Cathay And The Way Thither Being A Collection Of Medieval Notices Of China With A Preliminary Essay On The Intercourse Between China And The Western Nations Previous To The Discovery Of The Cape Route

A direct conduit to medieval China and the travellers who recorded it. Travel beyond maps into memory. Sir Henry Yule’s Cathay and the Way Thither, Volume II: Odoric of Pordenone, assembles medieval notices of China and frames them with a searching introductory essay on intercourse between China and western nations prior to the discovery of the Cape Route. The book brings disparate eyewitness notices into conversation, so the reader perceives how knowledge of distant realms was assembled, debated and transmitted across medieval Europe and Asia.This historical exploration anthology brings together vivid medieval travel narratives and early China accounts in a single, dependable primary source collection. It sheds new light on silk road history and the dynamics of east-west relations in the Marco Polo era and across 14th century Asia, making it as rewarding for casual readers drawn to extraordinary journeys as for scholars tracing patterns of exchange. Volume II centres on Odoric of Pordenone, whose eyewitness account complements other contemporary notices and invites comparative study. As an academic research resource the edition supports medieval China studies and world history students by preserving original testimony and by situating travellers’ observations within chronology and commentary, so that readers can follow how European perceptions of Cathay were formed. Yule’s Victorian-era scholarship and conscientious collation made these sources available in English; his footnotes and cross-references remain a useful guide for comparative work. The result is at once documentary and lived: dates and routes are recoverable alongside the immediate detail of travellers’ encounters. It rewards focused reading and targeted research alike. The work’s literary and historical significance is clear: Yule’s selection and apparatus remain a touchstone for anyone exploring medieval contact across Eurasia. Classic-literature collectors will appreciate the volume’s fidelity to source material and its place in the formation of travel writing.Republished by Alpha Editions in a careful modern edition, this volume preserves the spirit of the original while making it effortless to enjoy today - a heritage title prepared for readers and collectors alike.