central gate embodying the paradox of the Khan’s simultaneous accessibility and remoteness.

Court Protocol: The three-day delay (tercia die) before the audience, maybe because of ceremonial reasons or the enormous number of the envoys.

Subordinate Clause (ubi cum): A medieval Latin blend of temporal/locative subordination (ubi = “where/when” + cum = “while”).

Syntax: The causal quia clause (“because they are valiant”) is maintained as well as the participial habendoque (“having him as”) construction. The phrase utentes… continues the participal construction, but is not translated literally here.

• Mongol Court Dynamics:
  The “Emperor’s mother” refers to Töregene, regent during the interregnum (1241–46) and mother of Güyük Khan. Her separate tent might symbolize autonomous authority. Benedictus’ description provides one of the earliest Western accounts of her royal position. Georgian cavalry units are well attested in Mongol service; medieval sources vary regarding their numbers, but they were seen as a very prestigious Christian heavy cavalry.
• Religious Practice:
  Benedictus’ report provides one of the earliest Western accounts of the intense devotion to St. George as a national patron saint—a feature of Georgian identity in the 13th century. The use of Greek in scripture indicates the persistence of the Byzantine rite maintained by Georgian clergy, maybe serving as Mongol translators.
• Material Culture:
  The stationes could be mobile field chapels (not guard posts)—some kind of folding shrines on carts, which allowed the Georgian diaspora to practice their faith in a nomadic environment. This reflects Mongol religious tolerance toward valued subjects. The display of crosses on carts and stations (“cross-marked carts”) confirms the Georgians’ open Christian practice within the Mongol Empire. Benedictus’ positive depiction contrasts with his suspicion of pagan customs elsewhere, which reveals his quite nuanced cross-cultural perception.

Geographical Details: Cologne is mentioned as the exact Rhine crossing point.

Syntax/ Expressions: The ablative absolute expleto negotio (“having completed the business”) and temporal clause cum…processissent (“after they had traveled”) follow the precise sequencing of the Latin original. The expression (tenor… talis est) certifies the translation’s fidelity to the original Mongol letter. Here tenor carries its full legal weight. It emphasizes the unchanged essence of the message despite a linguistically challenging mediation.

Narrative Closure The formula “whose content… is as follows” transitions seamlessly into the appended Latin text, thereby concluding the Relatio.

• Return Journey:
  The friars returned in the company of envoys from the Sultan of “Babylon” (a contemporary European term for the Ayyubid rulers in Cairo), with whom they traveled for a time before the two missions diverged onto separate routes. Their stop in Cologne must have happened in late summer of 1247 (no dates are given by Benedictus). On their homeward route, carrying sealed letters from the Great Khan, they likely recounted their travels at various (Eastern) European courts.
  
• Political Context:
  In contemporary European (Crusader) terminology, which conflated Cairo with ancient Babylon, the Ayyubid rulers in Cairo became the “Sultan of Babylon”. The report’s chronology is structured around the journey itself: The mention of returning to the Pope at Lyon serves as a narrative closure, the Council of Lyon had concluded two years earlier, in July 1245. Papal documents show that their report was registered on 22 November 1247. Therefore, we have a terminus ante quem for their arrival in Lyon. At that time, the papal court resided in Lyon and not in Rome, which explains why they did not head for Rome.

(By) The strength of God, the Ruler of all men, to the great Pope, most certain and true letters. Having taken counsel to establish peace with us, you, Pope, and all Christians have sent your envoy to us, as we have heard from him, and as was contained in your letters. Therefore, if you desire to have peace with us, you, Pope, and all Kings and powerful, do not delay in any way to come to me to establish a binding peace, and then you shall hear our response and will together. Your letters contained that we should be baptized and be made Christians. To this, we briefly reply to you that we do not understand how we ought to do this. To another matter also contained in your letters, namely that you marvel at the great slaughter of men -especially Christians, and particularly of Poles, Moravians, and Hungarians- we reply to you that we do not understand this as well. But so that we do not seem to pass over this entirely in silence, we tell you the following in response: Because they did not obey the word of God and the command of Cyngis-Chan and the Khan, and having held great counsel, killed our envoys, therefore God commanded to destroy them and delivered them into our hands. Otherwise, if God hadn´t done this, what could man have done against man? But you, men of the West, believe that you alone are Christians and despise others. Yet, how can you know to whom God deigns to confer His grace? We, however, by worshiping God, by the strength of God, have destroyed all the land from east to west. And if this was not the strength of God, what could men have done? But if you undertake peace and want to surrender your strongholds to us, you, Pope, with the Christian powerful, do not delay in any way to come to me to make peace; and then we shall know that you want to have peace with us. But if you will not believe the words of God and ours and do not listen to our counsel to come to us, then we shall know for certain that you want to have war with us. What will happen after this, we do not know; God alone knows. Cyngis-Chan first Emperor. Second Ochoday-Chan. Third Cuiuch-Chan.

Textual Commentary

Historical Commentary

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