Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages

by Dan Jones

Yet strangely, it would not be remembered as Genoa’s triumph, either. Instead, this bloody skirmish in the stunning blue waters off the Dalmatian coast would come to be associated most closely with one of the Venetian prisoners of war. He was a veteran adventurer from a family of merchants, who had been farther around the world than almost any person alive—seeing many extraordinary things and meeting many astonishing people. A survivor and a charmer, he had mind-boggling stories to tell. And after he was captured at the battle of Curzola, he had the opportunity to tell them. He was incarcerated alongside a sympathetic and talented professional writer called Rustichello of Pisa, who drew memories out of his cellmate and wrote them down for posterity. The result was a great popular travelogue, which still sells thousands of copies every year. Of course, the merchant was Marco Polo—and his story is justly one of the most celebrated of the whole Middle Ages.