committed to writing, we have seen that Ramusio assumed, somewhat
arbitrarily, that it was _Latin_; Marsden supposed it to have been
the _Venetian_ dialect; Baldelli Boni first showed, in his elaborate
edition (Florence, 1827), by arguments that have been illustrated and
corroborated by learned men since, that it was _French_.
That the work was originally written in _some_ Italian dialect was a
natural presumption, and slight contemporary evidence can be alleged in
its favour; for Fra Pipino, in the Latin version of the work, executed
whilst Marco still lived, describes his task as a translation _de
vulgari_. And in one MS. copy of the same Friar Pipino’s Chronicle,
existing in the library at Modena, he refers to the said version
as made “_ex vulgari idiomate_ Lombardico.” But though it may seem
improbable that at so early a date a Latin version should have been
made at second hand, I believe this to have been the case, and that
some internal evidence also is traceable that Pipino translated _not_
from the original but from an Italian _version_ of the original.
The oldest MS. (it is supposed) in any Italian dialect is one in
the Magliabecchian Library at Florence, which is known in Italy as
_L’Ottima_, on account of the purity of its Tuscan, and as _Della
Crusca_ from its being one of the authorities cited by that body
in their Vocabulary.[2] It bears on its face the following note in
Italian:—
“This Book called the Navigation of Messer Marco Polo, a noble
Citizen of Venice, was written in Florence by Michael Ormanni my
great grandfather by the Mother’s side, who died in the Year of
Grace One Thousand Three Hundred and Nine; and my mother brought it
into our Family of Del Riccio, and it belongs to me Pier del Riccio
and to my Brother; 1452.”
As far as I can learn, the age which this note implies is considered to
be supported by the character of the MS. itself.[3] If it be accepted,
the latter is a performance going back to within eleven years _at most_
of the first dictation of the Travels. At first sight, therefore, this
would rather argue that the original had been written in pure Tuscan.
But when Baldelli came to prepare it for the press he found manifest
indications of its being a Translation from the _French_. Some of these
he has noted; others have followed up the same line of comparison. We
give some detailed examples in a note.[4]
[Illustration: Temple of 500 Genii, at Canton, _after a Drawing by_
FÉLIX RÉGAMEY.]
[Sidenote: Old French Text published by the Société de Géographie.]