The Travels of Marco Polo Volume I Part 30

[Ill.u.s.tration: Miracle of S. Lorenzo]

During the stay of Thibault at Venice he seems to have made acquaintance with Marco Polo, and to have received from him a copy of his Book. This is recorded in a curious note which appears on two existing MSS. of Polo's Book, viz., that of the Paris Library (10,270 or Fr. 5649), and that of Bern, which is substantially identical in its text with the former, and is, as I believe, a copy of it.[9] The note runs as follows:--

"Here you have the Book of which My Lord THIEBAULT, Knight and LORD OF CEPOY, (whom may G.o.d a.s.soil!) requested a copy from SIRE MARC POL, Burgess and Resident of the City of Venice. And the said Sire Marc Pol, being a very honourable Person, of high character and respect in many countries, because of his desire that what he had witnessed should be known throughout the World, and also for the honour and reverence he bore to the most excellent and puissant Prince my Lord CHARLES, Son of the King of France and COUNT OF VALOIS, gave and presented to the aforesaid Lord of Cepoy the first copy (that was taken) of his said Book after he had made the same. And very pleasing it was to him that his Book should be carried to the n.o.ble country of France and there made known by so worthy a gentleman. And from that copy which the said Messire Thibault, Sire de Cepoy above-named, did carry into France, Messire John, who was his eldest son and is the present Sire de Cepoy,[10] after his Father's decease did have a copy made, and that very first copy that was made of the Book after its being carried into France he did present to his very dear and dread Lord Monseigneur de Valois. Thereafter he gave copies of it to such of his friends as asked for them.

"And the copy above-mentioned was presented by the said Sire Marc Pol to the said Lord de Cepoy when the latter went to Venice, on the part of Monseigneur de Valois and of Madame the Empress his wife, as Vicar General for them both in all the Territories of the Empire of Constantinople. And this happened in the year of the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ one thousand three hundred and seven, and in the month of August."

Of the bearings of this memorandum on the literary history of Polo's Book we shall speak in a following section.

[Sidenote: His marriage and his daughters. Marco as a merchant.]

46. When Marco married we have not been able to ascertain, but it was no doubt early in the 14th century, for in 1324, we find that he had two married daughters besides one unmarried. His wife's Christian name was _Donata_, but of her family we have as yet found no a.s.surance. I suspect, however, that her name may have been Loredano (vide infra, p. 77).

Under 1311 we find a doc.u.ment which is of considerable interest, because it is the only one yet discovered which exhibits Marco under the aspect of a practical trader. It is the judgment of the Court of Requests upon a suit brought by the n.o.bLE MARCO POLO of the parish of S. Giovanni Grisostomo against one Paulo Girardo of S. Apollinare. It appears that Marco had entrusted to the latter as a commission agent for sale, on an agreement for half profits, a pound and a half of musk, priced at six _lire of grossi_ (about 22_l._ 10_s._ in value of silver) the pound.

Girardo had sold half-a-pound at that rate, and the remaining pound which he brought back was deficient of a _saggio_, or, one-sixth of an ounce, but he had accounted for neither the sale nor the deficiency. Hence Marco sues him for three _lire of Grossi_, the price of the half-pound sold, and for twenty _grossi_ as the value of the saggio. And the Judges cast the defendant in the amount with costs, and the penalty of imprisonment in the common gaol of Venice if the amounts were not paid within a suitable term.[11]

Again in May, 1323, probably within a year of his death, Ser Marco appears (perhaps only by attorney), before the Doge and his judicial examiners, to obtain a decision respecting a question touching the rights to certain stairs and porticoes in contact with his own house property, and that obtained from his wife, in S. Giovanni Grisostomo. To this allusion has been already made (supra, p. 31).

[Sidenote: Marco Polo's Last Will and Death.]

47. We catch sight of our Traveller only once more. It is on the 9th of January, 1324; he is labouring with disease, under which he is sinking day by day; and he has sent for Giovanni Giustiniani, Priest of S. Proculo and Notary, to make his Last Will and Testament. It runs thus:--

[Ill.u.s.tration: MARCO POLO'S LAST WILL]

[Ill.u.s.tration: SLIGHTLY REDUCED FROM A PHOTOGRAPH SPECIALLY TAKEN IN ST. MARK'S LIBRARY BY SIGNOR BERTANI.]

"IN THE NAME OF THE ETERNAL G.o.d AMEN!

"In the year from the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ 1323, on the 9th day of the month of January, in the first half of the 7th Indiction,[12] at Rialto.

"It is the counsel of Divine Inspiration as well as the judgment of a provident mind that every man should take thought to make a disposition of his property before death become imminent, lest in the end it should remain without any disposition:

"Wherefore I MARCUS PAULO of the parish of St. John Chrysostom, finding myself to grow daily feebler through bodily ailment, but being by the grace of G.o.d of a sound mind, and of senses and judgment unimpaired, have sent for JOHN GIUSTINIANI, Priest of S. Proculo and Notary, and have instructed him to draw out in complete form this my Testament:

"Whereby I const.i.tute as my Trustees DONATA my beloved wife, and my dear daughters FANTINA, BELLELA, and MORETA,[13] in order that after my decease they may execute the dispositions and bequests which I am about to make herein.

"First of all: I will and direct that the proper t.i.the be paid.[14] And over and above the said t.i.the I direct that 2000 _lire_ of Venice denari be distributed as follows:[15]

"Viz., 20 _soldi_ of Venice _grossi_ to the Monastery of St. Lawrence where I desire to be buried.

"Also 300 _lire_ of Venice denari to my sister-in-law YSABETA QUIRINO,[16] that she owes me.

"Also 40 _soldi_ to each of the Monasteries and Hospitals all the way from Grado to Capo d'Argine.[17]

"Also I bequeath to the Convent of SS. Giovanni and Paolo, of the Order of Preachers, that which it owes me, and also 10 _lire_ to Friar RENIER, and 5 _lire_ to Friar BENVENUTO the Venetian, of the Order of Preachers, in addition to the amount of his debt to me.

"I also bequeath 5 _lire_ to every Congregation in Rialto, and 4 _lire_ to every Guild or Fraternity of which I am a member.[18]

"Also I bequeath 20 _soldi_ of Venetian grossi to the Priest Giovanni Giustiniani the Notary, for his trouble about this my Will, and in order that he may pray the Lord in my behalf.

"Also I release PETER the Tartar, my servant, from all bondage, as completely as I pray G.o.d to release mine own soul from all sin and guilt. And I also remit him whatever he may have gained by work at his own house; and over and above I bequeath him 100 _lire_ of Venice denari.[19]

"And the residue of the said 2000 _lire_ free of t.i.the, I direct to be distributed for the good of my soul, according to the discretion of my trustees.

"Out of my remaining property I bequeath to the aforesaid Donata, my Wife and Trustee, 8 _lire_ of Venetian grossi annually during her life, for her own use, over and above her settlement, and the linen and all the household utensils,[20] with 3 beds garnished.

"And all my other property movable and immovable that has not been disposed of [here follow some lines of mere technicality] I specially and expressly bequeath to my aforesaid Daughters Fantina, Bellela, and Moreta, freely and absolutely, to be divided equally among them. And I const.i.tute them my heirs as regards all and sundry my property movable and immovable, and as regards all rights and contingencies tacit and expressed, of whatsoever kind as hereinbefore detailed, that belong to me or may fall to me. Save and except that before division my said daughter Moreta shall receive the same as each of my other daughters hath received for dowry and outfit [here follow many lines of technicalities, ending]

"And if any one shall presume to infringe or violate this Will, may he incur the malediction of G.o.d Almighty, and abide bound under the anathema of the 318 Fathers; and farthermore he shall forfeit to my Trustees aforesaid five pounds of gold;[21] and so let this my Testament abide in force. The signature of the above named Messer Marco Paulo who gave instructions for this deed.

"* I Peter Grifon, Priest, Witness.

"* I Humfrey Barberi, Witness.

"* I John Giustiniani, Priest of S. Proculo, and Notary, have completed and authenticated (this testament)."[22]

We do not know, as has been said, how long Marco survived the making of this will, but we know, from a scanty series of doc.u.ments commencing in June of the following year (1325), that he had _then_ been some time dead.[23]

[Sidenote: Place of Sepulture. Professed Portraits of Polo.]

48. He was buried, no doubt, according to his declared wish, in the Church of S. Lorenzo; and indeed Sansovino bears testimony to the fact in a confused notice of our Traveller.[24] But there does not seem to have been any monument to Marco, though the sarcophagus which had been erected to his father Nicolo, by his own filial care, existed till near the end of the 16th century in the porch or corridor leading to the old Church of S.

Lorenzo, and bore the inscription: "SEPULTURA DOMINI NICOLAI PAULO DE CONTRATA S. IOANNIS GRISOSTEMI." The church was renewed from its foundations in 1592, and then, probably, the sarcophagus was cast aside and lost, and with it all certainty as to the position of the tomb.[25]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Pavement in front of San Lorenzo, Venice.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: S. Lorenzo as it was in the 15th century]

There is no portrait of Marco Polo in existence with any claim to authenticity. The quaint figure which we give in the _Bibliography_, vol.

ii. p. 555, extracted from the earliest printed edition of his book, can certainly make no such pretension. The oldest one after this is probably a picture in the collection of Monsignor Badia at Rome, of which I am now able, by the owner's courtesy, to give a copy. It is set down in the catalogue to t.i.tian, but is probably a work of 1600, or thereabouts, to which the aspect and costume belong. It is inscribed "_Marcus Polvs Venetvs Totivs...o...b..s et Indie Peregrator Primus._" Its history unfortunately cannot be traced, but I believe it came from a collection at Urbino. A marble statue was erected in his honour by a family at Venice in the 17th century, and is still to be seen in the Palazzo Morosini- Gattemburg in the Campo S. Stefano in that city. The medallion portrait on the wall of the _Sala dello Scudo_ in the ducal palace, and which was engraved in Bettom's "Collection of Portraits of Ill.u.s.trious Italians," is a work of imagination painted by Francesco Griselini in 1761.[26] From this, however, was taken the medal by Fabris, which was struck in 1847 in honour of the last meeting of the Italian Congresso Scientifico; and from the medal again is copied, I believe, the elegant woodcut which adorns the introduction to M. Pauthier's edition, though without any information as to its history. A handsome bust, by Augusto Gamba, has lately been placed among the ill.u.s.trious Venetians in the inner arcade of the Ducal Palace.[27] There is also a mosaic portrait of Polo, opposite the similar portrait of Columbus in the Municipio at Genoa.

[Sidenote: Further History of the Polo Family.]

49. From the short series of doc.u.ments recently alluded to,[28] we gather all that we know of the remaining history of Marco Polo's immediate family. We have seen in his will an indication that the two elder daughters, Fantina and Bellela, were married before his death. In 1333 we find the youngest, Moreta, also a married woman, and Bellela deceased. In 1336 we find that their mother Donata had died in the interval. We learn, too, that Fantina's husband was MARCO BRAGADINO, and Moreta's, RANUZZO DOLFINO.[29] The name of Bellela's husband does not appear.

Fantina's husband is probably the Marco Bragadino, son of Pietro, who in 1346 is mentioned to have been sent as Provveditore-Generale to act against the Patriarch of Acquileia.[30] And in 1379 we find Donna Fantina herself, presumably in widowhood, a.s.sessed as a resident of S. Giovanni Grisostomo, on the _Estimo_ or forced loan for the Genoese war, at 1300 _lire_, whilst Pietro Bragadino of the same parish--her son as I imagine--is a.s.sessed at 1500 _lire_.[31] [See vol. ii., _Calendar_.]

The doc.u.ments show a few other incidents which may be briefly noted. In 1326 we have the record of a charge against one Zanino Grioni for insulting Donna Moreta in the Campo of San Vitale; a misdemeanour punished by the Council of Forty with two months' imprisonment.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Mosaic Portrait of Marco Polo at Genoa]

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Pseudo Marco Polo at Canton]

In March, 1328, Marco Polo, called Marcolino, of St. John Chrysostom (see p. 66), represents before the _Domini Advocatores_ of the Republic that certain _imprest.i.ta_ that had belonged to the late Maffeo Polo the Elder, had been alienated and transferred in May 1318, by the late Marco Polo of St. John Chrysostom and since his death by his heirs, without regard to the rights of the said Marcolino, to whom the said Messer Maffeo had bequeathed 1000 _lire_ by his will executed on 6th February, 1308 (i.e.

1309). The Advocatores find that the transfer was to that extent unjust and improper, and they order that to the same extent it should be revoked and annulled. Two months later the Lady Donata makes rather an unpleasant figure before the Council of Forty. It would seem that on the claim of Messer Bertuccio Quirino a mandate of sequestration had been issued by the Court of Requests affecting certain articles in the Ca' Polo; including two bags of money which had been tied and sealed, but left in custody of the Lady Donata. The sum so sealed was about 80 _lire_ of grossi (300_l._ in silver value), but when opened only 45 _lire_ and 22 _grossi_ (about 170_l._) were found therein, and the Lady was accused of abstracting the balance _non bono modo_. Probably she acted, as ladies sometimes do, on a strong sense of her own rights, and a weak sense of the claims of law. But the Council p.r.o.nounced against her, ordering rest.i.tution, and a fine of 200 _lire_ over and above "_ut ceteris transeat in exemplum._"[32]

It will have been seen that there is nothing in the amounts mentioned in Marco's will to bear out the large reports as to his wealth, though at the same time there is no positive ground for a deduction to the contrary.[33]

The mention in two of the doc.u.ments of Agnes Loredano as the sister of the Lady Donata suggests that the latter may have belonged to the Loredano family, but as it does not appear whether Agnes was maid or wife this remains uncertain.[34]