Monday, 18 July 2011

The Customs of the Kingdoms of India by Marco Polo Translated by Ronald Latham

The Customs of the Kingdoms of India (Penguin Great Journeys)

I found this extract engaging for the turn of phrase and structure - ending each section with a dismissive "As there is nothing else worth noting, we will pass on to such and such", yet  it was clear that it had been dictated for after passing on from an area often there would a little later be some aside that returned you to a former place clearly as the recollection of it had just occurred to Marco Polo. 

That it was written some 700 years ago is a marvel as there are points at which the places some recognisable - in translating there must I am sure have been a certain amount of updating of place names but also perhaps also some adjustments to the idiom to make it more accessible to the modern reader - and that creates a weariness about just how much you are encountering Marco Polo's own voice.  


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