Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World

This one will be a bit of a side step in the Fourth Crusade story. This is a story of furta sacra, or sacred theft, following the fall of Constantinople, and of one theft in particular. This the story of Saint Simon and how he came to Venice.The medieval Christmas card Kickstarter which I mentioned can be found here. If you like what you hear, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.I'm on Twitter @circus_human and my website is www.humancircuspodcast.com.Sources:  Geoffrey de Villehardouin. Memoirs or Chronicle of The Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople, translated by Frank T. Marzials. J.M. Dent, 1908.Three Old French Chronicles Of The Crusades: The History Of The Holy War; The History Of Them That Took Constantinople; The Chronicle Of Reims, translated by Edward Noble Stone. University Of Washington Publications In The Social Sciences, 1939.O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniates, translated by Harry J. Magoulias. Wayne State University Press, 1984.Madden, Thomas F. Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.Madden, Thomas F. Venice: A New History. Viking, 2012.Norwich, John Julius. Byzantium: The Decline and Fall. Viking, 1995.Perry, David M. Sacred Plunder: Venice and the Aftermath of the Fourth Crusade. Penn State Press, 2015.Perry, David M. "The Translatio Symonensis and the Seven Thieves: A Venetian Fourth Crusade Furta Sacra Narrative and the Looting of Constantinople."Queller, Donald E. The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople, 1201-1204.  Leicester University Press, 1978. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is part three of my Fourth Crusade series. It's got emperors, fires, and first hand accounts of the taking of Constantinople. Hope you enjoy it!My Medieval Christmas Kickstarter can be found here!If you like what you hear, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.Sources:  Geoffrey de Villehardouin. Memoirs or Chronicle of The Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople, translated by Frank T. Marzials. J.M. Dent, 1908.Three Old French Chronicles Of The Crusades: The History Of The Holy War; The History Of Them That Took Constantinople; The Chronicle Of Reims, translated by Edward Noble Stone. University Of Washington Publications In The Social Sciences, 1939.O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniates, translated by Harry J. Magoulias. Wayne State University Press, 1984.Madden, Thomas F. Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.Madden, Thomas F. Venice: A New History. Viking, 2012.Norwich, John Julius. Byzantium: The Decline and Fall. Viking, 1995.Queller, Donald E. The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople, 1201-1204.  Leicester University Press, 1978. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Fourth Crusade continues, with the assault on Zara, a long winter in the city, and one reasonable occasion to go to Constantinople.If you like what you hear, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, my website is www.humancircuspodcast.com, and I have some things on Redbubble at https://www.redbubble.com/people/humancircus.Sources:Geoffrey de Villehardouin. Memoirs or Chronicle of The Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople, translated by Frank T. Marzials. J.M. Dent, 1908.Three Old French Chronicles Of The Crusades: The History Of The Holy War; The History Of Them That Took Constantinople; The Chronicle Of Reims, translated by Edward Noble Stone. University Of Washington Publications In The Social Sciences, 1939.O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniates, translated by Harry J. Magoulias. Wayne State University Press, 1984.Madden, Thomas F. Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.Madden, Thomas F. Venice: A New History. Viking, 2012.Queller, Donald E. The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople, 1201-1204.  Leicester University Press, 1978. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Using the the chronicles of two participants in the Fourth Crusade - the one a common knight, the other a leader involved in decision making and the important work of an envoy - we follow the growth of the Fourth Crusade through the elevation of Pope Innocent III, the negotiation with the Venetians, the ruinous agreement that was the result, and all the way up to the gates of Zara.WebsitePatreonBuy me a Ko-fi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this, the last episode of the Marco Polo series, Marco comes home to Venice. I touch on a bit of the history of the book (or books), The Travels of Marco Polo, and we follow Marco as he disentangles himself from the stifling embrace of Kublai Khan, encounters many things new and strange to him on the coast of India, and finds himself mixing with Ilkhan royalty.Patreon WebsiteKo-FiTwitterPaypal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's the grand tour of the world, or at least that part of it from Southeast Asia to the African coast, and you are taking it with/as Marco Polo. There will be monstrous birds, cannibals, the spice trade, and quite a lot of date wine. There'll be the beginning of the Buddha and the end of Saint Thomas. Thanks for listening!Find me at my website, on Twitter, or on Patreon, If you like what you hear, you can buy me a coffee over here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Marco Polo's story of "Zipangu," the secluded island kingdom, abundant with gold, and Kublai Khan's attempt to take it all, is the subject of this episode. I talk about the two Mongol invasions of Japan and how their story has reached us. Sources:The Travels of Marco Polo, the Venetian, translated by William Marsden, edited by Thomas Wright. George Bell & Sons, 1907.The Travels of Marco Polo: The Complete Yule-Cordier Edition, translated by Henry Yule and revised by Henri Cordier. Courier Corporation, 1993.Chase, Kenneth W. "Mongol Intentions Towards Japan in 1266: Evidence from a Mongol Letter to the Sung." Sino-Japanese Studies 9, no. 2 (1997).Conlan, Thomas D. In Little Need of Divine Intervention: Takezaki Suenaga's Scrolls of the Mongol Invasions of Japan. Cornell University (2010).Delgado, James P. Adventures of a Sea Hunter: In Search of Famous Shipwrecks. Douglas & McIntyre, 2004.Delgado, James P. Khubilai Khan's Lost Fleet: In Search of a Legendary Armaga. Douglas & McIntyre, 2008.Delgado, James P. "Relics of the Kamikaze," Archaeology. 56, no. 1 (January/February, 2003).  Larner, John. Marco Polo and the Discovery of the World. Yale University Press, 1999.Mass, Jeffrey P., ed. Court and Bakufu in Japan: Essays in Kamakura History. Stanford University Press (1995).Olschki, Leonardo. Marco Polo's Asia. University of California Press, 1960.Rossabi, Morris. Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times. University of California Press, 1988.Sasaki, Randall J. The Origins of the Lost Fleet of the Mongol Empire. Texas A & M University Press, 2015.Yamada, Nakaba. Ghenko, the Mongol Invasion of Japan. London, Smith, Elder, 1916. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, I look at the question of whether Marco actually went to China (some have thought he did not at all, or only made it to the capital), and, if so, what he was doing there.humancircuspodcast.compatreon.com/humancircus@circus_humanSources:The Travels of Marco Polo, the Venetian, translated by William Marsden, edited by Thomas Wright. George Bell & Sons, 1907.The Travels of Marco Polo: The Complete Yule-Cordier Edition,translated by Henry Yule and revised by Henri Cordier. Courier Corporation, 1993.Haw, Stephen G. Marco Polo's China: A Venetian in the Realm of Khubilai Khan. Routledge, 2006.Larner, John. Marco Polo and the Discovery of the World. Yale University Press, 1999.Man, John. Marco Polo: The Journey that Changed the World.HarperCollins, 2009.Olschki, Leonardo. Marco Polo's Asia. University of California Press, 1960.Rossabi, Morris. Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times. University of California Press, 1988.Vogel, Hans Ulrich. Marco Polo was in China: New Evidence from Currencies, Salts and Revenues. Brill Academic Pub, 2012. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Marco Polo was a tremendous admirer of Kublai Khan and of his Genghisid legacy more generally. This episode, we explore that admiration, the character of Kublai, and the anecdote of the treacherous minister.www.humancircuspodcast.comSources:The Travels of Marco Polo, the Venetian, translated by William Marsden, edited by Thomas Wright. George Bell & Sons, 1907.Larner, John. Marco Polo and the Discovery of the World. Yale University Press, 1999.Man, John. Marco Polo: The Journey that Changed the World. HarperCollins, 2009.Olschki, Leonardo. Marco Polo's Asia. University of California Press, 1960.Rossabi, Morris. Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times. University of California Press, 1988. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The three Polos depart for the summer palace of Kublai Khan. There'll be Assassins, baked corpses, and papal elections along the way!Website: humancircuspodcast.comTwitter: www.twitter.com/circus_humanEmail: HumanCircusPod@gmail.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/humancircuspod/ Donate to the podcast: https://ko-fi.com/A7071B1K Sources: - The Travels of Marco Polo, the Venetian, translated by Willam Marsden, edited by Thomas Wright. George Bell & Sons, 1907. - The Mission of Friar William of Rubruck, translated by Peter Jackson. The Hakluyt Society, 1990.- Cathay and the Way Thither, Being a Collection of Medieval Notices of China, Vol. III, translated and edited by Henry Yule and Henri Cordier. London, 1916. - Ackroyd, Peter. Venice: Pure City. Chatto & Windus, 2009.- Daftary, Farhad. The Assassin Legends. I. B. Tauris, 1994.- Larner, John. Marco Polo and the Discovery of the World. Yale University Press, 1999.- Madden, Thomas F. Venice: A New History. Viking, 2012.- Olschki, Leonardo. Marco Polo's Asia. University of California Press, 1960.- Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman. Chinese Imperial City Planning. University of Hawaii Press, 1999. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices