Traveling to the "Tartars"

Forthcoming - September 2026

“This outstanding work provides not only new and updated translations of six important accounts of the Franciscan and Dominican missions to different Mongol courts in the mid-thirteenth century, but also fully explains the fascinating historical context in which they were written and transmitted. In short, this is a remarkable resource for both scholars and students to explore and understand this pivotal moment of East-West exchange.” 
—Johan Elverskog, Southern Methodist University

“Andrea provides excellent translations of several of the most significant European contemporary travel reports of the thirteenth-century Mongols. His analysis and translation of the Franciscan John of Plano Carpini’s work will become the standard account. Andrea also offers a fine Introduction about the Mongols and a valuable Bibliography for students who seek more detailed information about the group that carved out the largest contiguous land empire in world history.” 
—Morris Rossabi, Columbia University, author of Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times, University of California Press, new ed. 2009)

“With this book Alfred Andrea delivers updated and wonderfully accessible translations of the seminal accounts of the Latin travelers to the Mongol Empire. Scholars and students alike will benefit from Andrea’s insightful Introduction and enormously helpful annotations.” 
—Scott Levi, The Ohio State University

About the Author:

Alfred J. Andrea is Emeritus Professor of History, The University of Vermont and the author of numerous books, including The Medieval Record: Sources of Medieval History (Second Revised Edition, 2020) and Expanding Horizons: The Globalization of Medieval Europe, 450–1500 (2024), both available from Hackett Publishing.