Expedition to the Adriatic. 34. The Fleets come in sight of
each other at Curzola. 35. The Venetians defeated, and Marco
Polo a Prisoner. 36. Marco Polo in Prison dictates his Book
to Rusticiano of Pisa. Release of Venetian Prisoners. 37.
Grounds on which the story of Marco Polo’s capture at Curzola
rests.
VII. RUSTICIANO OR RUSTICHELLO OF PISA, MARCO POLO’S
FELLOW-PRISONER AT GENOA, THE SCRIBE WHO WROTE DOWN THE
TRAVELS _55_
§ 38. Rusticiano, perhaps a Prisoner from Meloria. 39. A Person
known from other sources. 40. Character of his Romance
Compilations. 41. Identity of the Romance Compiler with
Polo’s Fellow-Prisoner. 42. Further particulars regarding
Rusticiano.
VIII. NOTICES OF MARCO POLO’S HISTORY AFTER THE TERMINATION OF HIS
IMPRISONMENT AT GENOA _64_
§ 43. Death of Marco’s Father before 1300. Will of his Brother
Maffeo. 44. Documentary Notices of Polo at this time. The
Sobriquet of _Milione_. 45. Polo’s relations with Thibault
de Cepoy. 46. His Marriage, and his Daughters. Marco as
a Merchant. 47. His Last Will; and Death. 48. Place of
Sepulture. Professed Portraits of Polo. 49. Further History
of the Polo Family. 49 _bis_. Reliques of Marco Polo.
IX. MARCO POLO’S BOOK; AND THE LANGUAGE IN WHICH IT WAS FIRST
WRITTEN _80_
§ 50. General Statement of what the Book contains. 51. Language
of the original Work. 52. Old French Text of the Société de
Géographie. 53. Conclusive proof that the Old French Text is
the source of all the others. 54. Greatly diffused employment
of French in that age.
X. VARIOUS TYPES OF TEXT OF MARCO POLO’S BOOK _90_
§ 55. Four Principal Types of Text. _First_, that of the
Geographic or Oldest French. 56. _Second_, the Remodelled
French Text; followed by Pauthier. 57. The Bern MS. and two
others form a sub-class of this type. 58. _Third_, Friar
Pipino’s Latin. 59. The Latin of Grynæus, a Translation at
Fifth Hand. 60. _Fourth_, Ramusio’s Italian. 61. Injudicious
Tamperings in Ramusio. 62. Genuine Statements peculiar to
Ramusio. 63. Hypothesis of the Sources of the Ramusian
Version. 64. Summary in regard to Text of Polo. 65. Notice of
a curious Irish Version.
XI. SOME ESTIMATE OF THE CHARACTER OF POLO AND HIS BOOK _104_
§ 66. Grounds of Polo’s Pre-eminence among Mediæval Travellers.