ABSTRACT
Although the history of the Mongol invasions of Europe has been told by historians in some detail, the nature of the impact of these events upon the Western imagination has not been examined very carefully. To date, in addition to general histories of the Mongols,1 the focus has been on such facets as the exchange of diplomatic and religious missions between kings, and popes, and khans,2 the military campaigns o f the
1. The most recent of the general histories is that by J. J. Saunders, The History of the Mongol Conquest (London, 1971), who does suggest in brief at least something of the nature and scope of the Western reaction (Chap. 6 , “The Christian Response”). Of course, a more detailed and exhaustive treatment would have been out of place in such a study. Another short history is that by Bertold Spuler, History of the Mongols (1968), trans. from the German by Helga and Stuart Drummond (Berkeley, 1972). Important earlier works include those by Ren6 Grousset, The Empire of the Steppes (1939), trans. from the French by Naomi Walford (New Brunswick, N.J., 1970), H. H. Howorth, History of the Mongols, 3 vols. in 4 (London, 1876-88) and supplementary vol. with indices to the whole work (1927, rpr. 1965), and C. Mouradja d’Ohsson, Histoire des Mongols depuis Tchinguiz-Khan jusqu'a Timour Bey ou Tamerlan, 4 vols. (Amsterdam, 1824; 1834 ; 1852). Neither of the last two works mentioned has been superseded in recent years; the former retains its value because it is the most complete account in English, though not critical, and the latter because it is scholarly, critical, and makes use of Persian and Arabic sources not accessible to those who do not understand either language. There remains one important attempt to marshal the evidence for determining the overall Western reaction, namely, Giovanni Soranzo, 11 Papato, I’Europa cristiana e i Tartari (Milan, 1930), but the result is lacking in analysis and conceptualization, and not always accurate. Cf. also C. W. Connell, “Western Views of the Tartars, 1240-1340,” Diss. Rutgers 19 6 9 ; University Microfilms.
