Beyond Frontiers
the Mongols in Christian Sources (1235-1245)
Keywords:
Mongols, Frontier, ChristendomAbstract
This study analyzes some of the earliest Latin accounts of the Mongols. Before Pope Innocent IV sent an ambassador to the Khanate, historical agents made efforts to gather information about the so-called Tatars. These documents include the accounts of Friar Julian, the Epistle to the Sorrowful Lament by Master Roger, and the testimony of Peter of Russia. The works of these authors provide an interesting picture of how different regions and authorities interacted with the "Mongol Storm", how the collection of information about these peoples began in Latin Christendom, and the importance of mobility and communication in the transmission of this knowledge. The concept of "frontier" is applied in this work because, as we intend to demonstrate, the sources present notions of territoriality that relate to this concept. Thus, through connected history research, we emphasize that mobility, circulation, and territoriality are not mutually excluding categories.
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