Europeans and Mongols: In the middle of the thirteenth century ; encountering the other (Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae. Humaniora)

This study examines the first contacts between Europe and the Mongol Empire after the Mongol invasion of Europe (1241-1242). The eye-witness travel accounts of the Mongols by John of Plano Carpini, Simon of Saint-Quentin, and William of Rubruck are considered. The European point of view dominates the research because of the nature of primary sources. What do the encounters with the Mongols reveal about the world-view, identity, and self-understanding of Europeans? How did they think and behave in the face of otherness? Was it possible to trespass over the religious-cultural borders?