Missionary or diplomat? William of Rubruck's journey to Mongolia, 1253--1255

William of Rubruck was a thirteenth-century Franciscan who recorded his two-year journey across central Asia for King Louis IX of France. His narrative offers detailed descriptions of Mongol communities and Christian minority groups under Mongol control. The narrative has rarely been independently analyzed. Thus, many aspects of it have only been examined by comparison to other travel writers, and particular elements have received only cursory attention. Peter Jackson is the only scholar in the last three decades to offer an independent analysis of the narrative, and his work has formed the foundation for the argument presented in this thesis.; There are three aspects to this thesis. The first is an examination of categorization and Rubruck's place as a missionary and a diplomat. The second is a contention against Jackson's claim that Rubruck's purpose was to minister over a group of displaced German slaves. The third is a presentation of Rubruck's place within existing mentalities scholarship, and an analysis of the effective use of imagery within the narrative to convey meaning and demonstrate shifts in perception. Rubruck's narrative deserves greater critical attention than it has thus far received. This thesis aims to broaden the study of Rubruck's narrative beyond the comparative scope that has largely limited its readership in the past.