Marco Polo dictates his Travels in a Genoese prison
1298
Captured at the naval battle of Curzola between Venice and Genoa, Polo shared a cell with the writer Rustichello of Pisa. Over months of boredom he narrated his adventures in Yuan China; Rustichello wrote them down in French-Italian. The book was instantly pirated and translated. Columbus would carry a heavily annotated copy on his voyage to the Americas two centuries later.
In context
Also in 1298 (3 other events on record)
- Rashid al-Din begins Jami al-Tawarikh · Middle East · Culture
- Edward I crushes Wallace at Falkirk · Europe · War
- Venice and Genoa fight at Curzola · Europe · War
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Culture
Era
High Middle Ages (1000–1300), one of 1,306 events from that era on Saeculum.